Clapton In The '80s - Letdown or Underrated?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Slokes, Aug 30, 2014.

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  1. goodboyfred

    goodboyfred Forum Resident

    Outdoor venue with Graham Parker opening up. I Remember Parker snidely saying at the end of his set that he was sorry if he woke anybody up.
     
  2. Mainline461

    Mainline461 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tamiami Trail
    Personally when younger I didn't care much for the albums past Layla, now older I like the laidback feel of his solo stuff through the 80's.
     
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  3. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
    Definitely a good time to reassess Clapton's 80's work, especially with 2 of those titles having recently been given the AF SACD treatment! Both of those are really good. Had gotten Behind the Sun upon release on vinyl, when it was brand new. This was the perfect time to get back to it. Never had Journeyman in any form previously, and that really established the sound that he was trying to achieve. Agree that there were some hits and misses along the way.

    He was more rock star than blues interpreter. By the 90's, he abandoned the former and since From the Cradle, he's been maintaining his musical relationships and mostly been doing what he wanted. Granted, some of the material wasn't always top notch, but his playing during the 80's had gotten sharp again. His playing on Roger Waters - The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking included some scorching work. He even admitted as much in his autobiography.
     
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  4. Atmospheric

    Atmospheric Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene
    Different show.
     
  5. I voted Meh. There is one thing his 80's work proves and that is he definitely is not God.
     
  6. dnuggett

    dnuggett Forum Resident

    Location:
    DFW Texas
    He's not God. Not even a music "God." That said I enjoy most of his stuff. Incredibly talented guitarist.. in my mind one of the best. Especially when you just want to relax and enjoy some good sounding music.
     
  7. zebop

    zebop Well Known Stranger

    I like his '80s stuff. The RSO stuff from the beginning of the decade was quite of grim. I do remember "I Can't Stand It" making noise on the charts though.

    Money and Cigarettes is just one of those fun records, perfect time, label, vibe. I've got a copy on vinyl, maybe one on cassette, always a nice album to "have."

    I like Behind the Sun the most. It's such a quintessentially '80s album warts and all. August is less of the same--but with more gadgetry, "Run" and "Hung Up On Your Love" are good though, "Behind the Mask" is ok, could have been a bit better.

    If anything I didn't like Journeyman all that much which is crazy because I like the others. I don't know, maybe I'll give it another spin before I pass it off as just "so-so."
     
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  8. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    Once again, Cocaine is very much in your face. And at a time when doing such songs had become quite unpopular. At the time that was very much the case.
    If you think otherwise, fine. My statement stands.
     
  9. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    What would the 60's Clapton say if given a copy of an album from his 80's self?
     
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  10. jpmosu

    jpmosu a.k.a. Mr. Jones

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    Went with "Meh." It truly could have been worse, because it's Clapton were talking about. The guy's got a pretty high taste level after all. That said, I find myself reaching for Slowhand and Backless far more often than any of his 80s output.
     
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  11. bbanderic

    bbanderic Forum Resident

    As far as studio output I would vote "meh" but with Clapton it's live where he shines, that's where those tracks come to life. In the 80's, I believe Eric's playing was great and it continued straight through the mid 90's, one can make a strong argument that from '86-'96 Eric was the best guitarist on the planet, certainly the most popular. Bottom line, skip the studio albums from the 80's and 90's, except for Journeyman and From The Cradle, and grab all the bootleg soundboards you can find and there's a lot of them.
     
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  12. rockclassics

    rockclassics Senior Member

    Location:
    Mainline Florida
    Ahh, dDeliver me from synths and gated drums!

    I have tried to like his stuff after Layla, but the 70s were really hit and miss IMO. Each decade after got progressively worse. I ignore any new releases by him at this point. The last thing that interested me by him were the two nights at the Beacon Theater with the Allman Brothers in 2009.
     
  13. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    I think he caught the old spark at The Concert for George, doubtless inspired by the memory of his old friend. His playing was pretty on point at that show.
     
  14. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    I got interested in Clapton again with the Cream reunion. The live discs with Steve Winwood and Wynton Marsalis both also have their moments.
     
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  15. He is a tough one to rate, because there is often a desire to compare him to his potential, as opposed to his past. I like the 70s stuff when it feature guitar rather than pop music. Some his blues stuff live is just great.

    However, the 80s stuff is tricky for some, because it really isn't Clapton playing the blues, except on Journeyman. So it can be a disappointment for many fans, but I also like Phil Collins a lot for different reasons and Tina Turner for others, so even August is a fun album to me, but not really Clapton, but him playing with others.
     
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  16. martini

    martini Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    I voted #2, but overall I agree. His studio work was lethargic in the '80s, but his live work was anything but. It is just my speculation, but I think he was trying to stay relevant at a time with a lot of bad popular music by working with different producers and crafting a pop-friendly sound with short, radio-friendly hits. It was done at the expense of what he did best live: cutting loose as a phenomenal blues player and raking down the tunes with incendiary extended solos.

    He was far better live than in the studio back then. This is a hard point to get across to people who have only heard the '80s studio work. If that was all that existed, I would think that EC peaked in the '60s too. But no, as a player he was every bit as stunning in the late '80s and early '90s.
     
  17. alchemy

    alchemy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sterling, VA
    Reading some of the comments here, it looks like Eric should have retired after his 22nd birthday.
    Those folds seemed to have missed out on some mighty fine music over the years.

    The OP asked about Eric’s 1980’ music output. Those years encompass a man who goes through all the changes one encounters from 35-45. Eric over the years has change is music styles as much as he changes his look. A man almost obsessed with growth as an artists and musician. As a young man he was hot out of the box, changed direction in pursuit of the blues and then changed direction for an amped up hippie quest of the blues. Feeling that was for him a false direction he jumped ship to find for him what was a purer tact to music. He learned how to sing and worked on his song writing chops. Fell in love with the false love of drugs as he pursued his best friends wife. Great music came of it, but almost at the price of his soul. Rebirth as a band leader, singer and songwriter. Many of his fans or false fans were upset that he no longer wished to let the guitar do all the talking. Through the 1970’s he proved his worth with hit records and singles and concert performances.

    So we come to the 1980’s. Eric Clapton has replaced his drug habit with a serious drinking problem. He is having trouble with his manager and his marriage. Don’t forget the shifting fortunes of the music business. 1n 1983 his record company Warner Brothers were shedding a lot their stars. Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt come to mind.

    I think for a survivor of the music business, if you look at Eric Clapton 1980’s Studio Output it doesn’t seem as bad as some would make it out to be.

    Another Ticket is an album by blues rocker Eric Clapton, released in 1981. It was his last album for Polydor Records.

    Money and Cigarettes is an Eric Clapton album, released in 1983. The memorable cover depicts Clapton, cigarette in hand, standing next to a melting Fender Stratocaster guitar. Eric Clapton named the album like this "because, that's all I saw myself having left." The single "I've Got a Rock 'n' Roll Heart" became a big hit in the U.S. for Clapton, peaking at #18.

    Back to the Future: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the hit 1985 film Back to the Future. Eric contributes, "Heaven Is One Step Away" .

    Behind the Sun is a 1985 album by the English guitarist Eric Clapton. The title of the album comes from a line from Albert King's "Louisiana Blues". It is also Clapton's first collaborative project with Phil Collins. Often referred to as his "comeback album", it was received very well in both the UK and the US. After nearly a decade of Clapton's guitar playing taking a back seat to his singing/songwriting, this album featured some of his best guitar playing since the Cream era of the 1960s. The single Forever Man features Clapton playing an amazing guitar solo at full force.

    Edge of Darkness is the 1985 soundtrack by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen for the British television series Edge of Darkness. The soundtrack's theme won the Ivor Novello Award for songwriting and composing,[1] besides winning the 1986 BAFTA Award for Best Music.

    The Color of Money is the 1986 Soundtrack to the drama film directed by Martin Scorsese.
    Eric contributes, "It's In The Way That You Use It" (Clapton/Robertson).

    August is an album by blues rocker Eric Clapton released in 1986. Primarily produced by Phil Collins in association with longtime Clapton associate Tom Dowd, it became Clapton's biggest-selling LP to date.

    Lethal Weapon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 1987, performed and composed by Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton and David Sanborn.

    Homeboy is a 1988 drama film, directed by Michael Seresin. Eric Clapton's score to the Mickey Rourke film Homeboy consists largely of bluesy instrumental pieces performed by Clapton, keyboard player Michael Kamen, bassist Nathan East, and drummer Steve Ferrone. Clapton's solo electric guitar version of "Dixie" owes much to Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

    Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 American buddy cop action film. The soundtrack was released on Warner Bros. Records and was written and performed by Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton, and David Sanborn.

    Journeyman is an album by blues/rock musician Eric Clapton, released in 1989.
    The album has an electronic sound, mostly influenced by the 80's rock scene, but it also had blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me", "Running On Faith" and "Hard Times". The strongest single from this album was "Bad Love," which earned him the 1990 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy Awards, and reached the #1 position on the Album Rock Chart.
     
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