24 Nights by Eric Clapton (Audio CD - 1991)

24 Nights

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24 Nights

Features

Disc: 1
1. Badge
2. Running On Faith
3. White Room
4. Sunshine Of Your Love
5. Watch Yourself
6. Have You Ever Loved A Woman
7. Worried Life Blues
8. Hoodoo Man
Disc: 2
1. Pretending
2. Bad Love
3. Old Love
4. Wonderful Tonight
5. Bell Bottom Blues
6. Hard Times
7. Edge Of Darkness
8. Pretending
9. Bad Love
10. Old Love
See all 14 tracks on this disc

Reader Reviews
Seeing how this album only has fifteen tracks, I think it's safe to say that not all of Eric Clapton's 24 Royal Albert Hall performances are represented. Never mind, though. "24 Nights" is still worthwhile, even if it is a far cry from the gritty and powerful "Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert" from '73. Recorded in 1990 and 1991, "24 Nights" draws from material recorded through his entire career, and the listener has plenty of opportunities to complain about the songs that aren't here. But let us focus on what is here instead. The man from Surrey draws no less than five songs from his then-current studio album "Journeyman", and all of them work well in this live setting, souning a little less polished than they do on the studio recordings. Especially "Pretending", which comes off slick and over-produced on "Journeyman", but rocks reasonably well here. The first four songs are recorded with Eric Clapton's touring band (bass, drums, keyboards and Clapton himself), and they come of a little bit bland at times. Of course I'm always looking for more grit and more real blues riffing in Clapton's playing, rather than just extended soloing, and "24 Nights" doesn't really deliver too much of that, but that is not to say that the arrangements are bad, and Clapton was never too big on the blooze-and-boogie-stuff anyway. Still, I much prefer the next four tracks, which are recorded with Robert Cray and Chicago blues king Buddy Guy. The two additional guitars make for a richer sound, and lend a real blues-rock feel to "Watch Yourself". The slow, groovy renditions of "Hoodoo Man", and "Worried Life Blues" fare pretty well, too, but I don't know if we really need yet another version of "Have Your Ever Loved A Woman". The third installment (tracks 9-13) features seven musicians and two backup singers, and that band includes a second guitarist (Phil Palmer, who has worked with everybody from Ralph McTell to Robbie Williams), which bolsters the sound nicely, particularly on the aforementioned "Pretending" and on "Bad Love". This set also includes an unfortunately listless rendition of the classic "Bell Bottom Blues", which features some awful 80s-style keyboard playing and which largely lacks the soul and the intenstity of the original. The final two songs are recorded with the Royal Philharminic Orchestra (in addition to a full rock band). Whether or not that adds anything interesting to "Hard Times" or "Edge Of Darkness", which aren't the most interesting songs to begin with, is probably a matter of taste. All in all, "24 Nights" is a pleasant, somewhat laid-back live album. The arrangements are more pop than blues at times, but the songs are generally well executed, and the sound quality is excellent. 3 1/2 stars. A good purchase if you like Eric Clapton's solo years, particularly from the late seventies onwards.

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