There didn't seem to be any reasonable limit to that it was just crazy. What seemed to evolve out of the '60s and into the '70s and then, in another way, the '80s - heavy metal came out of all of this stuff - was, like, volume and proficiency and virtuosity. Yeah, I think it was getting out of control. Cale helped to start to dial you back, to be a little more restrained in the soloing. You write in your autobiography that you were a bit tired of the guitar hero thing and the gymnastic guitar playing. He just thought it was something you could develop a skill at. I think he saw his job on the same sort of scale as someone who likes to do landscape gardening, or an architect. I held back as much as I could, but as soon as I thought it was decent I said, 'I'd like to make a record to pay tribute to John.' And they said, 'That would be great.' I met his wife, Christine, and his manager, Mike Kappus, and we paid our respects to one another and gave each other hugs. When I got to L.A., I drove down with my friend to Escondido and we went to the service. Hear the radio version at the audio link, and read more of their conversation below.Įric Westervelt: So you're on a plane, and on a napkin, you're already sort of mapping out the songs and the artwork of the album?Įric Clapton: On my phone. Clapton was in England when he got a text message that Cale had died as he tells NPR's Eric Westervelt, it was on the long flight to Los Angeles for the funeral that he began to map his tribute out. The album includes all-star guests Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson, Derek Trucks and John Mayer. Cale deeply inspired Clapton and wrote two of his biggest hits, 'After Midnight' and 'Cocaine.' It's an all-star tribute to Clapton's friend, the guitarist and singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Okla.

The two groups might just find common ground on his latest album. There are, you could argue, two strands of Eric Clapton fans: those who love his scorching electric solos and groundbreaking fusions of blues and rock, and those who prefer his mellow, unplugged pop songs from later years. Eric Clapton's new album, The Breeze, honors the late J.J.

Jj cale eric clapton