Eric Clapton has streamed a previously unreleased orchestral version of Layla, ahead of the release of the "Definitive 24 Nights"
Eric Clapton has announced an extended box set edition of his 1991 live album 24 Nights, featuring previously unreleased audio and video from his celebrated run at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the venue known as his “home away from home.”
The new version, titled The Definitive 24 Nights, is mixed in Dolby Atmos and split into three sections: rock, blues and orchestral. The set will arrive on June 23.
Clapton has performed at Albert Hall over 200 times, more than any other artist and 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. They were some of the most ambitious shows of Clapton’s career.
Each night featured him performing a career-spanning set with one of three lineups – a rock band, a blues band [and] an orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen.
To commemorate that record-setting run, Clapton released 24 Nights in October 1991. The 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.”
The Definitive 24 Nights will be available in limited-edition boxed sets of six CDs or eight LPs. Both versions include Blu-rays featuring video content, a hardbound book and a numbered lithograph. Separate versions of the concerts will also be released as 24 Nights: Rock, 24 Nights: Blues and 24 Nights: Orchestral.
Guests from across the run of shows included Phil Collins, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Steve Ferrone and many others. Warner Music noted that “the orchestral concert is the most unique of the collection. For those performances, Clapton’s nine-piece band was joined by the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by legendary composer Michael Kamen. … 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.”
Check out the orchestral version of Layla below.
