Album reviews

Rock/blues

Eric Clapton: Happy Xmas (Polydor)

The man who was once proclaimed as ‘God’ in graffiti on walls in the 1960s brings a distinct blues sensibility to Christmas standards. While it is indeed a long way from Sunshine Of Your Love, Layla and Lay Down Sally, only an arch-cynic would disapprove of the quicksilver guitar licks that adorn the likes of Away In A Manger, Silent Night, Have Yourself A Merry Little ...