It's here!
Those rumors of EC's retirement are now officially hogwash!
The Eric Clapton / BB King collaboration has been released entitled Riding With The King. Man, have I been waiting for this! How anxious was I? This was a rare midnight purchase for me. Monday night, I'm waiting at Tower Records. The clock strikes midnight which is when Tower can legally start selling new releases, and the CD is in my hands at 12:05 AM Tuesday morning. In fact, I am writing this as I listen to it. Actually, the reviews of the individual songs below are mostly being written as I hear each one for the first time. So... let's get right into the list and then I'll give you my overall impression at the end. Enjoy!
Riding With The King -- The title track and first single from the album. Written by John Hiatt, who is a favorite of mine. You can hear his influence in the song. It is a bit radio friendly, but I do enjoy it. BB's mini-soliloquy (sp) near the end is a nice touch.
Ten Long Years -- One of BB's old standbys. Eric doesn't sing in this one. There are two songs that Eric doesn't sing. Straight ahead BB King style slow blues on this one. Not too flashy... it will definitely satisfy the blues fans.
Key To The Highway -- One of Eric's old standbys, which he first did on the Layla album, of course. This treatment has BB and Eric trading verses. And, it has acoustic guitars. You rarely, if ever, hear BB on acoustic guitar. It's a nice treat to hear it here.
Marry You -- I must admit something... I have just spent the last 20 minutes listening to this song over and over again. I've got a thing for ths one! Before I bought the album, I got a taste of it on the radio with a premiere show on a local station. They played the whole album at 9 PM with interviews in between. This was the first song they played. I was driving around Boston, and when I first heard this song, my mouth dropped! This was the song that made me decide I had to have the album TONIGHT! Doyle Bramhall II is a co-writer of this song, and I am a fan of his father (who I guess would be Doyle Bramhall I) who played with Stevie Ray Vaughan, and formed a great group named the Arc Angels with SRV's rhythm section and Charlie Sexton. This is such a soulful song, which I believe fits BB's style perfectly. Eric has become more soulful in recent years, and he shows it in his singing and playing as well. The trading of guitar licks in this one is so damn smooth! In every album I buy, there is usually one song that I wind up latching onto and playing the heck out of it. This is that song!
Three O'Clock Blues -- This was BB's first real single from over 50 years ago. This is a long version... just over 8 1/2 minutes long. Classic BB King blues again. Eric starts off singing with BB filling in guitar riffs... very nice! Then BB kicks in with his singing and takes it to the stratosphere! Joe Sample's piano is strong in the song and it really helps to make the song. Plenty of solo guitar from both to get you going!
Help The Poor -- Kind of a cha-cha shuffle thing going in this one. Interesting, I must say. Not as in-your-face with the guitar and singing this time. Hey... not every song needs to be flashy. Not too shabby.
I Wanna Be -- Another Doyle Bramhall II contribution, which means I'm gonna love it! Turns out Doyle Bramhall II originally recorded this song as well as Marry You. I've heard Doyle's version of this on the radio before. BB and Eric blend very nicely with the singing and playing in this one. Nice production value... just the right amount of slickness for my tastes!
Worried Life Blues -- Another blues standard that Eric has done in the past, and another acoustic number. There seems to be a theme with a lot of these first few songs in that Eric sings the first verse, then BB takes the second. In this one, Eric comes right back singing in the third verse before the solos. Again... it's so nice to hear BB go acoustic for a song or two! Nice trading at the end with Eric singing a line followed by BB repeating it. BB doesn't go over the top with his singing as much as he did with Three O'Clock Blues, probably out of respect to this being more Eric's song. Eric did the same with BB's songs. It's good to see two musicians who know when to hold back and know when to let loose!
Days Of Old -- A swinging number from BB's early years! BB starts singing this one followed by Eric. Eric's singing is as strong as BB's in this one. It goes with the jumping mood of the song. I don't hear Eric sing this style of song often, but I loved it here!
When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer -- Another one from BB's early days. This is the other song that is only BB singing. Another classic BB blues song. Eric does some brilliant soloing in this to make up for the fact that he doesn't sing in it. Of course, BB belts out this one!
Hold On I'm Coming -- When I originally heard that they were doing this Sam and Dave classic, I was intrigued by the possibilites. What would they do with this song?
Starts off with funky guitar work by both... oooohh, I'm starting to like this! I'm literally writing this as I hear it for the first time. Eric sings the first two lines followed by BB with the next two, then they share the chorus. It's the same way with the second verse. Man, I am digging the singing in this one! Short guitar solo (sounds like Eric) followed by the third verse... more of the same. After they do another extended chorus, they start to trade licks. Here, we hear the two masters doing what they do best one right after the other! Way too sweet! Nice job, guys!
Come Rain Or Come Shine -- They end the album with a classic number which I believe neither has done before, at least to my knowledge. BB starts with Eric next singing on this one, then they trade verses from there. This is the only song on the album with strings in the background. What a gorgeous touch! The guitar solo is more trading between the two. I gotta admit... this was a perfect choice to end it off!
To tie up the loose ends on this review, as I write this I find myself completely blown away! There is a perfect mix for all! Great blues songs, mixed with soulful contemporary numbers and interesting cover tunes. These guys have been wanting to do this album together for a long time. May I say now that I've heard it that it was well worth the wait! Now, if you think that this is a biased opinion, you're right! I knew I'd love it. I had high expectations for this album, and they were exceeded if you believe that! But, I must point out that I have read one other review on this album in Entertainment Magazine, and that review gave this album an A. We'll see how the other reviews shake out, but that is a great start. I wasn't sure how the critics would take to this effort, but I have a good feeling. Let's face it, you put two musicians like BB and Eric together and you simply can not hold them down! Consider this album HIGHLY recommended!
Steve Skalish
June 13, 2000
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