Meanwhile (Eric Clapton album) explained

Meanwhile
Type:studio
Artist:Eric Clapton
Cover:Eric-clapton-meanwhile.png
Alt:Album cover for Meanwhile (2024) depicting Eric Clapton wearing a bucket hat and sitting in an establishment with a cup of coffee.
Recorded:2020–2024
Genre:Blues rock[1]
Length:64:19
Producer:Simon Climie
Prev Year:2024

Meanwhile is the twenty-second solo studio album by Eric Clapton. It was released on 4 October 2024 through Bushbranch Records/Surfdog Records. Along with six new tracks, the album also features eight songs Clapton has previously released as singles beginning from 2020, including collaborations with Van Morrison and Jeff Beck.

Background

This record marks Clapton's first studio album since Happy Xmas in 2018, and his first non-holiday studio album since I Still Do in 2016. The artist worked on the album for three years in tandem with British musician and frequent collaborator Simon Climie, who serves as a producer on the entire album and also appears as a featured artist on the track "How Could We Know". The album consists mostly of Clapton's single output starting from December of 2020. Clapton has said that the album itself consists of "all these sort of slightly political comments mixed up with songs that are just songs."

Release

The first of the album's tracks to be released, "Stand and Deliver", "The Rebels", and "This Has Gotta Stop", were the parts of a series of collaborations Clapton had with musician Van Morrison which the pair released under the moniker Slowhand & Van. The three songs were released during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first and the third tracks garnering controversy due to their anti-mask, anti-lockdown, and anti-vaccine sentiments in light of the health crisis.[2] [3] The second of the series was a duet version of the track "Where Have All the Rebels Gone?" from Morrison's album Latest Record Project, Volume 1, his newest record at the time.[4]

The next song, "Heart of a Child", co-written by Clapton and Italian architect Robin Monotti Graziadei, was released on Christmas Eve of 2021.[5] "Pompous Fool", another song written by the pair, came out on 7 July 2022. This release coincided with the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leading some to believe that Clapton, who had criticized Johnson in the past, wrote the song about the politician.[6]

Clapton went on to collaborate with fellow guitarist Jeff Beck on a cover of "Moon River", which was released on 15 May 2023, shortly after Beck's passing four months prior. The cover would also receive a vinyl release on 14 July as a double A-side single, with "How Could We Know" serving as the other song on the single. The latter track features Judith Hill, Simon Climie, and Daniel Santiago.[7]

In honor of country singer Willie Nelson's 90th birthday, Clapton teamed up with American musician Bradley Walker to cover the country standard "Always on My Mind", a song that Nelson famously covered in 1982. The new cover was released 15 September 2023.[8]

In an interview with the Real Music Observer during May of 2024, Clapton first revealed the album, its title, and its prospective release date of autumn that year.[9] On 20 September 2024, the album was officially announced, with the artist also releasing the new song "One Woman" alongside the news.[10] Five unreleased songs from the album, namely "Sam Hall", "Smile", "The Call", "You've Changed", and "Misfortune", were also premiered on Sirius XM Radio's Deep Tracks channel, with one aired every day from 23 to 27 September 2024.[11]

Meanwhile was released on 4 October 2024. The album is set to have a physical vinyl and CD release on 24 January 2025.[10]

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Simon Climie, except where noted.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2024)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[12] 19
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[13] 58

Notes and References

  1. Beserra . Fidel . Eric Clapton: Meanwhile Review . 8 October 2024 . Blues Rock Review . 6 October 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20241007095126/https://bluesrockreview.com/2024/10/eric-clapton-meanwhile-review.html . 7 October 2024 . live.
  2. Fuster . Jeremy . Eric Clapton Sparks Backlash for New Anti-Lockdown Song With Van Morrison . 5 October 2024 . . 27 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240524002211/https://www.thewrap.com/eric-clapton-sparks-backlash-for-new-anti-lockdown-song-with-van-morrison/ . 24 May 2024 . live.
  3. Hirwani . Peony . Eric Clapton mocked over new anti-lockdown anthem . 5 October 2024 . . 31 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231130054220/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/eric-clapton-anti-vax-song-b1911574.html . 30 November 2023 . live.
  4. Bernstein . Jonathan . Van Morrison and Eric Clapton Wonder Why They're the Only 'Rebels' Left in New Duet . 5 October 2024 . . 11 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231013081202/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-morrison-and-eric-clapton-rebels-lockdown-1182637/ . 13 October 2023 . live.
  5. Kreps . Daniel . Hear Eric Clapton's New Song 'Heart of a Child,' Co-Written By Fellow Vaccine Skeptic . . 5 October 2024 . 25 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230831183609/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eric-claptons-upcoming-single-co-written-by-fellow-vaccine-skeptic-1273524/ . 31 August 2023 . live.
  6. Ng . Scott . Eric Clapton releases surprise new single Pompous Fool as UK PM Boris Johnson resigns . 5 October 2024 . . 8 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240522050903/https://guitar.com/news/music-news/eric-clapton-surprise-new-single-pompous-fool-uk-pm-boris-johnson-resign/ . 22 May 2024 . live.
  7. Koe . Crystal . Eric Clapton releases Jeff Beck collab song, Moon River . 6 October 2024 . . 15 May 2023 . 25 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240225052640/https://guitar.com/news/music-news/eric-clapton-jeff-beck-collab-moon-river/ . live.
  8. Hopper . Alex . Eric Clapton Honors Willie Nelson With 'Always on My Mind' Cover . 6 October 2024 . . 15 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240422101218/https://americansongwriter.com/eric-clapton-and-bradley-walker-release-cover-of-always-on-my-mind/ . 22 April 2024 . live.
  9. Francis . Pete . Eric Clapton reveals title of expected 2024 studio album . 5 October 2024 . Blues Rock Review . 23 May 2024 . 25 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525214531/https://bluesrockreview.com/2024/05/eric-clapton-reveals-title-of-expected-2024-studio-album.html . live.
  10. Friedlander . Matt . Eric Clapton Announces New Album, 'Meanwhile,' Featuring Recent Collabs with Van Morrison, Jeff Beck; Listen to New Single, "One Woman". 5 October 2024 . . 20 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240926052408/https://americansongwriter.com/eric-clapton-announces-new-album-meanwhile-featuring-recent-collabs-with-van-morrison-jeff-beck-listen-to-new-single-one-woman/ . 26 September 2024 . live.
  11. Deep Tracks to World Premiere 5 Songs from Eric Clapton's New Album . 8 October 2024 . . 20 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240924022040/https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/eric-clapton-meanwhile-new-album-deep-tracks . 24 September 2024 . live.
  12. Web site: Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: October 14, 2024. Oricon. ja. 10 October 2024.
  13. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of October 9, 2024. Billboard Japan. ja. 10 October 2024.

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