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.