The Eric Clapton album by album thread

I don't understand why the self-titled album wasn't as popular as the 1974/1977 solo efforts. The concerted efforts of the slew of Friends on the self-titled make this my favorite of his solo releases and mostly because of the backing band. I suppose perhaps because it was blue eyed soul with a little extra blue and a voice that was still searching for self-assuredness?

Wouldn't mind an SACD of this at some point, Audio Fidelity…

 

I listened to the self-titled debut today on my way in to work. I love this record--one of my favorites in a huge catalog of music I love. The backing players are all excellent and the songs are loose, groovy and they have that bluesy syncopated rhythm to them that I always love in my rock music. I prefer this "style" of rock to heavy stuff like Led Zeppelin every day of the week. It's got soul and feel.

I've always thought "Easy Now" is a really underrated little gem. A solo Clapton composition with a good sense of melody. And the line "Without you I fall down and graze my knees" is really quirky and sweet.



I also really dig "Lonesome and a Long Way from Home" and "Told You for the Last Time." Hope we can this thread organized. Clapton is probably one of my top three favorite artists and I'd love to discuss him with you all.

 

I do hope discussion on the Live In San Diego release is welcome as it was a much anticipated release for this fan. I attended this tour a few months earlier in New York City and the show I caught (without J.J. Cale) was among the best rock shows I've ever seen. Having Derek Trucks in the band clearly gave Eric a kick in the pants and he really brought his A-game to the show. There were points during songs from Layla & OALS where you could really hear the Derek & The Dominos magic. It was thrilling to see and hear in person.

Live In San Diego captures this fine interplay and does feature a nice mid set guest appearance by J.J. Cale. It easily ranks among the best of his live works for me.

 

Of course it is! Acually I am reviewing it right now, but bit by bit.

 

Help me, and write a review. We're gonna get it going, but not overnight. I write my review of San Diego.

 

I can narrow this down right now, even for the uninitiated fan.

This is all you'll really need. The rest is just lazy drivel. And believe me - I went to the Eric Clapton School of Blues/Rock Guitar Playing via the Bluesbreakers album so I believe in what he can do and steal playing tips from it on a daily basis. I just want him to do it more often.

1970: Eric Clapton
1973: Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert
1989: Journeyman
1991: 24 Nights
1992: Unplugged
1994: From the Cradle
2004: Me and Mr. Johnson
2004: Sessions for Robert J
2016: Live in San Diego

 

Live In San Diego is a welcomed release; particularly because the tour in which it represents was a partial celebration of the Layla album and it is nice to have an official audio document of the performances. Like most live Clapton albums, it is a bit of a mixed bag. The Layla tracks are generally performed well, particularly with the guitar assault of Clapton, Trucks, and Bramhall. That said, "Got To Get Better In A Little While" doesn't match the live Dominos' version. And for that matter, a viable argument can be made that the live Dominos' versions of "Tell The Truth," "Key To The Highway," and "Little Wing" are superior, even with 1970-circa EC handling all guitar duties. The JJ Cale collaborative tracks are also a highlight. Some of the Clapton concert standards are far from necessary, such as another boring rendition of "Wonderful Tonight." If the rating system is 5-stars, this live album gets 3 or 3.5.

 

Live at San Diego came out of nowhere this year! I remember being all excited about the show's filming news in 2007 and waited months for the DVD to be released. As months became years, I gave up hope and even read speculation that Eric was personally unhappy with the performance or there were technical issues with it. Now 10 years later, it suddenly pops out on us as an audio only release (with video being shown on TV broadcast).

The 2006-07 world tour was one of best ones in recent years and it reflects on the release. Along with his 2004 & 2007 Crossroads festival performances, this live release stands up as one of better Clapton solo documents of this millennium. Yes, it does have the mandatory hits (like Wonderful Tonight) but in minority. Most tracks of the release come from the neglected Layla album and cover a lot of territory on it. I only wish that instead of JJ Cale section, Eric would've invited Bobby Whitlock as special guest and brought things to a full circle.

It's not perfect but mostly lives up to expectations. I hope that they release the accompanying concert video on DVD/BR in coming months.

 

I won't be buying Live in San Diego as I have enough live content from EC, plus I've seen him 3 times.

 

Little Queen of Spades is my winner here.

 

SWEET,i've only seen him once.

 

Here's a little info to start us off:



Tracklist
1-1 Tell The Truth; Written-By – Bobby Whitlock, Eric Clapton
1-2 Key To The Highway; Written-By – William Broonzy*, Charles Seger*
1-3 Got To Get Better In A Little While; Written-By – Eric Clapton
1-4 Little Wing; Written-By – Jimi Hendrix
1-5 Anyday; Written-By – Bobby Whitlock, Eric Clapton
1-6 Anyway The Wind Blows (With J.J. Cale); Written-By – J.J. Cale
1-7 After Midnight (With J.J. Cale); Written-By – J.J. Cale
1-8 Who Am I Telling You? (With J.J. Cale); Written-By – J.J. Cale
1-9 Don't Cry Sister (With J.J. Cale); Written-By – J.J. Cale
2-1 Cocaine (With J.J. Cale); Written-By – J.J. Cale
2-2 Motherless Children; Arranged By – Carl Radle, Eric Clapton; Written-By – Traditional
2-3 Little Queen Of Spades; Written-By – Robert Johnson
2-4 Further On Up The Road; Written-By – Don Robey, Joe M. Veasey*
2-5 Wonderful Tonight; Written-By – Eric Clapton
2-6 Layla; Written-By – Eric Clapton, Jim Gordon
2-7 Crossroads; Guitar, Vocals – Robert Cray; Written-By – Robert Johnson

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Stephen Walker (6)
Backing Vocals – Michelle John*, Sharon White
Bass – Willie Weeks
Drums – Steve Jordan
Engineer [Additional] – Alan Douglas (2)
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Doyle Bramhall II
Guitar, Vocals – Eric Clapton, J.J. Cale (tracks: 1-6 to 1-9, 2-1)
Keyboards – Chris Stainton, Tim Carmon
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Producer, Mixed By – Simon Climie
Recorded By – Guy Charbonneu*
Slide Guitar – Derek Trucks

Notes
Recorded on March 15, 2007, San Diego, CA

 

Might be because he went to the Dominoes instead of doing a tour specifically for the album.

 

I'm in on this EC album by album. Great idea.

 

I was really looking forward to the San Diego release, because I saw this tour at Madison Square Garden in NY that year, and it was really spirited. I have seen Clapton live many times, and he has been known to mail in an uninspired, workmanlike show every now and then. But, with Derek Trucks (who was indirectly named after Eric, as he is a namesake of Eric's Dominos' pseudonym) and Doyle Bramhall III pushing him, Eric seemed to play with a renewed vigor.

I made it my mission to collect every ROIO I could from the the 2006-2007 tour for that reason. That - and other than a couple of rare, vintage ROIO audience recordings - Eric playing with Derek was the closest I'd ever get to the experience of Eric playing live with Duane Allman. Also, Doyle is not to be overlooked as a fine guitar player in his own right (a lefty, who plays a guitar strung for a right handed player!).

I have to confess that I am not a fan of the JJ Cale set from this show. Nothing against the late JJ. I thoroughly enjoy his songs covered by Eric, and the Road to Escondido, but his appearance here just seems to temporarily take the wind from the sails of an otherwise energetic show.

Not from this show, but very much worth seeking out:
1) Eric and Derek's sweet duet on the outro of Why Does Love Got to be So Sad from Eric's 2007 Crossroads Festival (once commercially available as a limited edition Target and Best Buy bonus disk, and I missed out!); and
2) An Eric and Derek reprise of the same tune (and a couple of others), with Eric as a guest during the Allman Brothers' 40th Anniversary shows in 2009 at the Beacon Theatre in NY (3/19/09 and 3/20/09 - still available from the Munck Music website).

Here's what I mean:

~ from Crossroads 2007 ~

​

Pure. Magic.

 

~ and from 3/19/09~

​

 

~ and from 3/20/09~

​

 

Eric did very little promotion for this first solo album. Plus it is an unusual mix of gospel, pop, R&B, etc., instead of what fans typically expected from Eric's previous efforts--namely scorching blues-based rock. His vocals also were a bit hesitant and lacking in full confidence (he was just learning). Still, the first solo album did chart better, peaking at #13, than the Layla album, which only peaked at #16. And except for 461 Ocean Blvd, which peaked at #1, likely due to the "I Shot The Sheriff" song, the first solo album charted better than the Rainbow Concert LP, There's One In Every Crowd, EC Was Here, and No Reason To Cry. So in reality, it really did better, although people seem to have forgotten that fact.

 

The whole 3/20 set with Clapton playing is amazing, and they do Stormy Monday which wasn't played the previous night...and man, does Clapton rip out a solo after Gregg's keyboard double time solo....it's exquisite!

 

A song that won't be reviewed but because of the holiday season I have to mention Eric's version of Christmas Tears off of A Very Special Christmas Live. He absolutely kills it. Also Eric and Sheryl Crow nail Merry Christmas Baby, Eric and John Popper lay down Christmas Blues and Tracy Chapman and Eric do a tasteful Give Me One Reason.

 

Just fired up Live In San Diego. I assume that's Trucks on slide? Bramhall helping with the vocals? Already worth the price of admission. I've certainly never seen E.C. perform this one live. "Tell The Truth", that is.

 

I've only seen him once too, it was in Edmonton can't recall the year, they had major sound issues so old slow hand just broke out an acoustic guitar and played. We all moved in as close as possible and enjoyed the experience.

 

I also saw him once. In Bergen, Norway August 2008. My wife and myself loved it. Some reviewers and other people I have spoken to since was a bit dissapointed due to the lack of some of the radio hits + interaction with audience. Myself, I don't care too much about that kind of stuff as long as the music/performance is good.

It is slightly on topic as that backing band was mostly the same as on the Live In San Diego release and with some similarities in the setlist:

Band Lineup:
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Doyle Bramhall II - guitar, backing vocals
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Willie Weeks - bass
Abe Laboriel Jr - drums
Michelle John - backing vocals
Sharon White - backing vocals

Support:
Grande
Special Guest:


Set List:
01. Tell The Truth
02. Key To The Highway
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. Isn't It A Pity
05. Outside Woman Blues
06. Here But I'm Gone
07. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad
08. Driftin'
09. Nobody Knows You
10. Motherless Child
11. Travelling Riverside Blues
12. Running On Faith
13. Motherless Children
14. Little Queen of Spades
15. Before You Accuse Me
16. Wonderful Tonight
17. Layla
18. Cocaine
19. Crossroads (encore)

 

Some musicians interact with the audience some do not, I don't think it matters much.

 

I agree! Here in Norway at least it seems to be a lot of focus on intercation from the stage. Ironically response from the audience doesn't seem to be as important.