Eric Clapton has spent much of the last 15 years mired in a sort of creative slump. The man once renowned for some of the most explosive blues rock ever now seems to be quite tame and comfortable with it. In decades past he was known more for rocking out with his early bands Cream, Blind Faith, and then Derek & the Dominos, the last of which featured perhaps the greatest guitar tandem of all time in Clapton and Duane Allman.

Back then, everything Clapton wrote was fiery and could bring a crowd to its knees begging for more. Nowadays, it seems the crowd is mostly sitting at a Clapton show, lest they be lulled to sleep by his predictable guitar work and tiresome renditions of his hits. Recently, however, it seems that Clapton is trying to win back some of the respect he once had as a guitar god by getting back to his roots as a blues rock guitarist. He’s released an album collaborating with blues guitar legend BB King called Riding With the King and an album consisting entirely of covers of Delta Blues godfather Robert Johnson, 2004’s Me and Mr. Johnson.

Continuing with this theme, Clapton has now teamed up with blues guitar legend J.J. Cale. Although their paths never crossed on recordings before, Clapton did cover two of Cale’s songs in the past which became Top 40 hits in their own right—“After Midnight” and “Cocaine.” When asked in 2000 by Mojo Magazine which artist he would most like to work with, Clapton answered "I don't model myself on him but I like J.J. Cale, his philosophy, writing skills, musicianship. He's a fine, superior musician, one of the masters of the last three decades of music." Now, they have recorded the full-length album The Road to Escondido.

This album serves as a vehicle for two guitar legends to showcase their talents in the form of a honky tonk bar band playing their music. The title of the album, not to mention the cover art of the two musicians broken down by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere gives the listener the image of these two men playing along with their band in some roadside run-down bar. Cale has surely played these types of places before; Clapton simply was influenced by the type of men who played these places many years ago.

Playing off each other and rarely getting in the way, this album features some of the most inspired playing by Clapton in a while. His solos are crisp and sharp, never straying too far or becoming boring. Both men share vocal duties on the album, and it may even take a few listens in order to determine who is singing on what song.

Although this is a collaborative album, at times it feels like Cale is actually the one calling the shots. He wrote 11 of the 14 tracks on the album, while Clapton only wrote the song “Three Little Girls”; the other two songs are “Hard to Thrill,” a blues ballad written by John Mayer and “Sporting Life Blues,” a traditional blues song.

In keeping with the tradition of lackluster Clapton music, clearly the weakest song on the album is “Three Little Girls.” This uninteresting acoustic ballad dedicated to the bliss of parental life feels quite out of place on an album that is supposed to be about blues rock guitar. One other problem with the album is that if this is supposed to be rustic, down and dirty music, it feels way too overproduced and slick at times.

The guest appearances on the album are quite entertaining. Keyboard legend Billy Preston (often called “the fifth Beatle” due to his constant work with the group) lays down some gorgeous fills on Hammond B3 organ as well as Fender Rhodes piano throughout the album. Sadly, this is the last record to feature Preston; he passed away last year. Additionally, slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks, of Allman Brothers Band and Derek Trucks Band fame contributes an exceptional slide guitar solo on “Missing Person.” And of course, Mayer is featured on guitar on the song he penned for the album.

The Road to Escondido is a great example of blues rock guitar by two of the artists who have helped to shape the genre over the years, Eric Clapton and J.J. Cale. The album finds Clapton playing some of his best guitar work in years. Working with the master Cale, the two have put out about an hour of laid back honky tonk guitar rock, and at times you can’t help but tap your toes to it.