The common thread? "It is the music, I think - rock, folk, jazz, R&B and world music. They are things I have been comfortable with since I first started."
That was at 15, when he and his brother Muff joined the Spencer Davis Group, co-writing "Gimme Some Lovin' " and "I'm a Man." He left to form Traffic, and in 1969, he met Eric Clapton and a connection clicked. They formed the supergroup Blind Faith, and the bond has endured to this day, with Clapton appearing on the compelling "Dirty City" track on "Nine Lives."