Eric Clapton’s 1991 live album “24 Nights” will be re-issued in June as “The Definitive 24 Nights”, with two massively expanded super deluxe box sets. Eric Clapton’s ground-breaking run of 24 concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall were some of the most ambitious shows of his career. Each night featured him performing a career-spanning set with one of three line-ups – a rock band, a blues band, or an orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen.
The original 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.”
Eric Clapton’s “24 Nights”, which originally appeared in 1991, culled from 15 superlative performances from a series of concerts that year and in 1990 at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall, where he has appeared more than 200 times. The set clocked in at well over an hour and a half and filled two CDs, but that’s nothing compared with the new limited-edition “The Definitive 24 Nights”. This six-CD (or eight-LP), three Blu-ray box set, released June 23rd, 2023, adds nearly three dozen previously unreleased songs for a total of 48 remastered audio tracks, plus there is video of all the material. It comes with a numbered lithograph and a 48-page, LP-sized hardcover book with abundant photos and extensive liner notes by journalist David Fricke.
All audio has been restored, remixed and remastered and the three types of concert have been effectively formatted into three double albums which all fit on two CDs or three vinyl records (the exception is the Blues concert which fits on 2LPs). The two super deluxe edition box sets bring all of these together, which is why the CD version has six CDs and the vinyl edition has eight LPs.
Both box sets include three blu-rays (unavailable anywhere else), details of which are scant but which clearly will be devoted to the three types of show. A limited theatrical presentation called “Across 24 Nights” is planned for May which features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, so that suggests the blu-rays included in the box set should also feature a Dolby Atmos soundtrack (not confirmed). “Clapton has performed at the Albert Hall] over 200 times , more than any other artist,” Warner Records said in a statement. “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. These were some of the most ambitious shows of Clapton’s career.
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.”
Clapton surrounded himself with superlative musicians for these concerts. The roster includes the likes of 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.
Each box set also includes a hardcover book and an individually numbered lithograph featuring a photograph of Clapton by Carl Studna.
The three concerts (Rock, Blues and Orchestral) are also available individually as 2CD+DVD sets or 3LP (Rock, Orchestral) or 2LP (Blues) vinyl sets. The 18-track rock set culls material from throughout Clapton’s career, including his solo work “Wonderful Tonight,” Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” as well as his days with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers “All Your Love”, Cream “White Room,” “Sunshine of Your Love”, Blind Faith Steve Winwood’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and Derek and the Dominos “Layla”.
The 14-track blues set also draws on the Derek and the Dominos repertoire for Big Bill Broonzy’s “Key to the Highway” and Billy Myles’ “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” and additionally offers such classics as Lowell Fulson’s “Reconsider Baby,” Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Black Cat Bone,” Big Maceo Merriweather’s “Worried Life Blues” and “You Better Watch Yourself” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” both by Walter Jacobs (aka Little Walter).
The 15-song third program finds Clapton’s band backed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the famed late composer Michael Kamen. It includes different versions of some of the songs on the first two sets and a few other numbers. Among them: the spectacular, previously unreleased half-hour “Concerto for Guitar,” which Kamen wrote for Clapton. That concerto is just one of many tracks in this collection where Clapton’s guitar work is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The sounds he draws from his instrument are on par with what Jimi Hendrix produced—in other words, incredible enough to make you understand what prompted graffiti purveyors to spray-paint “Clapton is God” on walls around London and New York in the sixties.
The “Definitive 24 Nights” and the individual “24 Nights” sets will be released on 23rd June 2023 via Warner Music.
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