Eric Clapton spent the 1960s facing down emotional anguish and howling the blues as both a singer and guitarist. Then he heard J.J. Cale, and fell in love with the idea of smoothing out pain and pleasure into an even-keeled but decidedly infectious groove. First with “After Midnight”, and later with “Cocaine”, Clapton turned Cale’s cult status into lifetime royalty checks for the Oklahoma-born rootsy songwriter.
Now, for the first time, the superstar and his role model have teamed up for a duo album. The Road To Escondido is chock-full of Cale songs — eleven out of fourteen — and Clapton reins in his schmaltzy tendencies of recent vintage to return fully to the model of his ’70s hits. This means the two sound so similar that it’s entirely possible neither Cale nor Clapton can remember who is singing which part on some of these songs.
Cale plays a slightly more eloquent lead guitar, but Clapton, perhaps seeking approval from his mentor, shapes some of his most concise and sharp solos in years. A gazillion guest musicians, including members of Cale’s band, guitarists such as Albert Lee, Derek Trucks and John Mayers, and the late keyboard legend Billy Preston (in one of his last sessions), create tight-knit rhythmic backgrounds for the material.
Whether singing a powerful anti-war piece (“When This War Is Over”) or a lament for a lost love (“Missing Person”), Cale and Clapton hold back on emotional rhetoric. That can be frustrating unless you have time to fully invest in searching for the subtle truths hidden below the easygoing surface.
