Artist: Clapton, Eric
Label: Polydor Records
Released: 1978
Running time: 41.03
Clapton’s music from the late seventies and on through the eighties stays fresh and interesting. An enviable achievement, especially considering the kinds of trouble the guitarist was wrestling with at the time. In 1978 Eric added another excellent record to an already long list of successes with Backless, which, after the big success of Slowhand, continues the trend of writing simpler, friendlier, or if you like, more listenable tunes. As his music “grew up,” influences from country, folk and pop began showing up more and more often in Clapton’s repertoire, alongside the usual blues and rock. Eric flirts with these genres in his own way, one that keeps him recognizable the whole time. On top of that, the whole thing is pulled off with a special kind of care, making sure the songs don’t lose their original meaning and message.
Backless offers by far the most intimate look yet inside Clapton’s turbulent inner world. For all its gorgeous musical look, the album leaves plenty of room for doubt the whole way through. That’s not remotely down to a lack of quality or any other shortcoming, quite the opposite! In his stunning control over how things unfold, Eric’s laid-back approach at times comes across as almost too calm. From the opening Walk Out In The Rain onward, the guitarist’s delivery relies entirely on quiet, measured recitation, while the trademark guitar sound, apart from a mellow solo, is only a taste this time. Clapton’s makeover gives this Dylan song a completely different face. What’s more, after this brilliant interpretation, the feeling that Dylan wrote the song specifically in Eric’s honor just won’t leave you alone. Once the euphoria gives way to sober thinking, it quickly becomes clear, of course, that it all comes down to Clapton’s exceptional sense of musical expression, which has already made the guitarist famous more than once in the past. We get a similar picture from songs like If I Don’t Be There By Morning, yet another Dylan cover, and the excellent Promises by Richard Feldman, which charms with its gorgeous slide playing and especially with the soft backing vocals of the inimitable Marcy Levy. When her melancholy singing slowly melts into the sadness of Golden Ring, Eric’s almost heavenly calm starts to feel downright suspicious. Good thing we’ve got the wicked I’ll Make Love To You Anytime, which can’t hold a candle to the wickedness of the fantasy titled Roll It. The song is another winning combination of Eric’s slide and, this time, Marcy’s thoroughly unbridled vocals, which, in a heated exchange with Clapton’s beauty, brim with cocky, swaggering persuasion. Speaking of fired-up women, we can’t skip Lucy, a lively country girl Eric obviously wants nothing more to do with. Tough luck for Lucy, because with guitar playing this energetic, full of humorous and typically emotional touches, she’d probably be better off thinking her plans over twice.
It’s hard to imagine an Eric Clapton album without any blues at all, and this time it’s logged under Early In The Morning. Even though there’s again only a taste of it on Backless, this pinch of Clapton’s blues magic, spiced up with fiery harmonica, will once more deliver another in a string of phenomenal “godly” musical achievements. Despite the more polite approach, Eric once again convinces with an energetic interpretation of his stripped-down ideas, which, in the confident handling of songs like Tusla Time, speak to the incredible breadth of the musical spectrum he commands. Let’s be honest, what else could you expect from Clapton anyway?
Lineup
Eric Clapton vocals/guitar
George Terry guitar
Dick Sims keyboards
Marcy Levy vocals
Carl Radle bass/guitar/vocals
Jamie Oldaker drums
Production
Glyn Johns
Track list
1.Walk Out In The Rain
2.Watch Out For Lucy
3.I’ll Make Love To You Anytime
4.Roll It
5.Tell Me That You Love Me
6.If I Don’t Be There By Morning
7.Early In The Morning
8.Promises
9.Golden Ring
10.Tulsa Time
