Inspired by his Grammy-winning B.B. King collaboration, Riding With The King, Clapton employed much of the same musical team for his first solo album in three years.

The result, in stores Tuesday, is an uneven, mixed bag of blues, folk, pop and even samba. The legendary British guitarist offers up five new solo tunes, two collaborations and plenty of covers of tunes from the likes of such wide-ranging talents as J.J. Cale, James Taylor, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.

The death last year of Clapton's uncle, after whom the record is titled, inspired his new material, as well as liner notes and photos. The song Find Myself is about their close relationship, as Clapton for a time was led to believe his uncle was his brother.

The jaunty little tune from another time is occasionally infectious. "Too many years roll by, not a word, I try to hide, behind things that I'd heard, and now the truth is clear for all to see, that through it all it was you believed in me," Clapton sings on Find Myself.

Sweeter still is the closing acoustic instrumental, Son & Sylvia, dedicated to Clapton's uncle and his wife.

Other new songs worth a listen are the title track, a samba instrumental; the gentle, mid-tempo Modern Girl, until the backing vocals of The Impressions intrude on what is otherwise a beautifully rendered song; and the rollicking Superman Inside.

Not faring so well is the up-with-people anthem Believe In Life.

Of the covers, blues songs like Cale's Travelin' Light, Charles' Come Back Baby and Murray Mencher and Billy Moll's I Wanna Little Girl come off best. Clapton's bouncy take on Wonder's Ain't Gonna Stand For It is positively off-putting, while Taylor's Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight gets the howling blues treatment that not even Slowhand can quite pull off.

Track Listing 1. Reptile
  2.Got You On My Mind
  3.Travelin' Light
  4.Believe In Life
  5.Come Back Baby
  6.Broken Down
  7.Find Myself
  8.I Ain't Gonna Stand For It
  9.I Want a Little Girl
  10.Second Nature
  11.Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
  12.Modern Girl
  13.Superman Inside
  14.Son & Sylvia