CLAPTON’S NEW SPARK

“AUGUST.” Eric Clapton. Warner Bros.

Eric Clapton seems to be groping about a bit--as any veteran would reasonably be doing about now--for a new twist on his musical identity. This time, he’s cast himself in the role of Steve Winwood.

Not that “August” is a blatant cop of “Back in the High Life” by any means, but it does feature much the same salable blend: slightly funky pop grooves that aren’t too heavy, aren’t too sweet; horn charts that don’t take charge of the music but are constantly there in the background, reeking with R&B; integrity; nothing overpowering in the mix but nothing wimpy either. Call it Rock Lite.

It’s not a “guitar album,” to say the least, but the most successful moments are those in which Clapton and producers Phil Collins and Tom Dowd do find a way to incorporate traditional licks into topical stylings without either side losing out in the deal.

“Tearin’ Us Apart,” a duet with Tina Turner, is unmistakably a dance track, but it’s based around a couple of characteristic Clapton blues licks that might even have die-hard album-rock disco-phobics out on the floor. And “Miss You” has our boy playing lead throughout the whole five minutes, happily oblivious of whatever else might be going on on the track.

The remaining numbers--including the nonsensical single “It’s in the Way That You Use It”--can be filed away as breezy trifles, albeit the catchy and peppy kind more likely than his usual low-key rock to win him a new generation of fans. A middlin’ album in the Clapton catalogue, “August” has been gussied up with enough overt commercial zest--most of it fairly tasteful, if far from dynamic--to all but guarantee a spark under Slowhand’s slow sales.