Eric Clapton, Himself

Overall Album Score: 7.8 out of 10

And here we have the first ever solo album done by Eric Clapton, which is, appropriately enough, titled Eric Clapton. And ... ummmm ... I sat through one of the Yardbirds efforts, and I sat through four Cream albums and a Blind Faith one, and they were all pretty much guitar-awesome! A rip-roaring solo here, a gut-busting riff there, ... there was even an occasional 5+ minute guitar solo at times. ... And, when it came time to start listening to Eric Clapton, I totally forgot that this guy was a guitar god! ... There's some great guitar in this album, to be sure, but for the most part, they're buried under all this freaking unrestrained gospel-pop or jazzy things or ... Crap! This is a freaking pop album!!!! ... I guess cocaine will do that to a man ...... or maybe it was the vast array of session musicians and guest artists, and Clapton didn't care enough about it to de-relinquish all power and control over this release ......... either one.

But who really cares about any of that when the album in question is fun to listen to. It's all pleasant with a bunch of mildly excellent songs on it. (Albeit the principle downfall of this album is its lack of solid hooks ... which is the foremost important asset you can have for a freaking pop album.) All very mildly enjoyable. This is so mildly enjoyable that there's nothing too memorable off the album (although, live versions of some of these songs are reportedly great), and there's very little to take away from this.

And so ... this was Eric. And Eric is ... pop.

Overall Album Score: 7.8 out of 10 (This TOTALLY does not sound like anything you'd expect an Eric Clapton solo effort! Well, Clapton gave us an album of decent-enough gospel-pop tunes! But ... *lightweight gospel pop*?)

Average Song Score: 7.9 (A consistent bunch. ... They're consistently lightweight and generally throwaway pop tunes.)

Album Tilt: 8.0 (This is a pleasant listen, and you'll probably enjoy it. But it won't impact you whatsoever.)

Artist Rating: 7.5 (Clapton's innovative days are over ... apparently.)

Track Reviews

Slunky 9/10

Really, kind of an awesome jazz-rock instrumental thing. It has a pretty good groove, and there are some really wicked licks o' guitar supplied by Clapton (that sort of echo off into the distance ... like the will-o'-the-wisp .. whatever that is ... Actually, they sound more like locusts. ... Ooooo, locusts ...)

Bad Boy 8.5/10

Now, this thing here is more normal for ERIC CLAPTON. ... It's the BLUESSSSS!!!!!!!! It's not as guitar-heavy as you might think it would be. Indeed, this song is rather LIGHTWEIGHT!!! ... But I guess the year was 1970. 'Tis the beginning of the decade of lightweight pop songs, and who better to be at the helm of it than Eric Clapton?

Lonesome and a Long Way From Home 8/10

What's with the generic "soulful" gospel choir??? Certainly I've heard worse, but ... would you expect this from Clapton? ... GENERIC SOUL??????? There's some guitar in here, certainly, but it's buried under the hoopla.

After Midnight 8.5/10

Another one of those "soulful" gospel songs. This is catchy and enjoyable enough, but it's hardly a GREAT song. When I think I about it, I really doubt that Eric Clapton actually wanted this to be a "great" song ... hmm.

Easy Now 7/10

BLAH!! This is an acoustic guitar song ... It's nicely played, certainly ... it's just BORINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. And the melody really isn't very good. Ho hum.

Blues Power 8.5/10

Oh, good, this is a relatively guitar-heavy blues song. It's odd that I've been longing for these considering that I don't normally enjoy listening to guitar-heavy blues songs ... but ... THIS IS ERIC CLAPTON!!!! ... Good guitar playing and stuff here, dudes.

Bottle of Red Wine 8/10

This is a kinda fun boogie song ... I like the way it's played ... the melody is catchy. The vocals are sloppy, but they probably were supposed to be. ... A good song ... it's just not very memorable!

Lovin' You Lovin' Me 8/10

Wasn't this an ABBA song? ...... This doesn't sound anything like ABBA ... what gives? ... But this is a pretty good ERIC CLAPTON song, anyway. The melody is pretty catchy and ... um ... I wish he would quit doing these freaking shallow gospel songs. Gr.

Told You For the Last 7.5/10

Again, not an altogether terrible lightweight gospel song. The melody is pretty catchy, and this whole thing flows together nicely. ... Beyond that, I don't FRIKIN CARE ABOUT IT!!!

Don't Know Why 7.5/10

This is another pretty decent albeit entirely lightweight and probably throwaway gospel song. Don't know why Eric Clapton succumbed to this!!! ... Not that I don't enjoy a good lightweight gospel pop song now and again, but ... hmmm ...

Let it Rain 7.5/10

...This song should be awesome. It sounds like a regular old Eric Clapton ditty from the days of Cream and stuff, but ... it's just boring! The melody has its strong bits, but mostly it's dull and its well over two minutes too long (it's about 5 minutes altogether). Disappointing!!

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