Eric Clapton at His Best
Encyclopedia
Eric Clapton at His Best is a two-LP compilation of Eric Clapton
's early solo work, released in September 1972. It was concurrently released with a two-LP compilation of Clapton's earlier band Cream
, Heavy Cream
, along with "at His Best" solo retrospectives by Cream's other members Jack Bruce
and Ginger Baker
.
Although available in other territories as well, Eric Clapton at His Best was largely released to address the North American market, in order for Polydor Records
to leverage Clapton's back catalog as, prior to 1972, Polydor had licensed Clapton's recordings to Atco
/Atlantic Records
for North American distribution. It was the first of two compilations of Clapton's early work that Polydor would issue; the second, Clapton, was released in mid-1973. Now out of print, Eric Clapton at His Best was available during the years 1972-76.
The album contains songs from Clapton's lone album with his 1969 band Blind Faith
, from Clapton's eponymous 1970 album
, and from the lone studio album by Clapton's 1970-71 band Derek and the Dominos
, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
(1970).
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's early solo work, released in September 1972. It was concurrently released with a two-LP compilation of Clapton's earlier band Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, Heavy Cream
Heavy Cream
Heavy Cream is a compilation album of music recorded by Cream during 1966-68.Although available in other territories as well, the album was largely released to address the North American market, in order for Polydor Records to leverage Cream's back catalog; prior to 1972, Polydor had licensed...
, along with "at His Best" solo retrospectives by Cream's other members Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
and Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
.
Although available in other territories as well, Eric Clapton at His Best was largely released to address the North American market, in order for Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
to leverage Clapton's back catalog as, prior to 1972, Polydor had licensed Clapton's recordings to Atco
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
/Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
for North American distribution. It was the first of two compilations of Clapton's early work that Polydor would issue; the second, Clapton, was released in mid-1973. Now out of print, Eric Clapton at His Best was available during the years 1972-76.
The album contains songs from Clapton's lone album with his 1969 band Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
, from Clapton's eponymous 1970 album
Eric Clapton (album)
Eric Clapton is the eponymous debut solo album from Eric Clapton, released in August of 1970.-Track listing - original 1970 release:All selections written by Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton, except as indicated.-Side one:...
, and from the lone studio album by Clapton's 1970-71 band Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...
, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is a blues-rock album by Derek and the Dominos, released in November 1970, best known for its eponymous title track, "Layla"...
(1970).
Side one
- "Bottle Of Red Wine" (Delaney BramlettDelaney BramlettDelaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett's five decade career reached peaks in creativity, performance, and notoriety in partnership with his then wife Bonnie Bramlett, in a revolving troupe of professional musicians and Rock superstars dubbed Delaney...
/Eric Clapton) - 3:06- From Eric ClaptonEric Clapton (album)Eric Clapton is the eponymous debut solo album from Eric Clapton, released in August of 1970.-Track listing - original 1970 release:All selections written by Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton, except as indicated.-Side one:...
(1970). Produced by Delaney Bramlett.
- From Eric Clapton
- "Anyday" (Eric Clapton/Bobby WhitlockBobby WhitlockRobert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
) - 6:33- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Produced by The DominosDerek and the DominosDerek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...
; executive producer Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
.
- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Produced by The Dominos
- "I Looked Away" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 3:02
- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
- "Let It Rain" (Bonnie BramlettBonnie BramlettBonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
/Eric Clapton) - 5:07- From Eric Clapton.
- "Lonesome And A Long Way From Home" (Bonnie Bramlett/Leon RussellLeon RussellClaude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
) - 3:43- From Eric Clapton.
Side two
- "Sea Of Joy" (Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
) - 5:23- From Blind Faith (1969). Produced by Jimmy Miller by arrangement with Robert StigwoodRobert StigwoodRobert Stigwood is an impresario and entertainment entrepreneur who relocated to England in 1954...
and Chris BlackwellChris BlackwellChristopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
.
- From Blind Faith (1969). Produced by Jimmy Miller by arrangement with Robert Stigwood
- "LaylaLayla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" (Eric Clapton/Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
) - 7:01- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
- "Blues Power" (Eric Clapton/Leon Russell) - 3:10
- From Eric Clapton.
- "Bell Bottom Blues" (Eric Clapton) - 5:00
- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Side three
- "After Midnight" (John J. CaleJ.J. CaleJJ Cale , born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has...
) - 3:11- From Eric Clapton.
- "Keep On Growing" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 6:20
- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
- "Little WingLittle Wing"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
" (Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
) - 5:31- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
- "Presence Of The Lord" (Eric Clapton) - 4:48
- From Blind Faith.
Side four
- "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 4:41
- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
- "Easy Now" (Eric Clapton) - 2:58
- From Eric Clapton.
- "Slunky" (Delaney Bramlett/Eric Clapton) - 3:33
- From Eric Clapton.
- "Key To The HighwayKey to the Highway"Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by blues pianist Charlie Segar in 1940. The song was also recorded by Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy in 1940–41, and it was later a R&B record chart success for Little Walter in 1958...
" (Charles Segar/Bill BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
) - 9:39- From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Personnel
- Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
– vocals, lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Carl RadleCarl RadleCarl Dean Radle was a bass guitarist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Stephen StillsStephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
– guitar - Bobby WhitlockBobby WhitlockRobert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, piano, vocals, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound... - John SimonJohn Simon (record producer)John Simon is an American musician, record producer, and composer. He is best known for his work with The Band as producer and musician on Music from Big Pink and The Band.-Biography:...
– piano - Leon RussellLeon RussellClaude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
– piano - Bobby KeysBobby KeysBobby Keys is an American saxophone player, and has performed with other musicians as a member of one of the notable horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by The Rolling Stones, The Who, Harry Nilsson, Delaney Bramlett, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, Eric Clapton and Joe...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Jim PriceJim Price (musician)Jim Price was, together with Bobby Keys and Jim Horn, one of the most in demand horn session players of the 1970s. He toured extensively with The Rolling Stones from 1970 until 1973, including their 1972 American Tour, and appears on the albums, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. and Goats Head Soup...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - J. I. Allison, Rita CoolidgeRita CoolidgeRita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
, Sonny CurtisSonny CurtisSonny Curtis is an American singer and songwriter. Most of his work falls into the Pop and Country genres. He was a teenage pal and band member with Buddy Holly in Lubbock, Texas...
– vocals - Delaney BramlettDelaney BramlettDelaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett's five decade career reached peaks in creativity, performance, and notoriety in partnership with his then wife Bonnie Bramlett, in a revolving troupe of professional musicians and Rock superstars dubbed Delaney...
– vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Bonnie BramlettBonnie BramlettBonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
– vocals - Duane AllmanDuane AllmanHoward Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
– guitar - Ric GrechRic GrechRichard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
– bass, guitar - Ginger BakerGinger BakerPeter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
– drums - Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
– vocals, organ, guitar