{"id":712,"date":"2014-03-20T20:19:43","date_gmt":"2014-03-20T20:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=712"},"modified":"2014-03-21T00:28:47","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T00:28:47","slug":"rs-411-eric-clapton-461-ocean-boulevard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=712","title":{"rendered":"RS #411: Eric Clapton, 461 Ocean Boulevard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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#411<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Eric Clapton, 461 Ocean Boulevard<\/i><\/h3>\n

Release Date:<\/strong>\u00a01974
\nPreviously Owned:<\/strong>\u00a0No
\nFirst Time Listen:\u00a0<\/strong>Yes<\/p>\n

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“Welcome to the OCEAN BOULEVARD\/Such a lovely place”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impressions:<\/strong>\u00a0Eric 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\u2026 including me figuring out Cheap Trick.<\/a>\u00a0Onward\u2026 “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\u2026c’mon, “Sheriff” \u00a0is 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.<\/p>\n

Starred Songs:\u00a0<\/strong>“Motherless Children,” “Please Be With Me”
\n<\/strong>Sneaky Track: <\/strong>“Get Ready”
\nShould this album be on the\u00a0list?\u00a0<\/strong>Ehhh. On the fence. So probably not\u2026
\nReplace with?\u00a0<\/strong>A completely different album, but I’m going to right a major wrong and place Herbie Hancock’s 1973 earthy funk\/jazz masterpiece Headhunters<\/em> here.
\nWill you listen to this again?<\/strong>\u00a0No<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Verdict:\u00a0<\/strong>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.
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Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n