#411

Impressions: Eric Clapton usually doesn’t get me fired up one way or the other, which is a recipe for a so-so review. But, WHO KNOWS? Anything can happen on this blog… including me figuring out Cheap Trick. Onward… “Motherless Children” (which is different from “Motherless Child”) starts off the record with a galloping beat, bluesy slide guitar and Clapton’s neutral-sounding voice (which, as I mentioned before, doesn’t get me fired up one way or the other.) Not too bad a start though, I like the riff and the messy groove is fun. “Give Me Strength” slows things down and features a porch guitar line makes me want to reach for a lemonade. Not surprisingly, lots of covers. Some worked for me, like “Motherless Child” and others seemed less so: like the clunky, cajun-inflected “Willie and the Hand Jive,” and his much-maligned take on Bob Marley’s seemingly uncoverable “I Shot The Sheriff.” I guess it’s a not a terrible stab at the song, but…c’mon, “Sheriff”  is so inseparable from Marley, that it comes off second-rate and white-bread. The suprisingly sensual duet “Get Ready” shows Clapton stretching out a little vocally, but most of the songs are sung in his same restrained style (which is weird for a guy coming out of drug problem.) The relaxed “Please Be With Me” actually benefits from his low-key vocals. Toward the end album gets increasingly bluesier with “Steady Rolling Man” and “Mainline Florida” which boosted the energy a little bit. I dunno, I found myself alternately enjoying the rootsy, back-to-basics vibe and getting bored, so I guess I had trouble getting fired up about this album, one way or the other.

Starred Songs: “Motherless Children,” “Please Be With Me”
Sneaky Track: “Get Ready”
Should this album be on the list? Ehhh. On the fence. So probably not…
Replace with? A completely different album, but I’m going to right a major wrong and place Herbie Hancock’s 1973 earthy funk/jazz masterpiece Headhunters here.
Will you listen to this again? No

Verdict: Laid-back post-heroin album floats from solidly boring toward low-key charming and then into the atmosphere without me getting a feel for it.

Rating: ★★★