Eric Clapton, 24 Nights (1991)

It’s funny what you won’t be talked out of. It’s also not that often that someone working in a shop will try to talk you out of buying something. And I always respect that when it happens. And I did in this case too. I just didn’t listen. I’m walking down Cuba St and there it is – I see it in the window display. Eric Clapton. I’ve been rummaging through my records and finding that for every Clapton LP I have (and, good lord, I have most of ‘em) there’s one I love more than I ever used to and then right around the corner there’s one I’m mortified to know I own; amazed I ever saw (and heard) anything in it ever. Seeing 24 Nights on vinyl – double LP – I decided I had to have it. The ultimate belated-souvenir-type-deal. I saw him close enough to this tour and by the release of this album was at the peak of my EC addiction/admiration. I maintain I loved the band – or in this case bands – that he had with him. Steve Ferrone! This unnecessary version of Sunshine Of Your Love is worth it for the final minute and a half of groove-based solo. Or is it? Probably not really. But that didn’t stop me. And the man in the shop never stood a chance. He was taking my money even though he didn’t want to. (Well, that’s not strictly correct – he was taking my unwanted CDs, which he probably also unwanted very much). And now I have 24 Nights. And I’ve had it for at least that amount of time, maybe for 48 nights even. And I’ve listened to it…once. I loved it. I think?

Sample Track: Badge

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown