It’s no secret that Eric Clapton is a student of the blues. When the Yardbirds began to have hit singles, Clapton left and joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers so he could play the blues. He wasn’t that interested in commercial success, though that would change with Cream and his solo career. His dedication to the blues, however, never swayed. Because of his fame and notoriety as a guitarist, Clapton got a chance to meet and know many of his blues heroes. One of them was B.B. King. Clapton and King reportedly first jammed together in 1967 in New York City. Thirty-three years later, they collaborated on an album called Riding With The King.
To celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary, Warner Brothers has reissued Riding With The King with two previously unreleased tracks — “Rollin’ And Tumblin'” and a cover of Willie Dixon’s “Let Me Love You Baby.” The original album, released in June 2000, has sold over two-million copies in the U.S. and won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Initial reviews were mixed, with some claiming the record was too well-produced to be a true blues album, and others saying too much of the spotlight is on King. Three songs — “Ten Long Years,” “Days Of Old,” and “When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer” — were co-written and previously recorded by King. The rest are covers and standards. On the surface, it may appear that King is indeed the main attraction.
When it came to putting it all together — this is where Clapton, as the instigator and one of the co-producers, had an influence. Despite some personal setbacks, the 90s saw the revered British guitarist’s profile elevated, with numerous awards and accolades. He also collaborated with any number of friends and acquaintances, highlighted by a 1991 tour of Japan with George Harrison and the idea in 1999 to make a record with B.B. King. The title track, written and originally recorded by John Hiatt, and Doyle Bramhall’s “Marry You” find both exchanging vocal verses in earnest. “Three O’Clock Blues,” which King recorded in 1951, goes one step further by having the two lining up their voices and guitars to create perhaps the album’s purest blues statement.
The additional covers — Isaac Hayes and David Porter’s “Hold On I’m Coming,” William Broonzy and Charles Seger’s “Key To The Highway,” and the closing “Come Rain Or Come Shine” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer — are pleasant enough to make the set accessible to most anyone without any sensibility for the blues. Fortunately, “Rollin’ and Tumblin'” and “Let Me Love You Baby” make up for any shortcomings in that department. Be it digital, CD, or 180-gram black or blue vinyl, Riding With The King, featuring mostly members of Clapton’s band at the time — Andy Fairweather Low, Steve Gadd, Nathan East, Joe Sample, Doyle Bramhall II, Susannah and Wendy Melvoin, and Jim Keltner — is most certainly a modern-day album bleeding over with enough blues to validate the premise and keep the naysayers at bay.
~ Shawn Perry
