[pcartis_regained]

DURATION: 01:04:42

Songs:
1. "Signe" (Clapton) – 3:14
2. "Before You Accuse Me" (Ellas McDaniel) – 3:44
3. "Hey Hey" (Big Bill Broonzy) – 3:16
4. "Tears in Heaven" (Clapton, Will Jennings) – 4:36
5. "Lonely Stranger" (Clapton) – 5:27
6. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (Cox) – 3:49
7. "Layla" (Clapton, Jim Gordon) – 4:46
8. "Running on Faith" (Williams) – 6:30
9. "Walkin' Blues" (Robert Johnson) – 3:37
10. "Alberta" (Traditional) – 3:42
11. "San Francisco Bay Blues" (Jesse Fuller) – 3:23
12. "Malted Milk" (Robert Johnson) – 3:36
13. "Old Love" (Clapton/Robert Cray) – 7:52
14. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (Muddy Waters) – 4:12

Eric Clapton Unplugged remains a high water mark in MTV's Unplugged series. It was a remarkably diverse outing exploring the full range of Clapton's artistry in acoustic form. Included in the program were authentic rural blues, dramatic rock ballads, Dixieland, bossa nova, earthy folk songs, and more - all delivered with Clapton's uncategorizable but immediately recognisable guitar style.
One of the music phenomenon's of the early 1990s was MTV’s Unplugged series, and Eric Clapton Unplugged was one of its signature concerts along with Nirvana' Unplugged In New York. Playing a loose and confident set alongside trusted band mates such as guitarist Andy Fairweather Low, bassist Nathan East, and pianist Chuck Leavell (who predictably shines), a seated and relaxed Clapton never once loses his way. He may not be God, but then again he never was, and Clapton is still one helluva guitar player, not to mention an underrated singer. The three new songs are good, too, including “Signe,” a nifty little guitar intro, and “Tears In Heaven” and “Lonely Stranger,” two heartbreaking odes to his deceased son Conor (there wasn’t a dry eye in the house for those two) who died tragically when he fell from a fourth floor window. Elsewhere, the mood is often refreshingly upbeat and fun (for example, “Alberta” and “San Francisco Boy Blues”), and I’ve even grown to tolerate the waltz-like rendition of “Layla” that became a big hit (it helps if I pretend the original doesn’t exist!). Granted, a couple of these (primarily cover) songs either fall flat (“Before You Accuse Me,” which I've never been a big fan of despite its status as a blues standard, and a boring rendition of Robert Johnson's "Malted Milk" or fail to add anything to the original (the still-good “Running On Faith”), and the album runs a little long at over 60 sometimes-lagging minutes. However, drastic reworkings ("Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out", significant improvements (“Old Love,” which has the album's most stunning solo), and several successful odes to old timers (Big Bill Broozy's "Hey Hey" and an impressive solo acoustic update of Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues" make this a concert recording that sounds genuinely new and fresh, even now. Perhaps the audio album isn't quite as compelling without the visuals (Clapton was clearly moved at several junctures), but when Clapton and company bring the curtain down with a spontaneous cover of Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ & Tumblin’” there could be little doubt that this was a triumphant return to his roots. To his own astonishment, Unplugged went on to become Clapton’s best selling album, paving the way for future blues-based endeavors such as From The Cradle and Me and Mr. Johnson and snagging six Grammy Awards in the process. (geocities.com/sfloman/ericclapton.html#unplugged)

[benm80]

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