Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour will release Watching The Tide on August 28, a final studio statement from Steve Cropper completed before his passing in December 2025, featuring Eric Clapton, Brian May, Billy Gibbons and Ronnie Wood among a wide cast of collaborators.
by Paul Cashmere
The final studio album from Steve Cropper, Watching The Tide, will be released on August 28 via Provogue/Artone Label Group, bringing together Cropper’s band The Midnight Hour with guest performances from Eric Clapton, Brian May, Billy Gibbons and Ronnie Wood. The record arrives after Cropper’s death in December 2025 at age 84, and captures the guitarist, songwriter and producer still deeply engaged in creative work during the final year of his life.
The release is anchored by the first single, “Ticket First”, which features Eric Clapton on guitar. The track is built around a story Cropper originally shared as a joke involving a genie granting wishes, which was developed into a full composition alongside songwriter and producer Jon Tiven and vocalist Roger C. Reale. Clapton’s contribution, recorded in Nashville, became a defining moment of the session, with multiple takes shaping a guitar part that significantly reworked the song’s structure and feel.
Watching The Tide is the final studio album completed by Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour before the guitarist’s death in late 2025. The record will be released on August 28 through Provogue/Artone Label Group and features a series of high profile collaborations recorded at RCA Studio C in Nashville. Eric Clapton leads the guest appearances on “Ticket First”, while Brian May, Billy Gibbons and Ronnie Wood also contribute across the album.
The album carries significance as both a concluding artistic statement and a continuation of Cropper’s long relationship with American soul, rhythm and blues, and rock. Following the Grammy nominated 2024 album Friendlytown, Cropper had been encouraged to return to the studio by Jon Tiven, who has described Cropper’s final recording period as one of renewed creative energy. Watching The Tide reflects that momentum, completed just weeks before his passing, and positions the record as a late career culmination rather than an archival release.
Recorded with The Midnight Hour lineup featuring Roger C. Reale, Ana Grosh, Nioshi Jackson and Eddie Gore, Watching The Tide was tracked in Nashville and built around a collaborative writing approach. The album’s title references Cropper’s co write on Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”, reinforcing the connection between his Stax era legacy and his later work.
Jon Tiven, who co produced and helped assemble the sessions, confirmed Clapton’s involvement came together quickly while the guitarist was in Nashville for a live performance. “He did, I believe, 11 takes on guitar,” Tiven said of the “Ticket First” session. “At the end, Steve and I looked at each other and said, ‘Man, you just turned the song inside out’.”
Other key contributions include Brian May and Billy Gibbons on “My Angels Are Calling”, Ronnie Wood on “Until Now”, and Ana Grosh appearing on “Here & Gone” and “Stand Right Here”. Tiven also performs lead guitar on “Blood From A Stone” and “Here & Gone”.
Steve Cropper’s career is inseparable from the history of modern soul and rock music. As a founding member of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and a core architect of the Stax Records sound, his guitar playing helped define recordings by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and many others. His co writing on classics such as “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”, “In The Midnight Hour” and “Knock On Wood” placed him at the centre of a songwriting revolution that shaped rhythm and blues globally.
Across decades, Cropper remained active as a session musician, producer and collaborator, working with artists from John Lennon to Rod Stewart. His later projects, including Friendlytown and The Midnight Hour recordings, demonstrated a sustained commitment to studio work well into his eighties.
While Watching The Tide has been completed with Cropper’s involvement prior to his death, it exists within the broader context of posthumous releases that often raise questions about intent and authorship. In this case, Jon Tiven has emphasised that Cropper approved mixes and heard near final versions before his passing, with the guitarist reportedly sharing the music with visitors during his final days. That proximity to completion distinguishes the album from many archival releases assembled long after an artist’s creative input has ceased.
Watching The Tide stands as a final document of Steve Cropper’s studio artistry, bridging his foundational role in American music with a final creative burst supported by some of rock’s most recognisable names. It closes a recording chapter that began in Memphis at Stax and concludes in Nashville with the same focus on craft, collaboration and musical storytelling that defined his career.
TRACK LIST
Tandoori Chicken
Ticket First (Feat. Eric Clapton)
My Angels Are Calling (Feat. Brian May & Billy F. Gibbons)
Until Now (Feat. Ron Wood)
Blood From A Stone
Here & Gone (Feat. Ana Grosh)
It’s Gonna Get Worse
Down & Out
Stand Right Here (Feat. Billy F. Gibbons & Ana Grosh)
Tipoff To The Ripoff
House Of Cards
Tandoori Chicken Part 2
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
