Eric Clapton: Eric Clapton - 1970

Some four years before one of his most successful solo albums, Eric Clapton released his debut. He had been on tour with folky bluesers Delaney & Bonnie and he used much of the same band to accompany him. The result was a pleasing offering with hints of blues, rock 'n' roll, gospel, country rock and a bit of pop sensibility. It is also quite brassy and, as I said, gospelly in many places, which I love.

The best-known tracks are ones that would come to exemplify Clapton's seventies sound in the embryonic AOR of Let It Rain, with its great bassline, and J.J. Cale's lively rock-funk of After Midnight. After opening with a saxophone-driven jam in Slunky, other impressive Delaney Bramlett collaborations are the chunky brassy groove of Bad Boy, the upbeat gospel of Lonesome And A Long Way From Home, the kick-ass bassy rock of Bottle Of Red Wine (check out that solo) and Lovin' You, Lovin' Me. 

Clapton also joins forces with Leon Russell on the excellent Elton John-ish boogie of Blues Power (which, ironically, is not a blues song). Whenever I have played this album I have always derived a relaxing and surprisingly lively pleasure from it, but it is one of those that has tended to become a bit forgotten about as time has passed. The more I listen to it, though, the more I like it.

 Clapton said of the album, speaking in 2006 - "the only thing I didn't like about the album is my voice, because it sounds so "high" and "young", which I disliked, because I always wanted to sound like an old guy". It sounds fine to me, Eric.

The Deluxe Edition of it, however, is a cornucopia of Clapton, featuring the previously unreleased original mix, mixed by Delaney Bramlett. These versions have the alternative, raw appeal one would expect them to have. That cover pic of a bearded Clapton smoking is just so 1970 too, isn't it? Eric would, unfortunately, spend much of the next three years on the drugs...