Eric Clapton announces details of new album ‘Meanwhile’

For the album, Clapton has recruited a series of special guests. Notably, the late Jeff Beck, who passed away in 2023, appears on the track, ‘Moon River’, which has already been shared by Clapton. Other notable names that feature include Van Morrison, Bradley Walker, Simon Climie, Daniel Santiago, and Judith Hill.

Meanwhile is an album that Clapton has been working on for several years, and marks his first proper studio record since And Still Do in 2016. Although, in 2018, he did share the festive themed, Happy Xmasthat saw the musician cover a variety of Christmas classics.

During an interview earlier this year with The Real Music ObserverClapton revealed of the upcoming release, “I’ve been working on that with my partner Simon Climie for the last three years and it’s called Meanwhile.”

He then confirmed that it would arrive “probably in the autumn I would think,” before adding, “It will consist of all the songs we’ve already put out like ‘Heart of a Child’ and ‘Pompous Fool’ and all these sort of slightly political comments mixed up with songs that are just songs.”

‘Heart of a Child’ notably features lyrics that criticize the lockdowns, as Clapton sings, “We lost the love of a man, I was proud to know, They locked you down boy, Made you grieve alone, Turn off the TV / Throw your phone away, Don’t you remember, What your daddy used to say.”

Additionally, Meanwhile also includes the Van Morrison collaboration ‘Stand and Deliver’, which was released at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and hit back against the restrictions facing live music.

At the time, Clapton defended the song amid controversy, telling Variety“There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration. We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.”

Clapton, who is currently on tour in South America, has several live dates in the calendar throughout 2024, including a headline show at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 12th. Furthermore, he’s set to appear at a tribute concert for the late Robbie Robertson alongside Mavis Staples, Noah Kahan and Van Morrison.

Eric Clapton – Meanwhile tracklist:

1. ‘Pompous Fool’
2. ‘Heart of a Child’
3. ‘Moon River’ featuring Jeff Beck
4. ‘Sam Hall’
5. ‘Smile’
6. ‘Always On My Mind’ featuring Bradley Walker
7. ‘One Woman’
8. ‘The Rebels’ featuring Van Morrison
9. ‘The Call’
10. ‘How Could We Know’ featuring Judith Hill, Simon Climie, Daniel Santiago
11. ‘This Has Gotta Stop’ featuring Van Morrison
12. ‘Stand and Deliver’ featuring Van Morrison
13. ‘You’ve Changed’
14. ‘Misfortune’

Related Topics