Rating: NNN
It’s no secret that Eric Clapton’s lifelong fascination with the music of pre-war bluesman Robert Johnson borders on obsession. So an album-length homage to his idol backed by Billy Preston, Steve Gadd, Andy Fairweather Low and Doyle Bramhall II isn’t that surprising, particularly for Clapton, who has never been a prolific songwriter. As might be expected, his electrified but low-key takes on Johnson’s best-known tunes are less radical than reverential. The intriguing bit here is that Johnson’s Cross Road Blues that Clapton reworked into Cream’s Crossroads hit is conspicuously absent. Maybe he figured the happy accident of inadvertently playing his now-famous solo on the wrong beat at Cream’s Filmore show in 69 couldn’t be topped. He’d be correct.