The Eric Clapton album by album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DoF, Dec 11, 2016.

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  1. kollektionist

    kollektionist Forum Resident

    Location:
    EU

    Goes against the grain. Count me out.
     
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  2. Ellsworth

    Ellsworth Forum Resident

    I am not going to be posting on this much so don’t have any skin in the game. However, going from recent work to older work goes against how the better album by album threads work. The logic in starting from the beginning is that it lets you discuss how the music grows and evolves. Going backwards throws that out the window.

    I appreciate the fact that someone has the energy and time to lead the discussion but it feels like it will be disjointed and difficult to follow. For example, this discussion on the San Diego live album may offer a lot more insights if it follows reviews of Layla and his work with JJ Cale.
     
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  3. DoF

    DoF Less is more... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Poland
    Where to start then? S/T?
     
  4. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Ellsworth

    Ellsworth Forum Resident

    That would be the most optimal album IMO
     
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  6. Mainline461

    Mainline461 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tamiami Trail
    Personally I would start with S/T, but include Derek & the Dominos Layla as this is in essence a solo album ( as we all know Eric was still in his wanting to be sideman/just a band member stage and not wanting his name on the album) and would generate enthusiasm for the thread as this is arguably his best work. Also it might be nice to add a section somewhere to discuss his many compilation albums, not individually (might bog down the thread) but as a group, say each decade. I'm a huge Eric fan so I hope this gets off the ground.
     
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  7. DoF

    DoF Less is more... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Poland
    Ok let's start with S/T but include band/side projects on the way. Approved?
     
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  8. Mainline461

    Mainline461 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tamiami Trail
    Love S/T album artwork, to me it is one of those covers that I would buy because the cover is cool ... Clapton in his white suit and his Brownie Strat. Speaking of white suit I wonder if it's the same suit he wore at the Rainbow concert that he had to let out because he had gained weight.
     
  9. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK
    Nobody posted these from the s/t album photoshoot yet?

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    :righton:
     
  10. duggan

    duggan Senior Member

    Location:
    sydney
    Totally agree.

    I have very limited interst in his later work.
     
  11. moss

    moss Forum Resident

    Really enjoy the self-titled (and all Delaney & Bonnie and Friends ventures he participated in). A magical grouping, bummer it didn't last longer.

    Sure do wish "Bluuuuues Pow-Power" edit miss would've been caught and addressed. Sticks out like a sore thumb.
     
  12. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Some background info from Discogs to prime the pump:

    [​IMG]

    Tracklist:

    1 Slunky Written-By – Bramlett*, Clapton*
    2 Bad Boy Written-By – Bramlett*, Clapton*
    3 Lonesome And A Long Way From Home Written-By – Bramlett*, Russell*
    4 After Midnight Written-By – John J. Cale*
    5 Easy Now Written-By – Clapton*
    6 Blues Power Written-By – Clapton*, Russell*
    7 Bottle Of Red Wine Written-By – Bramlett*, Clapton*
    8 Lovin' You Lovin' Me Written-By – Bramlett*, Clapton*
    9 Told You For The Last Time Written-By – Bramlett*, Cropper*
    10 Don't Know Why Written-By – Bramlett*, Clapton*
    11 Let It Rain Written-By – Bramlett*, Clapton*

    Credits
    Arranged By – Delaney Bramlett, Robert Stigwood
    Bass – Carl Radle
    Design [Album Design], Photography – Barry Feinstein, Tom Wilkes (2)
    Drums – Jim Gordon
    Engineer – Bill Halverson
    Guitar – Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills
    Lead Vocals – Eric Clapton
    Organ – Bob Whitlock*
    Piano – John Simon, Leon Russell
    Producer, Rhythm Guitar – Delaney Bramlett
    Saxophone – Bob Keys*
    Trumpet – Jim Price
    Vocals – Bob Whitlock*, Bonnie Bramlett, Delaney Bramlett, Rita Coolidge
    Vocals [Crickets] – J.I. Allison*, Sonny Curtis


    First published on LP: 1970
    First published on CD: 1987
    Deluxe Edition (is that a separate discussion?) first published in 2006.

    Some more info from Wikipedia (some stuff I had forgotten):

    Recording
    Clapton recorded some tracks in November 1969 at London's Olympic Studios and went on to record more songs in 1970 which was divided into two sessions; one in January 1970 at the Village Recorders Studio in West Los Angeles and a second session in March the same year at Island Studios in London. A large amount of musicians that worked with Clapton on the album had been working with the band Delaney & Bonnie, which previously backed the Blind Faith gigs.

    The song "Let it Rain" had originally been recorded with different lyrics as "She Rides". Three mixes of the album were done, one by Delaney Bramlett, one by Tom Dowd and one by Clapton himself. The Dowd mix was the one used for the original release. Bramlett's mix is included in the Deluxe Edition released on CD in 2006.

    In an interview from 2006, promoting The Road to Escondido, Clapton recalled that he was very happy making this album and was pleased with the results of the recording sessions, but also noted that "the only thing [he] didn't like about the album is [his] voice", because it sounds so "high" and "young", which Clapton disliked, because he "always wanted to sound like an old guy".

    Critical reception
    Robert Christgau in a contemporary review rated the album with the "B" mark and noted: "I blame a conceptual error, rather than Clapton's uncertain singing, for the overall thinness. As a sideman, Clapton slipped into producer Delaney Bramlett's downhome bliss as easily as he did into Cream's blues dreamscape, but as a solo artist he can't simulate Delaney's optimism".

    In a retrospective review for AllMusic Stephen Thomas Erlewine feels that Clapton "sounds more laid-back and straightforward than any of the guitarist's previous recordings. There are still elements of blues and rock & roll, but they're hidden beneath layers of gospel, R&B, country, and pop flourishes. And the pop element of the record is the strongest of the album's many elements". Erlewine finishes his summary by stating "it's encouraging to hear him grow and become a more fully rounded musician, but too often the album needs the spark that some long guitar solos would have given it. In short, it needs a little more of Clapton's personality."
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
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  13. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Just to frame what was going on with EC at the time, and the context of his first eponymous (I love that word) album:

    After the breakups of Cream and Blind Faith, Clapton wanted to be less of a guitar god, and more of a guitarist in a band. That's when he took up with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends.

    Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, picks up the story from there:

    Clapton subsequently toured as a sideman for an act that had opened for Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. He also played two dates as a member of the Plastic Ono Band that autumn, including a recorded performance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969 released as the album Live Peace in Toronto 1969. On 30 September 1969, Clapton played lead guitar on Lennon's second solo single, "Cold Turkey". On 15 December 1969 Clapton performed with Lennon, George Harrison, and others as the Plastic Ono Band at a fundraiser for UNICEF in London.

    Delaney Bramlett encouraged Clapton in his singing and writing. During the summer of 1969, Clapton and Bramlett contributed to the Music From Free Creek "supersession" project. Clapton, appearing as "King Cool" for contractual reasons, played with Dr. John on three songs, joined by Bramlett on two tracks.

    Using the Bramletts' backing group and an all-star cast of session players (including Leon Russell and Stephen Stills), Clapton recorded his first solo album during two brief tour hiatuses, titled Eric Clapton. Delaney Bramlett co-wrote six of the songs with Clapton, also producing the LP, and Bonnie Bramlett co-wrote "Let It Rain". The album yielded the unexpected US No. 18 hit, J. J. Cale's "After Midnight". Clapton also worked with much of Delaney and Bonnie's band to record George Harrison's All Things Must Pass in spring 1970. During this busy period, Clapton recorded with other artists including Dr. John, Leon Russell, Plastic Ono Band, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr and Dave Mason. Other notable recordings from this period include Clapton's guitar work on "Go Back Home" from Stephen Stills' self-titled first solo album.
     
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  14. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    And of course Clapton's mix is the one accidentally used on some Atco LPs, and mislabelled as the Bramlett mix on some bootlegs sourced from those LPs.
     
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  15. John Fell

    John Fell Forum Survivor

    Location:
    Undisclosed
    My favorites here are the better known cuts. After Midnight, Blues Power, Bottle Of Red Wine and Let It Rain. Slunky, Bad Boy and Easy Now are pretty good as well. The rest don't do much for me.

    Others may disagree but I prefer Clapton the blues/rock player as opposed to the country/rock or pop player.
     
  16. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I didn't know that. Thanks!
     
  17. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I was just giving this a spin for the first time in a long time, and was thinking pretty much the same thing.

    I had taken the tracks you mention, and put them in a playlist, and those are the ones that have all the plays. The other ones, not so much.

    I'm a huge Clapton fan, but "Lovin’ You Lovin’ Me" and "I’ve Told You For The Last Time" were really a grind for me to listen to.
     
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  18. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    so we're starting from the beginning and the end at the same time? we should end somewhere around Unplugged....
     
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  19. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I'm just goin' with the flow.
     
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  20. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I'll subscribe. It's funny looking through his solo albums though. Seems like most of my favorite work of his was in Cream and Domino's. Regardless, i'll enjoy this thread if it goes chronologically. Otherwise you end up discuss his devolution instead of evolution.

    S/t is a great album. Sort of an in between projects really as D&D and Blind Faith followed this release. Underrated release.
     
  21. goodboyfred

    goodboyfred Forum Resident

    Love the way the record kicks off with Slunky, a great driving instrumental with some nice licks from EC. Around that time when Eric was playing with Delaney & Bonnie they would open the shows with a instrumental which was sorta like Slunky. The rhino handmade four cd box features shows opening with jams of the ilk of that. Each show also had Eric doing a nice version of I Don't Know Why. EC was on fire back in those days.
     
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  22. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    You can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Blind Faith broke up before this album, and Derek and the Dominos followed it.
     
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  23. Ellsworth

    Ellsworth Forum Resident

    I knew the hits from this album but had never listened to it all the way through until today. Slunky is a cool song and the hits are pretty strong. I can't say that I love it. It feels like a bit of Cream, D&B, and some of the forthcoming laid back 70's stuff all thrown together.
     
  24. RPOZ51

    RPOZ51 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Which is a good reason to move forward chronologically through the catalog . . .
     
  25. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Don't give in! Typically the newer albums of a "classic rock" artist get short shrift because (a) people run out of gas by the end of an album by album thread and (b) a lot of people like to just pile on the negativity with the newer stuff. If you start with most recent, maybe the thread builds momentum rather than loses it as you get into the classic stuff.

    You can do what you want and I'll try and participate either way. But make sure you're doing what YOU want because it's your thread and these things take time and effort. :)

    Oops, just noticed you started with s/t.
     
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