Eric Clapton ‘Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival’ Album review
Back in 2019, when gigs and festivals were still a real thing and not just a distant memory, guitar legend Eric Clapton put on Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival with a whole bunch of great names from the world of rock and pop joining him. With a supporting cast that included names such as Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, James Bay, Peter Frampton, and, of course, the guitar legend himself, all performing tracks, it was only a matter of time before this was released in some form.
Well, here we are, just over twelve months later and Clapton is set to release both an audio and video set from the festival on November 20th featuring a huge number of the artists performing. The track-listing for the fifth event in the series and which took place in Dallas, Texas, is absolutely mouthwatering with a few tracks seeing Clapton performing alongside some fantastic names. Spanning the forty-two tracks on the three-disc audio set, Clapton joins Andy Fairweather Low to perform “Wonderful Tonight” and “Lay Down Sally” early doors and, although his appearances are minimal, there are plenty of other tantalizing partnerships throughout the three albums to make this a worthy investment.
Looking down the tracklisting and you’ll see Sheryl Crow firstly performing a brilliant “Everything Is Broken” with Bonnie Raitt before following that up with “Every Day Is A Winding Road” where she teams up with UK guitar star James Bay. Bay himself weighs in with a couple of tracks in the form of his own “Hold Back The River” and “When We Were On Fire”.
As for the legends, well, how does Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton, and John Mayer grab your attention? Beck gives fans a triple treat with three offerings – “Big Block”, “Caroline, No” and “Space For The Papa” while Frampton teams up with Clapton for a truly unforgettable rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with Mayer popping by for “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room”. The collaborations continue with the likes of Vince Lee, Jerry Douglas, John Mayer, and Albert Lee all making appearances throughout the course.
The back end of the set sees Clapton take centre stage for a run of tracks and collaborations with the highlight of the whole set being a massive collaboration on a show-stopping rendition of Prince’s classic “Purple Rain”. It’s one of many of the tracks that send a shiver down your spine in a “wish you were there” once-in-a-lifetime kind of way. That being said, as a document of the event, this audio / visual package is the next best thing.
You can find out more about the album here: https://www.totalntertainment.com/music/eric-clapton-to-release-extensive-live-album/
