The Road To Escondido

Back in 1970 Eric Clapton released his self-titled debut as a solo artist. It was his cover of "After Midnight", penned by an obscure Oklahoma based singer/songwriter by the name of J.J. Cale, that supplied him with his first top forty hit. From that point on, Cale's rootsy, laidback synthesis of rock, blues and country influenced the direction that Clapton would take throughout his early solo career. In 1977 he covered Cale's "Cocaine" for his massive "Slowhand" album. The next year he recorded Cale's "I'll Make Love To You Anytime" for the "Slowhand" follow up "Backless", and he covered yet another Cale song, "Travelin' Light", as recently as 2001 for "Reptile". But the two men had never recorded together. That is until now.

In 2004 Cale was among the artists invited to take part in Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Clapton sat in for Cale's set which was among the highlights of the three day festival. It was then that Clapton approached Cale about making an album together. Long an admirer of Cale's skills as a producer and engineer, Clapton's original plan was for Cale to produce an Eric Clapton album. At some point during the sessions Clapton decided to make it a true 50/50 collaboration similar to his 2001 album with B.B. King, "Riding With The King". It took some convincing on Clapton's part, but the publicity shy Cale eventually relented and "The Road To Escondido" was born.

All but three of the fourteen "Escondido" tracks were penned by Cale. The exceptions being the old Brownie McGhee standard "Sporting Life Blues", "Hard To Thrill" (which Clapton co-wrote with John Mayer) and "Three Little Girls" (written by Clapton for his three young daughters). Highlights include "Danger", "Heads In Georgia", "Sporting Life Blues", "Hard To Thrill", "Who Am I Telling You" and "Ride The River".

The album kicks off into high gear with the immensly catchy opening track, "Danger". A prime candidate for radio play, "Danger" features the organ work of the late, great Billy Preston. (Preston graces much of the album with his sublime B-3 playing. It was the last major sessions he was involved in and the album is dedicated to his memory.) "Danger" is followed by the haunting "Heads In Georgia", the first of many tracks in which Clapton and Cale sing in unison. It's built on a swampy, atmospheric vibe. So atmospheric in fact, it's quasi-psychedelic, yet still firmly rooted in the blues. But it's track five, Clapton and Cale's cover of Brownie McGhee's "Sporting Life Blues", that many reviewers have singled out for praise, and rightfully so. It to features the two men's unision singing, and like "Heads In Georgia" a world weary vibe prevails. This is the kind of song that only artists of Cale and Clapton's age and stature could pull off, and it's all topped off with a delicious, jazz inflected solo from Clapton. (Presumably played on the vintage Gibson L-5 he used for much of the "Reptile" album and subsequent tour.) "Hard To Thrill" is a moody blues in A minor. Sung by Clapton, it contains some vibrant Strat interplay between him and the song's co-author, John Mayer. This is some tasty stuff, but it's track thirteen, the gorgeous "Who Am I Telling You", that stands out as the album's true highlight. Of all the "Escondido" tracks, this is the song most reminscent of the Cale influenced material Clapton recorded in the late seventies. In fact, it sounds for all the world like a long lost outtake from "Backless"! It's also one of a handful of "Escondido" tracks to feature the ever so distinctive slide guitar of Derek Trucks, and it was his work on these sessions that won him a spot in Clapton's touring band. "Who Am I Telling You" is followed by the album's closing track and first single, "Ride The River". Built upon one of Cale's trademark country/blues shuffles, "Ride The River" was both the first and last song cut for the sessions. It seems they weren't satisfied with the "feel" of the initial recording so they opted to re-record it. It's that second version that appears here and it finds Clapton dusting off his old "Journeyman"-era chorus pedal/wah-wah set up to great effect! Only trouble is his leads are a bit buried in the mix, and this is definitely Clapton's own doing, as he did the same with some of his leads on his last album, "Back Home".

Co-produced by Cale, Clapton and his right hand man Simon Climie, "Escondido" is probably a bit more polished than most of Cale's albums, but it's still very much an organic recording. Like Bob Dylan's recent "Modern Times", "Escondido" is the kind of album where you can really hear the sound of the room it was cut in. The kind of album that really captures the blood, sweat and tears of the musicians involved. In other words, the kind of album that people just don't make anymore! And beyond that, it's a guitar player's delight! Clapton himself takes the lion's share of the leads here and he's in prime form throughout, as is Cale. Other players appearing include Albert Lee ("Dead End Road"), Doyle Bramhall and the afformentioned Derek Trucks and John Mayer. The solos that Trucks delivers go a long way in proving just why he's considered to be the best slide guitarist on the planet right now. In a recent interview Cale claimed that no fewer than five guitars were present at most sessions. A lot of these guitar parts are the kind of subtle shading that you may hardly even notice at first glance, but if you were to take them out altogether you would have an entirely different recording on your hands. Clapton has long been a master of this type of layering, as has Cale.

This is a four star album all the way. It's instantly appealing, yet it does get better with repeated listens. It's an album filled with the kind of rootsy, blues based music that completely transcends the time and space in which it was made. And although "laidback" is an adjective commonly ascribed to both Cale and Clapton, this is by no means an album to be filed under "easy listening". It is populated with a handful of very enjoyable, upbeat, country/blues numbers, but the real meat of the album is songs like "Heads In Georgia", "Sporting Life Blues", "Hard To Thrill" and "Who Am I Telling You". Songs that find these two 60 plus year old survivors confronting their pasts and their futures. But even as they sing of their own mortality they do so with a wink in their eye that suggests the kind of wisdom that can only be achieved with age. And that, ladies and gentleman, is what "The Road To Escondido" is all about.

They're currently streaming the album over at ericclapton.com.