Description
Reduced price due to box being torn and split in corners and spine. Small name on backcover one each vinyl sleeve
Very rare Scandinavian only triple lp box set. Limited 5000 numbered copies
461 Ocean Boulevard 1974
461 Ocean Boulevard is Eric Clapton’s second studio solo album, arriving after his side project of Derek And The Dominos and a long struggle with heroin addiction. Although there are some new reggae influences, the album doesn’t sound all that different from the rock, pop, blues, country, and RnB amalgam of Eric Clapton. However, 461 Ocean Boulevard is a tighter, more focused outing that enables Clapton to stretch out instrumentally. Furthermore, the pop concessions on the album — the sleek production, the concise running times — don’t detract from the rootsy origins of the material, whether it’s Johnny Otis’ Willie And The Hand Jive, the traditional blues Motherless Children, Bob Marley’s I Shot The Sheriff, or Clapton’s emotional original Let It Grow. With its relaxed, friendly atmosphere and strong bluesy roots, 461 Ocean Boulevard set the template for Clapton’s ’70s albums. Though he tried hard to make an album exactly like it, he never quite managed to replicate its charms.
E.C. Was Here 1975
Following Eric Clapton’s recovery from heroin addition in 1974 and subsequent comeback (announced by 461 Ocean Boulevard), the guitar legend retained his fine band and toured extensively, and this live album is a souvenir of that period. Despite having such pop-oriented hits as “I Shot the Sheriff,” E.C. Was Here makes it clear that Clapton was and always would be a blues man. The opening cut, “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” clearly illustrates this, and underlines the fact that Clapton had a firm grasp on his blues guitar ability, with some sterling, emotionally charged and sustained lines and riffs. A short version of “Drifting Blues” also drives the point home, with a lazy, Delta blues feel that is intoxicating. Aside from these standout blues workouts, Clapton provides a surprise with two songs from his Blind Faith period. “Presence of the Lord” and Steve Winwood’s classic “Can’t Find My Way Home” are given great readings here and highlight Clapton’s fine touring band, particularly co-vocalist Yvonne Elliman, whose singing adds a mellifluousness to Clapton’s blues vocal inflections. The market was a bit oversaturated with Clapton and Cream reissue products at the time, and this fine record got lost in the shuffle, but it remains an excellent document of the period.
Slowhand 1977 with gatefold cover
After the guest-star-drenched No Reason To Cry failed to make much of an impact commercially, Eric Clapton returned to using his own band for Slowhand. The difference is substantial — where No Reason To Cry struggled hard to find the right tone, Slowhand opens with the relaxed, bluesy shuffle of J.J. Cale’s Cocaine and sustains it throughout the course of the album. Alternating between straight blues (Mean Old Frisco), country (Lay Down Sally), mainstream rock (Cocaine, The Core), and pop (Wonderful Tonight), Slowhand doesn’t sound schizophrenic because of the band’s grasp of the material. This is laid-back virtuosity — although Clapton and his band are never flashy, their playing is masterful and assured. That assurance and the album’s eclectic material make Slowhand rank with 461 Ocean Boulevard as Eric Clapton’s best albums.
Track list:
Lp 1: 461 Ocean Boulevard 1974
1. Motherless Children
2. Give Me Strength
3. Willie And The Hand Jive
4. Get Ready
5. I Shot The Sheriff
6. I Cant Hold Out
7. Please Be With Me
8. Let It Grow
9. Steady Rollin Man
10. Mainline Florida
Lp 2: E.C. Was Here 1975
1. Have You Ever Loved A Woman
2. Presence Of The Lord
3. Drifting Blues
4. Can’t Find My Way Home
5. Rambling On My Mind
6. Further On Up The Road
Lp 3: Slowhand 1977
1. Cocaine
2. Wonderful Tonight
3. Lay Down Sally
4. Next Time You See Her
5. Were All The Way
6. The Core
7. May You Never
8. Mean Old Frisco
9. Peaches And Diesel