Eric Clapton – Meanwhile Review

October 4 will go down as a great day for this year in music. From The New Sound by Geordie Greep reinventing the very fabric of music structure and production to the shock release of Cutouts from The Smile, a side project for Radiohead alumni. There was more than this, from powerful interpretations of punk spirit on Godspeed You! Black Emperor with No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead and the creative Amelia Earhart adaptations made by Public Service Broadcasting on The Last Flight. Point being, there was no short supply of new music on this wonderful day – and those who chose Meanwhile from Eric Clapton and nothing more were missing out. The oft-argued “no good music” line is tiresome when the thrills of new experiences are right there for the taking. Those in favour of this argument are stuck in their echo chamber and releases like Meanwhile do not help free them. 

That is not to say Meanwhile is not worth listening to. Clapton is a legendary guitarist who has not released a consistent album in some time. He was of the fist-shaking, anti-lockdown variety which, when taken to singles released during the time of global crisis, bombed alongside Van Morrison and the other withering efforts of those who are wound up by nostalgia and unable to see their way through the future. But step aside from his shortcomings in the studio in recent years and hear an album which, while sounding instrumentally cool, is hung up on the “no good music” argument. Jerry Lewis praise on Pompous Fool is empty and a sign of the dated Clapton writings, but he pairs it with such exceptional instrumental work. Their rhythm is our joy and in it comes the best part of Meanwhile. Subtle flourishes make up for the lyrical shortcomings. Even then, there is some joy for the likes of Heart of a Child.  

Foul murders and criminal acts become the focus, and Clapton lends a surprisingly sensible, nurturing hand to those with bad luck on their back. It pairs with a readily available and easily accessed instrumental style, swaying swings and an acoustic flourish which benefits from the Clapton style. Some of the covers are more excuses for Clapton to riff around, such as Moon River. Nice enough pieces but nothing incredible. Always On My Mind is the likely highlight here – a moving cover of a classic song which has been passed through the hands of Willie Nelson, Pet Shop Boys and now the effective country twang of Bradley Walker. A little close to the Nelson rendition but the instrumental pieces here add that necessary, fresh layer.  

Yet Meanwhile undoes this good faith and great sound with absurd and hilarious numbers like The Rebel. Clapton and Van Morrison conspiring to hit out at online rebels and presenting themselves as the true alternate is a bit of a dud at the best of times but they do so with such drivel in their work it is hard to find much in their art which feels at all challenging now, the sign of any rebellious motif. Instead, the sluggish covers the pair provides are just another series of bricks in a poorly put-together wall. A few interesting spots on it where the construction head has polished off a brick or two, but ultimately the sloppy work of cowboys is what Meanwhile is made up of. Loose and interesting covers mixed in with an ineffective production elsewhere. Decent works can be heard in this collection of light Clapton covers, but prepare for some inevitable handwringing halfway through.