Eric Clapton
Old Sock
Polydor
***
Not always the most self-effacing or laid-back of rockers, Eric Clapton lightens up a bit on his 21st studio album.
Its makeshift cover shot, depicting the veteran guitarist vacationing in Antigua, is a self-portrait he snapped on his iPhone, and he recently revealed that the album's title derives from David Bowie's teasing nickname for him.
A similar sense of playfulness pervades the music on Old Sock. Though it features two new Clapton originals (Gotta Get Over, with Chaka Khan on backing vocals, is a treat), the record is at root a covers collection that allows Clapton to tip his straw beach hat to some of his favourite songs.
With guests including Paul McCartney and Steve Winwood helping out, Clapton makes a more than decent job of material as diverse as Taj Mahal's sunshine reggae-infused Further on Down the Road, Jerome Kern's 1937 standard The Folks Who Live on the Hill and Ted Daffan's old-time country jewel Born to Lose.
Only the Marks and Simons standard All of Me, a duet with Macca, sounds a little too cosy, a little staid
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