Eric Charden

This release has much more in common with a previous solo acoustic offering, ‘Devil Moon’. The material is often low key, with just McFadden’s picked guitar and whispered vocals weaving a dark narration. Album opener ‘Headed for the Light’ and ‘Long Way Down’ are typical; and later the country-speckled/Carole King-like ‘I’ll Be Anything for You’ pulses through a similar vein.

Eric Clapton's eponymous solo debut was recorded after he completed a tour with Delaney & Bonnie. Clapton used the core of the duo's backing band and co-wrote the majority of the songs with Delaney Bramlett – accordingly, Eric Clapton sounds more laid-back and straightforward than any of the guitarist's previous recordings. There are still elements of blues and rock & roll, but they're hidden beneath layers of gospel, R&B, country, and pop flourishes…

This rare CD contains unique music that few are aware of. It contains the song "Eyes of the World", which was featured in the movie "Iron Eagle", in addition to nine other songs with the classic 80s trademark beats and synthesized sounds. The songs themselves are cool and recorded beautifully and Eric Martin is a fair vocalist…

The complete long unavailable concert by Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy at the Salle Wagram, in Paris, for the first time ever on a single collection. As a bonus, we have added the two complete sets by the Chico Hamilton Quintet with Dolphy at Newport '58, including an extended previously unissued version of "Pottsville U.S.A." on which Dolphy plays a long solo on alto sax.

Clapton Chronicles ignores Eric Clapton's 1983 Reprise debut, Money and Cigarettes (which sounded more like an RSO album, anyway), starting with the pair of Phil Collins-produced mid-'80s albums, Behind the Sun and August. Though these had a pop sheen, they were album rock holdovers. Clapton didn't get the balance between hard rock and commercial gloss right until 1989's Journeyman, whose featured songs – "Before You Accuse Me," "Bad Love," and "Pretending" – form the heart of this compilation. Journeyman was overshadowed by the phenomenal success of "Tears in Heaven" and 1992's Unplugged. Not only did Unplugged go platinum ten times, it established a new public image – classy, stylish, and substantial. That's the image that prevails on Clapton Chronicles. His triple-platinum blues album From the Cradle is written out of the picture, with songs from movie soundtracks taking its place.

When a big band splits, it mostly is just a question of time until at least a part of the musicians re-surfaces either in other bands or solo. In these cases it usually is helpful, if you already had a solo career before that split, but very successful band, so that it is not completely new territory for you…