Eric Clapton’s studio albums for Reprise Records are among the most beloved of the guitarist’s storied career and the focus of a new series of limited-edition, vinyl-only boxed sets. The first instalment, The Complete Reprise Studio Albums – Volume I, is available now The 180-gram, 12-LP set features Clapton’s first six studio albums for Reprise (Money and Cigarettes, Behind the Sun, August, Journeyman, From the Cradle, and Pilgrim) along with an additional LP of rarities from the era. The second instalment, coming in January, features 10 LPs that cover all five albums Clapton recorded for Reprise between 2001 and 2010, plus an LP exclusive to the collection that includes rarities from the same time.
The Complete Reprise Studio Albums – Volume II will be available on January 13, 2023. The set contains newly remastered versions of five studio albums pressed on 180-gram vinyl: Reptile (2001), Me & Mr. Johnson (2004), Sessions For Robert J (2004), Back Home (2005), and Clapton (2010). All the albums will be released as double-LPs except Sessions For Robert J, which makes its vinyl debut in the collection as a single LP.
Rarities (2001-2010), the collection’s final LP, brings together eight hard-to-find recordings from this prolific era in Clapton’s recording career. Highlights include the B-side “Johnny Guitar” and the Japanese-only bonus track, “Losing Hand.” “Midnight Hour Blues,” another rarity, was released in 2010 as a bonus track for Clapton.
VOLUME II covers a nine-year period that starts in 2001 with Reptile, Clapton’s 14th solo studio album. It reached #5 on the albums chart in the U.S. and sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide. Two singles from the album – “Superman Inside” and “Reptile” – were nominated for Grammy Awards, with the latter winning for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Clapton returned in 2004 with Me and Mr. Johnson, an album of cover songs originally written and recorded by Delta-bluesman Robert Johnson, a trailblazing artist who profoundly influenced Clapton. Packed with passionate performances, the record sold more than two million copies worldwide and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album is presented as a double-LP in the new collection and features an etching of the album cover on the final side.
Also in 2004, Clapton released Session for Robert J, a companion piece to Me and Mr. Johnson. The album captures acoustic and electric performances by Clapton and his band in Dallas and England as they rehearsed and recorded songs for Me and Mr. Johnson. The album, which makes its vinyl debut in this collection, includes fantastic versions of “Terraplane Blues” and “Sweet Home Chicago.”
Clapton’s hot streak continued in 2005 with Back Home, his 17th studio album. Certified gold in the U.S., the record featured guest performances by Vince Gill, John Mayer, Robert Randolph, Billy Preston, and Steve Winwood. On the album, Clapton paid tribute to his close friend George Harrison with a cover of Harrison’s 1979 song “Love Comes To Everyone.” Back Home won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
Clapton is the final studio album on Volume II. It debuted in 2010 and peaked on the album charts at #6 in the U.S. and #7 in the U.K. Once again, Clapton was joined in the studio by an all-star group of guest musicians that includes Derek Trucks, Wynton Marsalis, Allen Toussaint, and J.J. Cale. On the album, Clapton mixed Tin Pan Alley standards and New Orleans jazz with new songs like “Run Back To Your Side,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011.