On March 30, Eric Clapton turns 70, but the guitar hero isn't about to rest on his considerable laurels. He's marking the occasion with a series of concerts including two at New York's Madison Square Garden and seven at London's Royal Albert Hall. Reprise Records is also celebrating the artist's landmark birthday with the April 28 release of Forever Man, a compilation concentrating on his longtime affiliation with the label and its sister Warner Bros. Records which began in 1983. Featuring 51 tracks from the 19-time Grammy winner over three CDs, Forever Man (named for a song on Clapton's 1985 Behind the Sun) spans three decades and includes one disc dedicated to Slowhand's studio tracks, one of live recordings, and one of his explorations of the blues.
The studio CD appears to span the period between Money and Cigarettes, Clapton's 1983 Warner Bros. debut, and The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale, his 2014 tribute to his late friend and colleague. (The Breeze was released not on a Warner Bros. label but on the Surfdog label.) Along the way, it takes in collaborations with Cale and B.B. King, as well as such hits as "Tears in Heaven," "My Father's Eyes" and "Change the World." The live disc allows for latter-day performances of many famous pre-Reprise songs, both solo ("Wonderful Tonight," the Cale-penned "Cocaine") and as originally performed with the bands Cream ("Badge," "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room"), Derek and the Dominos ("Layla," in its hit Unplugged version) and Blind Faith ("Presence of the Lord" with Steve Winwood). The blues disc features other duets with King and Cale as well as tracks from Clapton's pair of Robert Johnson tributes, Me and Mr. Johnson and Sessions for Robert J.
Forever Man will be available in other versions, as well. A 2-CD, 33-song iteration cuts the blues disc; a 2-LP, 19-track collection uses the studio disc as a springboard but drops "Run Back to Your Side" and "Believe in Life" in favor of "Little Queen of Spades," "Motherless Child" and "Got You on My Mind" from the blues disc.
This new anthology from Reprise/Warner Bros. includes new liner notes by journalist Malcolm Dome. It's due in stores on April 28 and can be pre-ordered below; inactive links will be updated as soon as possible!
Eric Clapton, Forever Man (3-CD Version) (Reprise, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
CD1 - Studio
- Gotta Get Over
- I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart
- Run Back To Your Side
- Tears In Heaven
- Call Me The Breeze
- Forever Man
- Believe In Life
- Bad Love
- My Father's Eyes
- Anyway The Wind Blows - with J.J. Cale
- Travelin' Alone
- Change The World
- Behind The Mask
- It's In The Way That You Use It
- Pretending
- Riding With The King - with B.B. King
- Circus
- Revolution
CD2 - Live
- Badge
- Sunshine Of Your Love
- White Room
- Wonderful Tonight
- Worried Life Blues
- Cocaine
- Layla (Unplugged)
- Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out (Unplugged)
- Walkin' Blues (Unplugged)
- Them Changes - with Steve Winwood
- Presence Of The Lord - with Steve Winwood
- Hoochie Coochie Man
- Goin' Down Slow
- Over The Rainbow
CD3 - Blues
- Before You Accuse Me
- Last Fair Deal Gone Down
- Hold On, I'm Comin' - with B.B. King
- Terraplane Blues
- It Hurts Me Too
- Little Queen Of Spades
- Third Degree
- Motherless Child
- Sportin' Life Blues - with J.J. Cale
- Ramblin' On My Mind
- Stop Breakin' Down Blues
- Everybody Oughta Make A Change
- Sweet Home Chicago
- If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day
- Hard Times Blues
- Got You On My Mind
- I'm Tore Down
- Milkcow's Calf Blues
- Key To The Highway - with B.B. King
2CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
CD1
- Gotta Get Over
- I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart
- Anyway The Wind Blows - with J.J. Cale
- My Father's Eyes
- Motherless Child
- Pretending
- Little Queen Of Spades
- Bad Love
- Behind The Mask
- Tears In Heaven
- Change The World
- Call Me The Breeze
- Forever Man
- Riding With The King - with B.B. King
- It's In The Way That You Use It
- Circus
- Got You On My Mind
- Travelin' Alone
- Revolution
CD2 - Live
- Badge
- Sunshine Of Your Love
- White Room
- Wonderful Tonight
- Worried Life Blues
- Cocaine
- Layla (Unplugged)
- Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out (Unplugged)
- Walkin' Blues (Unplugged)
- Them Changes - with Steve Winwood
- Presence Of The Lord - with Steve Winwood
- Hoochie Coochie Man
- Goin' Down Slow
- Over The Rainbow
Vinyl Edition: (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
Side 1
- Gotta Get Over
- I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart
- Anyway The Wind Blows - with J.J. Cale
- My Father's Eyes
- Motherless Child
Side 2
- Pretending
- Little Queen Of Spades
- Bad Love
- Behind The Mask
Side 3
- Tears In Heaven
- Change The World
- Call Me The Breeze
- Forever Man
- Riding With The King - with B.B. King
Side 4
- It's In The Way That You Use It
- Circus
- Got You On My mind
- Travelin' Alone
- Revolution
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No "I Can't Stand It"?
Not a very interesting collection. A lot of his 80s & 90s stuff was pretty weak, pop-oriented material that wasted Clapton's gifts. The Phil Collins-produced stuff, not to mention dreadful Pilgrim album are especially heinous.
And does anyone need to hear the Unplugged "Layla" ever again? What sounded like a fresh reinvention nearly 25 years ago sounds pretty dull and tiresome now.
Anyhow, if you're going to buy this, do yourself a favor and make sure you buy the set with the Blues disc. Good to see albums like From the Cradle and those Robert Johnson sets getting some love. Clapton's always at his best when he's playing the Blues.
'I Can't Stand It' is from his Polydor days.
I like the Pilgrim album quite a bit, as well as a fair amount of his '80s material, but I agree that this set is pretty pointless overall, especially coming so soon after the career-spanning Complete Clapton. Casual fans who just want a one-stop shop are much better served by that one.
Didn't realize that about "I Can't Stand It". I just knew it was early 80s (I think?) so I thought it might've qualified for this set. Thanks for the correction.
I'm definitely not a fan of EC's stuff from Behind the Sun through the end of the 80s. Journeyman has its moments, but it's still a very uneven set.
It all depends on what you like, I guess. I prefer EC playing Blues, not to mention the heavier sounds of Cream, Blind Faith, and the Dominos, or the country-rock of the Slowhand period.
Anyhow, the new collection has its merits, I suppose, but it seems too scattershot for my tastes. I agree that the more casual fan might find other collections more to their liking.
No unreleased takes, right?
You are correct. It appears the follow up to Crossroads is still, sadly, to come. (Hopefully we'll get it in 2017, as that it will be 30 years since that retrospective and there's enough material to cover another box set worth.)