Eric Clapton has premiered another song—in the form of a pro-shot video—from his upcoming album, Live in San Diego.
This powerful live version of Derek and the Dominos' "Tell the Truth," which you can watch below, features stellar slide guitar by Derek Trucks and additional vocals by Doyle Bramhall II, who sings Bobby Whitlock's parts from the original 1970 recording.
The first original version of "Tell the Truth" was recorded in June 1970 at Apple Studios in London, minus Duane Allman but with Dave Mason and, according to legend, Geoge Harrison, on guitars and Phil Spector producing. However, in August of that year, producer Tom Dowd had the band—this time with Allman in the fray—recut the song in Florida.
"The problem wasn't Spector's fabled Wall of Sound engineering control," said author Jan Reid. "Rather, it sounded as though they sang and played the song about 20 percent too fast. In Spector's production, the lyrics and the voices of Clapton and Whitlock flew by in meaningless garble: the song lost its insight and sense of humor."
With Allman's slide playing providing a counterpoint to the melody sung by Whitlock and Clapton, Dowd and the band were finally satisfied with the song. The June version appeared on a now-rare single in mid-1970; the August version can be found on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Live in San Diego was recorded March 15, 2007, at San Diego's iPayOne Cente. It will be available September 30 as a two-disc CD, a three-disc vinyl set and as a digital album. If you pre-order it at ericclapton.com, you'll receive “Anyway the Wind Blows” (watch it here), "Motherless Children" and "Tell the Truth" immediately. All three songs are also available for individual purchase.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
