Limited edition box set expands 1991 live collection
The Royal Albert Hall is Eric Clapton’s home away from home in London. Since his debut at the historic venue with the Yardbirds in 1964, Clapton has performed there over 200 times (and counting), more than any other artist.
He also holds the record for the longest run of concerts at the venue. He set it in 1990 with 18 shows, then broke it the following year with 24 concerts. They were some of the most ambitious shows of Clapton’s career. Each night featured him performing a career-spanning set with one of three lineups – a rock band, a blues band, or an orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen. Kamen previously worked with Clapton on the Lethal Weapon soundtracks, plus the TV show Edge of Darkness. Before his untimely passing in 2003, Kamen had become a leading film and TV composer, with X-Men, Die Hard & Band of Brothers, among his many credits.
To commemorate that record-setting run, Clapton released 24 Nights in October 1991. The double live album and home video delivered great performances but only covered a fraction of what was filmed and recorded. That’s about to change.
Warner Records is giving the concerts the release they deserve this summer with The Definitive 24 Nights. This limited edition boxed set includes nearly six hours of live music, and 35 unreleased performances. The collection distills Clapton’s 1990-91 Albert Hall residencies using the best performances from the rock, blues, and orchestral nights to create full concerts for each genre.
All the audio and video included in the package was painstakingly restored and upgraded by Clapton’s team of Simon Climie (audio production and mixing), producer Peter Worsley (Slowhand at 70 and The Lady In The Balcony), and director David Barnard (The Lady In The Balcony).
The Definitive 24 Nights will be available on limited edition boxed sets as either 6 CDs or 8 LPs on June 23rd. Both versions come with three Blu-ray discs for the video content, a hardbound book, and an individually numbered lithograph featuring a photograph of Clapton by Carl Studna. Each are limited edition versions.
Standalone versions of the individual concerts – 24 Nights: Rock, 24 Nights: Blues, and 24 Nights: Orchestral – will be released the same day in 2 CD/DVD and 3 LP (Rock and Orchestral) and 2 LP (Blues) configurations.
Clapton’s previously unreleased 1991 orchestral performance of “Layla” is available digitally, to preview the set.
Clapton surrounded himself with superlative musicians for the performances on The Definitive 24 Nights. The roster includes greats like Johnnie Johnson, Jimmie Vaughan, Chuck Leavell, Phil Collins, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Ferrone, Ray Cooper, and Jerry Portnoy.
For the rock concert, Clapton played many of his classic songs including “Sunshine Of Your Love,” “Can’t Find My Way Home,” “Layla,” and “Wonderful Tonight.” Covers of “Crossroads,” and a reggae version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” with Phil Collins on drums are highlights. Clapton also featured several tracks from his most recent studio album (1989’s Journeyman), including the hits “Pretending,” “Running On Faith,” and “Bad Love.”
With Clapton aided by special guests Buddy Guy, Albert Colins and Robert Cray, the blues concert delivered a master class in the genre with ripping versions of standards like “Key To The Highway,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Black Cat Bone,” and “Reconsider Baby.”
The orchestral concert is the most unique of the collection. For those performances, Clapton’s nine-piece band was joined by the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by legendary composer Michael Kamen. The collaboration resulted in stunning arrangements for “Layla,” “White Room,” “Bell Bottom Blues,” “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Lay Down Sally,” and more.
The biggest highlight from the orchestral concert – and possibly the entire boxed set – is the previously unreleased 30-minute epic, “Concerto For Guitar.” Kamen composed the piece especially for Clapton, which made its live debut at Albert Hall. In the set’s liner notes, music journalist David Fricke writes about the version included in the collection: “Near the halfway mark in this 1991 reading, [Clapton] takes off on guitar as if he has the rest of Cream at his heels – at once precisely melodic and jubilantly unhinged – as Kamen echoes that ferment in the strings and brass.”
Eric Clapton fans will also now have the opportunity to experience the excitement of the legendary Royal Albert Hall concerts on the big screen as Unique X and Iconic Events present the Across 24 Nights cinema event globally on May 17th, with encore screenings from May 21st. Edited from the original footage and remastered in Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 Surround Sound, Across 24 Nights will bring fans together to celebrate the ultimate musical event cinema experience.
6 CD/3 Blu-ray | 8 LP/3 Blu-ray
24 Nights: Rock
- Pretending
- Running On Faith
- Breaking Point [Previously Unreleased]
- I Shot The Sheriff [Previously Unreleased]
- White Room
- Can’t Find My Way Home featuring Nathan East on lead vocals [Previously Unreleased]
- Bad Love
- Before You Accuse Me [Previously Unreleased]
- Lay Down Sally [Previously Unreleased]
- Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door [Previously Unreleased]
- Old Love [Previously Unreleased]
- No Alibis [Previously Unreleased]
- Tearing Us Apart [Previously Unreleased]
- Cocaine [Previously Unreleased]
- Wonderful Tonight
- Layla [Previously Unreleased]
- Crossroads [Previously Unreleased]
- Sunshine Of Your Love [Previously Unreleased]
24 Nights: Blues
- Key To The Highway [Previously Unreleased]
- Worried Life Blues
- Watch Yourself
- Have You Ever Loved A Woman
- Everything’s Gonna Be Alright [Previously Unreleased]
- Something On Your Mind [Previously Unreleased]
- All Your Love (I Miss Loving) [Previously Unreleased]
- It’s My Life Baby [Previously Unreleased]
- Johnnie’s Boogie [Previously Unreleased]
- Black Cat Bone [Previously Unreleased]
- Reconsider Baby [Previously Unreleased]
- My Time After A While [Previously Unreleased]
- Sweet Home Chicago [Previously Unreleased]
- Watch Yourself” (Reprise) [Previously Unreleased]
24 Nights: Orchestral
- Crossroads [Previously Unreleased]
- Bell Bottom Blues
- Lay Down Sally [Previously Unreleased]
- Holy Mother [Previously Unreleased]
- I Shot The Sheriff [Previously Unreleased]
- Hard Times
- Can’t Find My Way Home featuring Nathan East on lead vocals [Previously Unreleased]
- Edge Of Darkness
- Old Love [Previously Unreleased]
- Wonderful Tonight [Previously Unreleased]
- White Room [Previously Unreleased]
- Concerto For Electric Guitar (composed by Michael Kamen) [Previously Unreleased]
- A Remark You Made (A Tribute to Jaco Pastorius) [Previously Unreleased]
- Layla [Previously Unreleased]
- Sunshine Of Your Love [Previously Unreleased]
