New album: Old Sock
Artist: Eric Clapton
Label: Bushbranch/Surf Dog
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Eric Clapton is now 67, and apparently he’s turned into Jimmy Buffet.
While that first statement is indeed a falsehood, Clapton’s new album “Old Sock” is drenched in the beachcomber ethos. A collection of cover tunes, “Old Sock” is as gentle and unassuming as the bloke on the album cover seems to be.
Clapton’s taste in material is top notch: J.J. Cale, Otis Redding, Leadbelly, Gary Moore and the Gershwin Brothers are just a few of the artists represented on “Old Sock.” While this is not the type of work people will passionately trumpet — such as Clapton’s work with Cream or Duane Allman — it will please fans of his 1992 “Unplugged” album and the laid-back vibe it projected.
A decades-long love of J.J. Cale’s work is represented in the island-flavored strummer “Angel,” which recalls the soft rock work of Clapton’s early 1980s period. The Hammerstein/Kerns penned “The Folks Who Live on the Hill” seems a bit maudlin for this collection, but Clapton also recently has covered “Somewhere over the Rainbow” in concert, so the inclusion of “Hill” is not without precedent.
Theblues seeps into the proceedings with a smokey acoustic take on Gary Moore’s “Still Got the Blues,” while the Gerald Marks jazz classic “All of Me” is given a tasteful, bluesy airing. Clapton returns to the reggae he flirted with decades ago while turning in a soulful vocal on Peter Tosh’s “Till Your Well Runs Dry,” while Taj Mahal’s “Further on Down the Road” is given a faithful reggae rendering as well.
In the grand scheme of things, “Old Sock” will never be obsessed over by guitar geeks who think British guys invented the blues in the late 1960s, but the album’s total lack of pretense to any kind of pop success is refreshing.
Clapton is closing in on 70 and seems to be doing exactly what he wants to do — including recording a new version of “Goodnight Irene.” If you’re looking for something new to listen to while you grill out this summer, “Old Sock” is the album for you.
Classic album: People, Hell and Angels
Artist: Jimi Hendrix
Label: Experience Hendrix/Legacy
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Is “People, Hell and Angels” yet another cash-in on a guy who died more than 40 years ago? Yes — but it’s still pretty good.
Most of the material on “People, Hell and Angels” features Hendrix alongside his Band of Gypsies band mates Billy Cox (bass) and Buddy Miles (drums). Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, guitarist Larry Lee and Stephen Stills are among the other guest musicians who round out the sessions.
Some of these tracks have appeared on other posthumous, now out-of-print Hendrix collections, such as “Crash Landing.” The company line on this new collection is that these performances now have been mixed and mastered properly by original Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer. Since Hendrix was known for jamming and working out new ideas in the studio, much if not most of what the man tried musically has been preserved.
There are always going to be people craving more unreleased Hendrix, but as a stand alone album, this collection doesn’t sound like a hodgepodge. The music Hendrix created with his original band the Experience featured a rhythm section that was loose and jazz-like. The material on “People, Hell and Angels” is tighter, in part due to the solid funk grooves laid down by Miles and Cox.
“Earth Blues” opens the set with a jackhammer beat and some of Hendrix’s more inspired singing. The leaner arrangements make way for meatier rhythm work from Hendrix, while his lead work is as fluid as it ever was. The incessant Buddy Miles drive keeps Hendrix focused on “Somewhere,” a track that in the hands of the Experience probably would have been given a spacier arrangement and been left open to patches of meandering vamping.
The rare electric take of “Hear My Train A-Comin” is as revelatory a blues as early Hendrix classic “Red House.” The dust and mud of the Delta is electrified here in a way few have ever been able to duplicate. The take of Elmore James’ “Bleeding Heart” included here is of the best quality ever made commercially available, complete with a drum snare rattled by the guitar amp during the introduction.
The horn-laden “Mojo Man” shows Hendrix was driving towards ideas beyond the basic guitar/bass/drum format.
Of all the albums of unreleased material put forth since his Hendrix’s death, “People, Hell and Angels” is unquestionably the best. Any Hendrix obsessive or fan of extended guitar workouts will enjoy this album immensely.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase books and music at jondawson.com.