24 Nights is a live album by Eric Clapton, compiled from 42 concerts performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, in 1990 and 1991. It was released on 8 October 1991. The cover illustration is by Peter Blake. It was reissued in June 2023 as The Definitive 24 Nights in a limited edition box set containing songs which were not included in the original release. The reissue contains 35 previously unreleased performances and the collection is divided into three sets: Rock, Blues, and Orchestral.
Following a record-setting run of 12 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in 1989, Clapton broke his own record in 1990, playing 18 nights at the venue between 18 January and 10 February 1990, and again in 1991, playing 24 nights between 5 February and 9 March 1991. The album was named after the 1991 run, but included songs from both the 1990 and 1991 runs.
The 1990 concerts were performed with four different ensembles. The first six nights featured a four-piece band, with Clapton, bassist Nathan East, drummer Steve Ferrone and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. The second six nights featured a 13-piece band, with the four-piece band joined by Phil Palmer on guitar, Alan Clark on keyboards, Ray Cooper on percussion, backing vocalists Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles, and a four-piece horn section. Then came three nights with a blues band, featuring Johnnie Johnson on keyboards, Richard Cousins on bass, and Jamie Oldaker on drums, plus special guests Buddy Guy and Robert Cray. And finally three orchestra nights, with the nine-piece band joined by the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen.
The 1991 concerts had a similar configuration, with four different ensembles, this time for six nights each. The 13-piece band was trimmed to 9 by removing the horn section. For the nine-piece and orchestral groups, Chuck Leavell was brought in to replace Alan Clark. Phil Collins played some shows in 1991. The blues band was reshuffled, with Joey Spampinato replacing Richard Cousins on bass, and adding Jimmie Vaughan as a regular guitarist, Leavell on keyboards, and Jerry Portnoy on harmonica; Guy and Cray were joined by an additional guest performer, Albert Collins.
Five of the 1990 concerts were recorded on both audio and video for the project â the final nights of the 4 piece band (January 24th), 13 piece band (February 1st), and the blues band (February 5th), and the final two nights with the orchestra (February 9th and 10th). Clapton reportedly was not satisfied with these recordings, and delayed the release of a CD until the following year. Another four concerts were shot on video in 1991, one from each ensemble, and many more concerts were recorded in audio.
The CD release used mostly 1990 recordings for the 4-piece, blues band, and orchestral shows, though exclusively 1991 shows were used for the expanded band shows.
The DVD release uses only nights that were shot on video, so the versions of "Old Love" and "Wonderful Tonight", and the ending solo on "Pretending", on the DVD release used the February 18th show, not the versions used on the CD, and the DVD omits Badge and Hoodoo Man entirely.
Many more tracks from the 1991 expanded band shows were also used as b-sides of various CD singles, including an edited version of the CD version of "Wonderful Tonight" from the February 14th show; "No Alibis", "I Shot The Sheriff", and "Layla Intro (A Remark You Made)" from the February 18th show; and a recording of "Cocaine" from the February 19th show.
The Definitive edition largely uses the selections from the CD and DVD releases. It includes the CD version of "Edge Of Darkness", not the DVD version. It follows the DVD in not including "Badge" and "Hoodoo Man". Differences include using a 1991 expanded band version instead of a 1990 4-piece version of "Sunshine Of Your Love", and using a 1990 4-piece version instead of a 1991 expanded band version of "Old Love". Marketing for the Definitive set says it includes previously released versions of "Pretending", though the outro solo matches neither the CD or the February 18th show, "Wonderful Tonight", though it does not match either the CD or the DVD, and "No Alibis" from a CD single, though it does not match the February 18th show.
Note: the digital release combines the Rock discs, renumbering disc two 10-18
Featuring Buddy Guy on Everything's Gonna Be Alright and Something On Your Mind
Featuring Johnnie Johnson on Johnnie's Boogie, Albert Collins on Black Cat Bone, Robert Cray on Reconsider Baby, and Buddy Guy on My Time After A While
Note: the digital release combines the Blues discs, renumbering disc four 8-14
Featuring the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen
Note: the digital release combines the Orchestral discs, renumbering disc four 10-15