Consider Shaun Hague’s March 29 appearance at Infinity Hall in Hartford perfect timing.
The Chicago-based guitarist brings his Journeyman: A Tribute To Eric Clapton to town just a day before Clapton turns 75 and it just so happens that Hague will be spotlighting tracks from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs which marks its 50th anniversary later this year.
An interview with Hague — who is close to a spitting image of a later-era Clapton — was featured on the March 7 edition of Greasy Tracks. Click here to listen to an archive of the show, while a playlist is here.
While he admittedly is partial to Clapton releases from 1989’s Journeyman onward, he fully appreciates and includes a healthy amount of material from Clapton’s formative years, including John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith as well as the 1970s period where Clapton emerged as a solo artist.
The 50th anniversary of the release Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs isn’t lost on Hague and for good reason. The double album — which came out just three months after his self-titled, Delaney Bramlett-produced debut – featured the core of Delaney & Bonnie’s backing band: keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon and bassist Carl Radle. Added to that line-up was Duane Allman whose amazing slide guitar would effectively provide some of the most memorable licks on the album as he appeared on 11 of 14 tracks.
Hague has garnered attention for his chops. At the age of 17, he was named “The Best Young Blues Guitarist” by The House of Blues. At 21, he was playing with Kenny Wayne Shepherd. He’s shared the stage with Amos Lee and John Waite, performed on Jay Leno and even sat in with John Fogerty.