Jj Cale & Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton&latest project is a long overdue collaboration with Okie songwriter J.J. Cale, and although it bears the name The Road to Escondido, it might as well have been dubbed The Long Journey Home. For nearly a decade now, Clapton has been trying to reestablish a link to his past, and throughout the endeavor, he makes his furthest strides yet toward accomplishing the feat. Granted, it likely is too much to ask for the set to hold its own against the likes of Slowhand and 461 Ocean Boulevard — upon which Cale played a tremendous influence — but, even if it does fall just short of his lofty target, it nonetheless is Clapton&finest album in 25 years. Initially, Clapton had asked Cale to produce The Road to Escondido, but as their work together progressed, the affair mutated into a duet-oriented effort on which Cale wound up sharing equal billing. In fact, their relationship is so symbiotic that as their contributions became intertwined, they also inevitably became completely interchangeable. Though the difference between their voices is discernable and Clapton&guitar emits a cleaner, crisper tonality, their inflections and their approaches essentially spring from the same starting point. Supported by an all-star cast — which includes guitarists John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Albert Lee, and Doyle Bramhall II as well as organist Billy Preston, harmonica player Taj Mahal, drummers Abe Laboriel, Jr. and Steve Jordan, and bass players Nathan East and Pino Palladino — the duo...