The two-disc collection was released on 9 October 2007 to accompany Eric Clapton's official autobiography, Clapton: The Autobiography, released that same year (see also 2007 in music).

An exclusive edition sold through Barnes & Noble bookstores in the United States included a bonus compact disc with four additional tracks.

Clapton helped to promote the album by being interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today Show in 2007.

[2] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine quickly notes that this compilation "doesn't even attempt to cover as much ground as his landmark four-disc 1988 box set Crossroads", but also recalls Complete Clapton "covers the nearly 20 years that have elapsed since the release of Crossroads, a time frame which includes the blockbuster success of his 1992 Unplugged, its all-blues 1994 follow-up From the Cradle, and many soft adult contemporary hits from the late '90s".

Erlewine rounds his review up by saying it: "turns Complete Clapton into a portrait of Clapton the classic rocker" and "does hit the obvious highlights well and serves as a good hits package for the casual and curious fan, and in that sense, it works as a good companion piece to Clapton's autobiography".