Eric Clapton has drawn so much from the blues -- a position he has admitted, endorsed, and never denied -- that it seems just a bit odd to see his songs (including songs he covered, like
Robert Johnson's “Crossroads,” that have become
Clapton songs in many people’s minds) translated back into a blues format when most of them were never far removed from the blues in the first place. Here we have it, though, versions of
Clapton-associated songs done by blues veterans, including
Carl Weathersby (“Lay Down Sally”),
Buddy Guy (“Strange Brew”),
Bo Diddley (he offers his own take on his own composition “Before You Accuse Me,” a song
Clapton has played frequently in concert), and
Honeyboy Edwards and
James Cotton (they team up for a nice version of
Johnson's “Crossroads”), and if it seems like one has heard all this before, well, that’s because
Clapton did them. ~ Steve Leggett