Just announced! A new 4CD deluxe anniversary edition of Eric Clapton's eponymous first solo album. Presented in three separate mixes – The Delaney Bramlett Mix, The Tom Dowd Mix (The UK Version), plus The Eric Clapton mix, which is being released in full for the first time. This anniversary collection also includes singles and session outtakes and will be available on 20th August. Pre-order now at https://EricClapton.lnk.to/4CD
I'm still a bit surprised by this release, as this album had already been presented as a Deluxe Edition in 2006. Still nice to get the EC mix, the rest has been available before. Full tracklisting is: TRACKLISTING 4CD BOXSET ERIC CLAPTON: CD1 (The Tom Dowd Mix - The UK Version) Slunky 3.40 Bad Boy 3.59 Lonesome And A Long Way From Home 3.50 After Midnight 3.14 Easy Now 3.03 Blues Power 3.15 Bottle Of Red Wine 3.12 Lovin' You Lovin' Me 3.39 I've Told You For The Last Time 2.36 I Don't Know Why 3.23 Let It Rain 5.06 CD2 (The Eric Clapton Mix, previously unreleased) Slunky 3.34 unreleased mix Bad Boy 4.20 unreleased mix Lonesome And A Long Way From Home 3.58 unreleased mix After Midnight 3.19 released on Life in 12 Bars Soundtrack Easy Now 2.57 released – this was the only EC mix inserted into the original 1970 Tom Dowd mix LP Blues Power 3.53 unreleased mix Bottle Of Red Wine 2.58 unreleased mix Lovin' You Lovin' Me 3.44 unreleased mix I've Told You For The Last Time 2.32 unreleased mix I Don't Know Why 3.35 unreleased mix Let It Rain 5.18 released on Life in 12 Bars Soundtrack CD3 (The Delaney Bramlett Mix, all mixes released on 2005 Deluxe Edition CD) Slunky 3.35 Bad Boy 3.44 Easy Now 3.00 After Midnight 3.19 Blues Power 3.20 Bottle Of Red Wine 3.09 Lovin' You Lovin' Me 4.07 Lonesome And A Long Way From Home 3.52 I Don't Know Why 3.45 Let It Rain 5.02 CD4 (Singles, Alternate Versions & Session Outtakes, all titles released on 2005 Deluxe Edition CD except COMIN’ HOME (Alternate Mix) which is a previously unreleased mix) Teasin' 2.17 (Performed by King Curtis with Delaney Bramlett, Eric Clapton & Friends) Comin' Home (Alternate Mix) 3.44 (Performed by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends featuring Eric Clapton unreleased mix) Blues In "A" (Session Outtake) 10.28 She Rides (Let It Rain alternate version) 5.08 I've Told You For The Last Time (Olympic Studios version) 6.49 I Don't Know Why (Olympic Studios version) 5.14 Comin' Home (single a-side) 3.15 (Performed by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends featuring Eric Clapton) Groupie (Superstar) (single b-side) 2.50 (Performed by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends featuring Eric Clapton)
That album wasn't that good to begin with. I also feel any reissue of any album should use a cover that at least resembles the original album cover, just so it will get recognized.
Really great to see this getting released. The EC mix is definitely quite unique to the others. It's also exciting to see they're releasing the long version Tom Dowd mixes (I'm assuming from the track lengths at least). I do wish they could include a few new outtakes (besides the alternate mix Comin' Home). I think there's a instrumental backing track of Where There's A Will There's A Way from the 1969 Olympic sessions left in the vault.
And after all these decades, the short version of Tom Dowd's mix of After Midnight is on the outs! Not that I mind all that much, I think it was just mixed down 22 seconds sooner, I always plugged in the 3:15 one from Timepieces anyway. Could've stuck it on the alternates disc though.
Regarding the "UK Version", @nubold1 already touched on it, but several of the songs were originally a bit longer when originally mixed. For some reason a decision was made to insert some earlier fades (and lop off the first beat of Slunky), but those changes never made it to the UK, where the full-length mixes were released. Previously released, albeit by mistake. Some copies pressed by Columbia contained the Clapton mix. It could have gone on the alternates disc, but then Slunky, Bad Boy, Lonesome And A Long Way From Home, and Lovin' You Lovin' Me all should have as well. And since the mixes are identical, just with shorter fades, it makes sense they weren't included.
Not sure about getting this, way back when I had two copies, one of them had a peel off "Eric Clapton" in clear plastic, the other had "Eric Clapton" printed on the cover. Not a great album, I have the 2 CD set but I don't think I've ever played it.
I guess we'll have to wait and see more images of the artwork, but the use of the Supershow shot on the cover is really strange. That was filmed in I think March 1969 and the Olympic sessions weren't until November 1969. There are plenty of awesome Barry Feinstein photo outtakes to choose from. I guess they would run the risk of just replicating the infamous bootleg set (in graphic form as well of content).
Nice, but Im not too excited. I wish there was more professionally recorded live stuff to be released.. from any era of his. From the Nothing but the blues tour for instance.
I'm glad they are getting it right by including all 3 mixes of the album and the long versions of the Dowd mix. Disc 4 is a bit skimpy but at least there's one new track. I think they should've included Only You Know and I Know by Delaney and Bonnie which is from the same session as the Comin' Home/Groupie single. But it's easily found. Looking forward to it!
Right, that's the other track from those sessions. I think like Comin' Home, Delaney added tons of additional guitars/keys to the basic tracks from Olympic. I'm hoping the new Comin' Home is the more basic band mix. No telling. Can't wait to hear it.
I remember first seeing about all the different mixes of the album in a Guitar Player article in 1988 (the issue with the flexie of the live version of D&D Little Wing from the Fillmore). I'd bought the mid 80s vinyl pressing so it had the 3:15 version. The next time I was in the store I saw the CD with the shorter AM and thought "Well, they'll fix it with the next pressing"...but they never did, then the "long" version got harder and harder to find with it just being on Timepieces. Then it didn't get fixed on the Deluxe Edition either! Like you said, it's just an early fade down, so if you really wanted it, you could make it yourself. Not sure why you'd want it though.
One boot has pristine versions of the longer fades, which makes me wonder if a CD was released somewhere with them, but to this point I've never found such a release.
Oh wow! Certainly wasn’t expecting this. The packaging seems similar to the Fresh Cream reissue from 2017. I have the 2005 deluxe edition and so the main draw of this is going to be the EC mix and the hardcover book. If the book is good, then I will likely bite else the lossless streaming might be the way to go for the EC mix. Surprised that they couldn’t find any more studio outtakes from the sessions. I guess some of the session tapes may have been saved or lost over the years, hence no early takes or alternate versions.
For what it's worth, the Clapton mix was pressed and made it out the public. I have owned two, one I traded away, and have the other still in my collection. Here is the discogs listing: Eric Clapton – Eric Clapton (1970, Terre Haute Pressing, Vinyl)
There are a few alternate mixes, most of which have been bootlegged, but I think there are only a couple things in terms of actual outtakes, and those are actually Delaney outtakes. I believe only the master takes were saved. That would perhaps be more collectible, but the box set will likely cost you less and sound better.
It just dawned on me that they could have included the first 2 tracks from the Crickets Rockin' 50's Rock'n'Roll Album. The Crickets – Rockin' 50's Rock n' Roll (1971, Vinyl) EC and Delaney played on both and I think they were recorded during the same time period (similar to the King Curtis track). I think the Crickets sang background vocals through the sessions as well. Not exactly outtakes, but definitely adjacent.
The 2 cd version and bootlegs I have are enough for me. I'm passing on this one. Not enough here to entice me.
I like the cover art for this new box. I have the 2cd deluxe version and haven’t spent that much time with it to determine which mix is better.
Have the 2CD Deluxe version. Rarely play that. This seems like a lot more money for not a lot more content that I need. So I'll pass. But this does seem to be the definitive statement on the album.
