Eric Clapton

Blues

Nice try, but more re-hash

Review Score:

(6/10)
"Blues" is a 2-CD collection of, ostensibly, blues recordings of Clapton's solo years on the RSO and Polydor (now Universal/Polygram) labels - one disc studio, one disc live.

It's important to note that those early solo career years, 1970-82, were mostly low-lights; he moved from drug abuse to alcohol abuse, and his music suffered enormously. Yet, Polygram positions this as a "the most comprehensive" collection of his blues performances. OK, most of it has a 12 bar construction. But Eric is so weak through most of these tracks that, to the uninitiated, you'd wonder what's the deal with his vaunted reputation. Polygram did nod towards completists by including a few `unreleased' recordings, but almost all of these (save for a choogling version of "Before You Accuse Me") were best left buried. One track, "Alberta," is particularly harrowing: Clapton is horribly drunk and barely alive.

The live disc is less grim, yet the best of it is average playing; his fine `70's touring band largely overshadows him. Totally ridiculous is the inclusion of "Wonderful Tonight" as a "blues" song. The suits at Polygram must believe every Clapton album must contain this song, and here we get the zillionth version of this limp-wristed crutch.

With 99% of this available elsewhere, and far better compilations (altho a bit pricier) like the two "Crossroads" box sets covering the ample career of this great artist, "Blues" is totally unessential and pointless.

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