Another C

I got out to the car the other day and noticed a CD I'd bought before right before I left town, the tribute album Eric Clapton put together for JJ Cale.  The Yin to Cream's Yang in Clapton's artistic life was JJ Cale.  After Cream broke up Clapton complained about their limited repertoire, that their music was "mean", and not "honest."  Cale was at the opposite pole on all three dimensions, prolific, laid-back, and authentic.  And, where Cream's ambitions were heavily commercial, Cale eschewed the limelight.

From another perspective, his bandmates in Cream were the bullying upperclassmen at his school.  Cale, he says, was simply "my hero."

As with all such efforts, the album has hits and misses (Willie Nelson?), but far more hits.  If you like this, you'll like the album.  If not, take a pass.

Here is a long interview Clapton did about the album, which gives you some flavor for how he operates in his post-rock star, post-substance abuse incarnation:



Here is an another interview from 2007, timed to the release of his autobiography, where he is very frank about his long road to recovery.