Ever since he released his Unplugged – Enhanced Edition earlier this year, I’ve been thinking about Eric Clapton and his solo career. I’ve written about Clapton before and how it seemed like for a while there, after he got sober, that Eric was striving to “make amends” with some of his past collaborators. He did a reunion with Cream, worked with former Blind Faith partner Steve Winwood and even recorded an album of tunes with B.B. King. If I’m being honest, the last 20 years Clapton has been releasing what feels like the same music over and over again. Mellow albums chock full of covers. And I will admit, like Van Morrison, Clapton kind of got stupid for a while. But if I think about Clapton’s solo career in totality, while it’s been uneven, there have been some stunningly high peaks.
I read some critic somewhere say that Clapton’s prospects as a solo act were always going to be somewhat limited. He was, the guy insisted, at his core just a blues guitar player. He had an advantage over Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, the men who succeeded him in the Yardbirds, in that he could sing and didn’t have to depend on the moods of a lead singer (LSD anyone? Lead Singer Disease?). He didn’t have to chase a Robert Plant through the years begging for a reunion or a Rod Stewart who would leave and join the Faces. I’ll agree with the critic’s premise that he was somewhat limited in what he could do – he was no Bowie who could change styles and do almost anything – but he was at least the captain of his career.
And what a career it was. He was an original member of the Yardbirds. He famously quit that band just as they started to break big because he was a “blues purist” and they were moving more toward mainstream rock. I read about all of that in Clapton’s autobiography and it’s the only time I’ve liked the person less after reading their autobiography, but I digress. He then joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers for their seminal LP Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton. Mayall’s early career found him discovering a wealth of guitar talent. He split after that to form Cream with some other ex-Blues Breakers, drummer Ginger Baker and bassist/singer Jack Bruce. That dissolved because of egos and antipathy. He and Baker then joined Steve Winwood in an early “super group” Blind Faith. Clapton then began a solo career before then forming a new group, Derek & the Dominos. He eventually disappeared from the public eye due to his intense addiction to heroin. Since his return, after kicking smack, he embarked on a long and successful solo career.
For this list of essential solo albums, I obviously have not included any of his group activity. Despite his name being listed separately on the Mayall record, I don’t think that one counts as part of his solo career. And while the Derek & the Dominos was just Clapton using a “disguise” because he was pining away for George Harrison’s wife (who Eric eventually married), that was in my mind another “group” project. They did try to record a second album so I think I’m justified there. Here are the Clapton solo albums I think every rock fan, and of course blues rock fan, should own, listen to, etc. I’ve even included some live stuff. There are other Clapton albums that I like – Hell, I’m the only person who likes Behind The Sun, and I run hot and cold on Backless – so if you have a Clapton album you love and it’s not on here, that’s okay too. You can always argue for your favs in the comments section. Oh, and I didn’t include any compilations here… I guess you could just go out and buy his wonderful box set, Crossroads and that might satisfy!
Eric Clapton, (1970)
After becoming disinterested in Blind Faith during their tour to support their only album, Clapton started joining the opening act on stage, Delaney & Bonnie. Leader of that group Delaney Bramlett ended up producing this, Clapton’s solo debut. Actually Clapton did the final mix which was chosen over Bramlett’s and Tom Dowd’s (who was brought in by the record company) mix. This album sets the template for Clapton’s whole career. Great stuff on this album, “Let It Rain,” “After Midnight,” and “Blues Power.” Some of his best solo material.
461 Ocean Boulevard, (1974)
Clapton’s return from the depths of heroin addiction. This is a laid back affair, produced by the aforementioned Tom Dowd. It features Clapton’s cover of Bob Marley‘s “I Shot The Sheriff.” Along with the Stones, Clapton helped popularize reggae. There are some lively numbers like “Motherless Children,” “Mainline Florida,” and “Willie And The Hand Jive.” “Give Me Strength” is a beautiful acoustic blues thing. Clapton sounds focused and sharp… even though there was a lot of drinking going on during this recording. He was recording in Miami, what are you gonna do?
Slowhand, (1974)
This is his best solo album of the 70s… and the first Clapton album I bought on vinyl. “The Core” is one of my all time favorite songs of his and the guitar solo, oh my! This one has some of his most well known tracks, “Cocaine” (a J.J. Cale cover), “Wonderful Tonight” (for his then wife Patti Boyd Harrison Clapton), and “Lay Down Sally.”
Just One Night, (1980)
I think this is Clapton’s best live album. There’s some great versions of Slowhand tunes on this one. This was my second vinyl purchase of the Clapton catalog. It was recorded in Japan and Clapton wails on the guitar here. This version of “Cocaine” might be definitive.
Journeyman, (1989)
I think we can all admit that the 80s were a tough decade for Clapton. He was infusing his music with a lot of synths and drum machines, even using drummer Phil Collins to produce a couple of his records. Just when he was starting to fade from my radar, he pops this fabulous comeback album out. “Pretending,” “Before You Accuse Me,” and two of my all time favorite Clapton tunes “Running On Faith” and “Old Love” are all on this record. He covers Harrison’s “Run So Far” (I used George’s on my Playlist: Songs About Running/Running Away). He also covers Elvis’ “Hound Dog,” purportedly recorded whenhe was sick with the flu. Clapton sounds focused and ready to rock here. I actually had a co-worker gift me the cassette of this album.
Unplugged, (1992)
I’ve written about this one previously (link above) so I won’t belabor it. It’s simply one of the most iconic Unplugged performances. Truly the definitive versions of “Old Love” and “Running On Faith.” Chuck Leavell, who later became a sideman for the Stones, plays piano on this record and he helps elevate the performances.
From The Cradle, (1994)
Some 25 years into his solo career Clapton decides to do a full on blues record and it is something to behold. Take this one and the Mayall record and you have a wonderful set of blues bookends. Some critics groused that he clung too closely to the arrangements of the originals, but that’s like saying we should update the Mona Lisa with more fuchsia. From “Hoochie Coochie Man,” to “Standin’ Around Crying” these are ferocious readings of the blues. An absolute career highlight. I saw him on this tour and yes, it was fabulous.
Riding With The King (With B.B. King), (2000)
B.B. King and Eric Clapton… need I say more? The title track is an old track from John Hiatt and these guys take it into the stratosphere. “Three O’Clock Blues” runs over 8-minutes. When Clapton plays the blues, here with one of his idols, the results are always cookin’. Look for the bonus tracks “Rollin’ And Tumblin'” and “Let Me Love You” as well.
The Road To Escondido (With J.J. Cale), (2006)
This is just about the last record of Clapton’s that I connected with. Sure, he’s had a few tracks here and there that I really liked but this was the last album that I fully got into. He’d been covering J.J. Cale’s music for so long it seemed inevitable that a collab would come about. Clapton was actually going to help produce the album with Cale, but ended up sliding out of the producers chair and making it a duets album. These guys are so on the same wavelength sometimes I can’t tell whose singing what.
These albums are my “Essential Clapton” solo albums. Again, there are other ones I’m fond of, but if you want to really get into the blues rock/rock of Clapton these are the ones you have to experience. Clapton may not melt your face off with solos anymore ala Cream, but he’s still put out a lot of great music. The man who inspired London fans to scrawl “Clapton Is God” has had an up and down solo career but when he’s matched with the right material and right producer, there’s nothing better.
I hope you’ll enjoy diving into Clapton’s back catalog as much as I did this weekend.
Cheers!
Really enjoyed this piece.
Early on in my life I was a huge Clapton fan and then that veil got pierced when a music critic friend I respect pointed out much of what you outlined here.
That really caused me to recalibrate my view of him and I got away from listening to him. I think that was a mistake on my part because I think that punishes him for being solo over his career. Not everyone is going to want to embrace the big group thing but that doesn’t mean they are any less talented. Lots of bands cover others – and that’s a de rigeuer approach for any bluesaxe – so he shouldn’t be punished for that. Also, if he were in a band with others he’d also have someone else help create content so if he has less than other peers it seems like on a mathematical average basis he’s on a par with others for creativity.
Alas, he does have some odd personal peculiarities but who amongst us doesn’t, especially artist types.
Great piece.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Without even realizing it, when I first started listening to music, everything I gravitated toward was blues based (I figured that out later when I was older and understood more about the world and music, etc). With that as sort of my “foundation” it only made sense that I’d gravitate toward Clapton (both his work in bands and solo). Did he have limitations, yes. Did he still put out some great stuff, also yes. And you’re right, perhaps if he’d stayed in a band setting, with some others to help create he’d have gone in more diverse & different directions. And yes, we all have our quirks! I know I do!! Cheers!
I grew up listening to Eric Clapton’s music, I lived in the era when London walls were painted with “Clapton is God,” and I’ve always considered him one of the greatest guitar players.
I’m think he wasn’t allways the easiest person to work with, but hey, it’s the music that ultimately counts. What I’m most grateful for is taking two JJ Cale songs and turning them into huge hits, ‘After Midnight’ and ‘Cocaine’.
Clapton was the reason I discovered JJ Cale’s music and became a lifelong, devoted fan. I love him for it. Great review Kenneth. Thanks.
Thank you Guy! I remember wondering who J.J. Cale was because Clapton always seemed to cover him, on so many of his albums. Kudos to you for actually taking the extra step in exploring Cale’s music, which is so rewarding in it’s own right! I’m still a Clapton fan although I must admit, it’s been a while since I connected with a new album from him! Cheers!
What I especially like about your reviews is that I’m often encouraged to delve back into my fairly extensive record and CD collection and give old albums a listen again, which I wouldn’t otherwise get around to.
Only to discover again how good that music is/was.
Then I feel like the man who calls himself “the Old Guy” on YouTube who keeps wandering through his record collection, suggesting his own top 10 or top 15 from specific years. I’m an old guy too. Santé, schol and cheers!
Guy, I’m honored! That is the exact reason I started B&V! I want to help people reconnect with rock n roll music. Thank you so much for this comment! Cheers!
I think I’ve been casually familiar with Clapton my whole life, since my dad liked him. And I’ve always had a “from a distance” appreciation for him, but not enough to buy albums, especially since I’ve heard plenty of him over the years of listening to classic rock radio. Like a lot of other artists who have had a long career, most of his big songs come from a few albums, namely his first and a couple other 70’s discs. (I definitely heard my share of “80’s Clapton” via radio, but those hits don’t have the staying power of “After Midnight”, and I’m talking the original, not the glossy late 80’s Michelob advert rehash.) And he’s the ex-Yardbird whose solo career had the biggest impact, as Beck quickly became a “guitarist’s guitarist” and Page, well, I’m waiting for his solo career to start. (Outrider was good, but it’s the only true solo LP he did in the 45 years since Zep’s disbandment.)
Probably the biggest reason why I don’t seek out his music is the litany of questionable actions he’s committed over the past 60 or so years. I mean, a lot of 70’s rock stars did bad shit, Page for one, and Bowie too. But somehow Clapton’s offenses take the cake for me. That whole drunken racist rant he did onstage in the mid-70’s? He basically laughed it off for years or didn’t confront the incident until about 2018, which I guess since he “made amends” for that act, he was free to create new incidents that he may be dead before he has to atone for them. It seems like he suffers from a lack of self-awareness (especially since he made his career off the contributions of Black artists) and is insulated enough in his celebrity world that he doesn’t have to consider the consequences of his actions for a long time, or at all. I haven’t read his autobio, but I’ll take your word that he sounds like an asshole in it.
I’ve struggled with Clapton’s non musical legacy a lot over the time I’ve been doing B&V. It was thru a comment from a reader that I learned about the onstage racist rant and I’m still not over that one. Then his Covid antics were just ridiculous. It’s like I said, I read his autobiography and ended up liking the man a lot less. That said, I’ve been trying to judge the music on it’s own. And when I thought about it that way, I realized there is a lot of great stuff there. I felt I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Too bad the music was made by such an a$$hole. Again, part of this post is from the place of trying to come to terms with the music instead of the artist. The post on “making amends” was more me trying to come to terms with the man. I’m not sure I’ll ever claim to be a huge fan of Eric, but I still love some of his music. It’s complicated, which your comment clearly articulates. The 80s was such a bad decade for some of those sixties heritage guys: Clapton, McCartney, even Bowie after ‘Let’s Dance,’ so I understand your comments about Clapton’s solo stuff in that decade. I appreciate the well thought out comment!
It’s difficult, the whole Separating The Art From The Artist bit. There’s a lot of great out there created by horrible people. It seems like the more we like the art, the more we’ll overlook the artist. Everyone will have different criteria and will place that “line” differently. Clapton’s art to me has never been strong enough to do that. But Page and Bowie’s art has been important to me, so I’ll listen to their music despite their transgressions, and they are deplorable transgressions. (And I find it ironic that they literally share the same transgression of having sex with underage women, as they both had relations with the same teen girl!) It’s a lot easier to point out the transgressions if you don’t like the artist, and if you’re not careful, you’ll become this Onion headline.
Reading rock bios/autobios is also a great way of tarnishing your perception of an artist, no matter how good the bio is. I had a friend who liked Juliana Hatfield enough to read her memoir, and came out with a much diminished perception of her after that. Possibly the best example of this is the Replacement’s bio, Trouble Boys. If you like rock bios, it’s possibly one of the best there is. And The Replacements already had a reputation for debauchery and bad behavior while they were still a band, but the book puts into stark relief the level of depravity they committed, so much so that a common review of the book is “I almost wish I hadn’t read it.”
Yeah I understand that feeling. It’s how I felt about Clapton’s autobiography. I wish I hadn’t read it. Although it shed a lot of light on some of his awful behavior. Now you’ve got me tempted to read that book about the Replacements!
Trouble Boys sets a high bar for rock bios, so it’s a great read even if you are only casually into The Replacements. But it definitely does not put them in the most flattering light. And for those who thought that the ‘Mats “shoulda been bigger”, the book highlights their epic levels of self-sabotage–it’s amazing they got as far as they did. But the band seemed to have more self-awareness of their actions than the like of Clapton, who probably wonders why Robert Cray stopped talking to him. This self-realization is probably why we haven’t heard anything from Paul Westerberg in a decade.
I re-listened to Clapton’s “Money and Cigarettes”, an album I had long forgotten, and now found it to be an excellent record. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it in 1982 and that’s why it ended up in the bottom drawer of my memory, who knows? I suspect that with many albums in my collection I still have some catching up to do.
I have ‘Money And Cigarettes’ as well, but like you it’s not one I go back to a lot. Not bad at all! I would certainly call it solid!