Eric Clapton. 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)

461 Ocean Boulevard is a 1974 album by blues rocker Eric Clapton. His first album after quitting heroin and his second after the dissolution of Derek & the Dominos, Clapton was under a lot of pressure during the recording of 461 Ocean Boulevard. He succeeded regardless, and the album received rave reviews upon its release.

On later pressings of the album and the Polygram CD, "Give Me Strength" was pulled because a songwriter claimed she was the composer and had not been credited (Clapton was originally listed as composer). It was replaced with the track "Better Make It Through Today",(dropped from the re-release) which was recorded in September '74 and originally released on the "There's One in Every Crowd" album in April '75.

In 2004 a remastered two-disc "deluxe edition" of 461 Ocean Boulevard was released. The second disc included in the packaging features a live concert which was recorded at Hammersmith Concert Hall (formerly the Hammersmith Odeon). The first disc also has a few new added tracks which are various studio "jam" sessions.

The title of the album was the address of a house on Golden Beach in Miami, Clapton was living in at the time. The house is also the one featured on the cover. In 2003, the album was ranked number 409 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track Listing

Side one

1. "Motherless Children" (Traditional, arranged by Clapton/Radle)
2. "Give Me Strength" (Clapton)
3. "Willie and the Hand Jive" (Otis)
4. "Get Ready" (Clapton/Elliman)
5. "I Shot the Sheriff" (Marley)

Side two

1. "I Can't Hold Out" (James)
2. "Please Be With Me" (Boyer)
3. "Let It Grow" (Clapton)
4. "Steady Rollin' Man" (Johnson)
5. "Mainline Florida" (Terry)

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Eric Clapton. From the Cradle (1994)

From the Cradle is a Grammy winning blues cover album by Eric Clapton released in 1994. Per the liner notes, "This is a live recording with no overdubs or edits except for dobro overdub on 'How Long Blues' and drum overdub on 'Motherless Child'."

Although long associated with the blues, From the Cradle was Clapton's first attempt at an all-blues album. He would subsequently record Riding with the King with B. B. King and a tribute to Robert Johnson, Me and Mr. Johnson.

From the Cradle reached the #1 position in the 1994 Billboard 200 and #1 in the 1995 Billboard "Top Blues Album".

It had two singles: "I'm Tore Down" that reached the #5 position in the Mainstream Rock Tracks and "Motherless Child" that reached the #23 position in the same ranking.

The album won the 1994 Grammy in the category "Best Traditional Blues Album - or - Best Traditional Blues Recording"

Track Listing

1. "Blues Before Sunrise" (Leroy Carr) – 2:58
2. "Third Degree" (Eddie Boyd/Willie Dixon) – 5:07
3. "Reconsider Baby" (Lowell Fulson) – 3:20
4. "Hoochie Coochie Man" (Willie Dixon) – 3:16
5. "Five Long Years" (Eddie Boyd) – 4:47
6. "I'm Tore Down" (Sonny Thompson) – 3:02
7. "How Long Blues" (Leroy Carr) – 3:09
8. "Goin' Away Baby" (Lane) – 4:00
9. "Blues Leave Me Alone" (Lane) – 3:36
10. "Sinner's Prayer" (Lowell Fulson/Glenn) – 3:20
11. "Motherless Child" (Traditional) – 2:57
12. "It Hurts Me Too" (Elmore James) – 3:17
13. "Someday after a While" (Freddie King/Sonny Thompson) – 4:27
14. "Standin' Round Crying" (McKinley Morganfield) – 3:39
15. "Driftin'" (Brown/Johnny Moore/Williams) (The Drifters) – 3:10
16. "Groaning The Blues" (Willie Dixon) – 6:05

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Eric Clapton. Journeyman (1989)

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 "Running On Faith" and "Hard Times". The strongest single from this album was "Bad Love," which earned him the 1990 Best Male Performance Grammy Award, and reached the #1 position on the Maintream Rock Chart.

The album was only a mild commercial success, reaching just the 16th position on the Billboard 200 chart. This is one of Eric Clapton's favourite albums.

Track Listing

1. "Pretending" (Jerry Lynn Williams) – 4:48
2. "Anything For Your Love" (Williams) – 4:16
3. "Bad Love" (Eric Clapton/Mick Jones) – 5:11
4. "Running On Faith" (Williams) – 5:27
5. "Hard Times" (Charles) – 3:00
6. "Hound Dog" (Leiber/Stoller) – 2:26
7. "No Alibis" (Williams) – 5:32
8. "Run So Far" (Harrison) – 4:06
9. "Old Love" (Clapton/Cray) – 6:25
10. "Breaking Point" (Grebb/Williams) – 5:37
11. "Lead Me On" (Womack/Womack) – 5:52
12. "Before You Accuse Me" (McDaniel) – 3:55

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Eric Clapton. Back Home (2005)

Back Home is an album by British singer/songwriter Eric Clapton. It was released 29 August 2005 internationally and a day later in the United States. It is his first album featuring new, original material since 2001's Reptile as the previous release Me and Mr. Johnson is an album of song covers of Robert Johnson.

"Say What You Will" is a song that Clapton offered to Japanese musical group SMAP.

The special edition DualDisc format of the album features the whole album in surround sound, an interview with Eric, and five selections from the album played live in the studio. This special package also featured four exclusive guitar picks which display "Back Home" and Clapton's signature on them. The picks came in violet, blue, red and grey.

Alan Douglas and Mick Guzauski (engineer) won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for the album.

Track Listing

1. "So Tired" (Clapton/Climie)
2. "Say What You Will" (Clapton/Climie)
3. "I'm Going Left" (Stevie Wonder/Syreeta Wright)
4. "Love Don't Love Nobody" (Jefferson/Simmons)
5. "Revolution" (Clapton/Climie)
6. "Love Comes to Everyone" (Harrison)
7. "Lost and Found" (Bramhall II/Stacey)
8. "Piece of My Heart" (Bramhall II/Melvoin/Elizondo)
9. "One Day" (Gill/Darnall)
10. "One Track Mind" (Clapton/Climie)
11. "Run Home to Me" (Clapton/Climie)
12. "Back Home" (Clapton)

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Eric Clapton. Unplugged (1992)

Unplugged is an album by Eric Clapton released in 1992 recorded live for the MTV Unplugged series. The album includes an acoustic version of the hit single "Tears in Heaven" and a heavily reworked acoustic version of "Layla". Clapton earned two Grammy Awards for the album: Album of the Year and Rock Male Vocal.

Clapton was both critically praised and criticized for reworking many of his famous songs into an acoustic context. Critics contended that some of the tracks were almost unrecognizable, most notably with his version of "Layla" (before he performed it, he commented "see if you can spot this one").

Q magazine placed Clapton's Unplugged at number 71 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.

Track Listing

1. "Signe" (Clapton)
2. "Before You Accuse Me" (McDaniel)
3. "Hey Hey" (Broonzy)
4. "Tears in Heaven" (Clapton/Jennings)
5. "Lonely Stranger" (Clapton)
6. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (Cox)
7. "Layla" (Clapton/Gordon)
8. "Running on Faith" (Williams)
9. "Walkin' Blues" (Johnson)
10. "Alberta" (Traditional)
11. "San Francisco Bay Blues" (Fuller)
12. "Malted Milk" (Johnson)
13. "Old Love" (Clapton/Cray)
14. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (Waters)

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