From the Cradle

Summing up his thoughts on a recently failed relationship, Eric Clapton jotted down these words one night in early 1994, and they eventually made their way into the cover booklet of the album he released later that same year, the last line also providing the album's title. And "there's anger and love and fear on this record," Clapton told Billboard Magazine about the self-evaluation he was undergoing at the time, explaining that in recording this album, he had sought to once and for all break the - partially self-imposed - barriers and trappings of fame and fortune, girls and glamour, drugs and booze, in order to just "get out and ... say what I want to say, be what I want to be [and] love what I want to love."

What he had loved from his earliest years on, of course, was the blues; and a real blues album was thus what he had always wanted to record - ever since his days with the Yardbirds (which he left when they strayed towards more mainstream, commercial sounds) and with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the training ground for much of Britain's blues elite of the 1960s and 1970s. So in a major way, this album constitutes a return to Eric Clapton's roots.

At the same time, however, it is a marvelous tribute to the artists on whose influence Clapton builds to this day, and who first made the songs recorded here famous. Like any good blues album, "From the Cradle" was recorded live in the studio: with the exception of some dobro and drum overdub on "How Long Blues" and "Motherless Child" respectively, all vocals and instrumental parts are the pure, unadulterated product of the recording sessions involved. With or without extended solos, Clapton's guitar work is stellar as always, and his vocals are as raw and rough as hardly ever before. He may not actually outgrowl the great Chess and Delta Blues men - listen to his 2001 album "Riding With the King" with B.B. King or to Muddy Waters's 1977 version of "Hoochie Coochie Man" if you have any doubts - but this truly becomes apparent only in direct comparison with them, and it really says more about those other musicians than it does about Clapton himself. If it were not for the fact that many of the recordings on this album have long become classics in their own right and that Clapton's voice is not easily confused with that of any other artist in the first place, I'm almost certain that you could fool a fair number of people into believing that they were listening to an album recorded 40 years or even longer ago in Chicago or Memphis. This is the real thing, folks, no question about it; and it is performed with as much skill as soul by Eric Clapton and a tremendous group of musicians consisting of Dave Bronze (bass), Jim Keltner (drums), Andy Fairweather Low (guitar), Jerry Portnoy (harmonica), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Roddy Lorimer (trumpet) and Simon Clarke and Tim Sanders (saxophone) - many of the well-known to Clapton's live audiences the world over as well.

In selecting the songs for this album, Eric Clapton purposely chose the most intense blues songs he could think of, not even shying away from classics that he had heretofore considered "untouchable," like Muddy Waters's (or actually, Willie Dixon's) aforementioned "Hoochie Coochie Man." And in a not entirely surprising turn, they - and "Hoochie Coochie Man" in particular - soon became fixtures in his own live appearances as much as they had been fixtures in the appearances of the artists who had first made them famous, from Leroy Carr's "Blues Before Sunrise" and "How Long Blues" to Lowell Fulson's "Reconsider Baby" and "Sinner's Prayer," Eddie Boyd's "Five Long Years," James Lane's "Goin' Away Baby" and "Blues Leave Me Alone," Elmore James's "It Hurts Me Too," Freddie King's "Someday After a While," another famous Muddy Waters tune, "Standin' Round Crying," and the concluding, aptly titled "Groaning the Blues." And all colors of this blues kaleidoscope also represent shades and aspects of Eric Clapton's own life, because, as he told Billboard, all of them have had a certain meaning to him at some point or another. In that sense, the album is a very personal one - maybe not quite as much as the 1970 Derek and the Dominos recording "Layla and Other Assorted Lovesongs," one of the earliest and biggest highlights of Clapton's career, but certainly close; in expressing "the thing I've loved from day one, the most exciting and satisfying thing I've known."

Coming on the heels of 1989's "Journeyman" and 1992's hugely successful "Unplugged," which had redefined the standards by which acoustic recordings were measured and, in the process, had also given an unexpectedly new meaning to the title track of "Layla," "From the Cradle" was one of a trilogy of albums which injected new life into Clapton's career and ensured that his fans would be able to enjoy his immeasurable contributions to the world of music for - at least - another decade. In 1991, Clapton had also recorded the soundtrack for the movie "Rush," arguably yet another very personal project, and released a CD documenting his marathon 24 live appearances at Royal Albert Hall, appropriately named "24 Nights." And while any Eric Clapton album will to a certain extent be an expression of the point where he sees himself and his career at the time of the recording, it's all about the music again now, and about the joy of playing. Nothing shows this clearer than his dual 2001 releases "Reptile" and "Riding With the King." "From the Cradle" was an important stepping stone in getting to this point, and I am glad we have been allowed, yet again, to share in that experience. Thank you, Eric!


Probably EC's best blues album.   June 1, 2006
Spider Monkey (UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

If you want to hear EC playing his best blues, then this is the album to buy. He sounds raw and plays with style and feeling throughout. I love this album for virtually any time. I love EC and all of his work, but this album stands out.


What We'd Been Waiting for   September 9, 2003
David Cranson (Birmingham, UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Wonderful stuff. Really wonderful, ecellant, amazing, outstanding etc etc etc . . . I like it!

The playing, the emotion, the voice, the band, it just all gells perfectly. The whole album oozes blues. You can almost see it seeping from the speakers every time you put it on. You can close your eyes and let a broad grin creep over your face. Lie back and let yourself be soaked up, immersed and covered in the music & songs.

Standouts for me include, 'Blues Before Sunrise' - man, even thinking about it makes me grin for ear to ear(!); 'Reconsider Baby'; 'Motherless Child'; 'It Hurts Me Too'; 'Someday After A While'; but really these are the highlights in a package of near perfection. Don't think the rest are sub-standard becuase I don't mention them, there just my personal faves.

Do yourself a big favour and buy this. It's a master at work, a fine band in great form. It's a close as any white man will ever get to really 'Groanin' The Blues'.


Simply awesome.   November 5, 2002
stu751 (London)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is the best album money can buy. Simple as that. If you like blues and you like the guitar, buy it. I have listened to this album hundreds and hundreds of times. In fact, it inspired me to learn to play the guitar when I first bought it and now I can actually play most of it.

There are some stunning solos on this album, notably Five Long Years, Groanin' The Blues and Someday After A While. I remember when I first sat down and listened to the album, and particularly Five long years, I was amazed - I'd never heard anything like it.

And yes, I am very familiar with the other great (blues) guitarists Hendrix, SRV and Buddy Guy et al. but this is a special album that none of those guys could have put together and produced song after song of fantastic, utterly compelling fret work. Some of it is so heavy you can really feel the passion running through the strings.

It's not all about heavy blues though, there are some brilliant acoustic and slower pieces as well. Motherless child, Driftin', Third degree all amazingly charged whilst remaining more subtle.

Also worth a special note is the backing band - top class. Jim Keltner, Andy Fairweather Low, Jerry Portnoy etc. The whole ensemble gives it such an authentic, traditional feel. Which is exactly what this album is all about - a tribute from Clapton to all his favourite artists and songs - the guys that inspired him to pick up his guitar and play.

I could go on about this all day, you really must hear it to understand where I'm coming from. But if you call yourself a blues fan then you must listen to this album.


Fantastic blues playing   July 16, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I'm inclined to agree with the other reviewer who stated that the solo on 'Five long years' is the best guitar solo ever; it simply is amazing. The only problem is, i get to track 5 and then just keep playing it over and over again... I've never been the greatest blues fan but i really enjoyed this album; the guitar work is excellent and the band plays very coherently- there wasn't much dubbing according to the cover. The only problem is the singing. Whilst its ok in most places eric sounds like he's gargling with gravel on the first track and that kinda put me off it a bit, but once you get past that its rather cool. Its also really good for jamming along with and practicing blues solos etc. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in eric clapton, blues playing, or just elec guitar.