Published on Dec 1, 1997
What is this – comeback album week at The Daily Vault?
Yesterday, we looked at Aerosmith’s return from the dead (
Done With Mirrors).Today’s subject is Eric Clapton’s
461 Ocean Boulevard — his first studio album after kicking
a nasty heroin habit.
It wasn’t that Clapton’s career was dead; he had scored major
hits with his 1970 solo debut and as a part of Derek And The
Dominoes. But his battle with drugs caused him to shut himself out
from the rest of the world. He was dragged back into reality by
Pete Townshend — who would fight his own battle with drug
addiction and win — in January 1973; the Rainbow Concert was
Clapton’s first step in his “comeback.”
So,
461 Ocean Boulevard symbolized Clapton’s victory over drugs,
as well as his return to the music scene. And from the opening
notes of “Motherless Children,” you can hear that Clapton is back
with a vengeance — if just a tad unsteady. “Motherless Children”
features a slide solo that flashes back to Clapton’s work with
Derek And The Dominoes and the slide work of the late Duane Allman,
and has a vocal performance that makes one wonder how Clapton ever
questioned his ability as a singer.
The standout here is Clapton’s cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The
Sheriff,” a cover that not only scored Clapton a number one hit,
but also opened the eyes of many people to Marley’s music. While it
does not hide Clapton’s rock roots, it also does not betray the
reggae flavor of the tune’s original genre.
But Clapton’s choices of cover songs is a bit spotty, as heard
on his version of “Willie And The Hand Jive,” a song that I admit
to never liking in the first place. This version features Clapton
in the laid-back troubador style that would become his persona for
much of his career — a persona which just does not fit this track.
Maybe it would have been better had he cut loose a bit with this
one and let it be more ragged.
Most of
461 Ocean Boulevard is delivered in the same laid-back
style. Sometimes it works (“Better Make It Through The Night,” “Let
It Grow”), other times it doesn’t (“Mainline Florida”). In a way,
this album was an experiment for Clapton – a chance to rediscover
his place in the musical scene he had withdrawn from. As a result,
there are times that this album is very much hit-or-miss,but it
still, for the most part, succeeds.
Clapton had many more demons he would face in his life — a
battle with alcoholism, the tragic death of his son — and each
time, he would rebound that much higher.
461 Ocean Boulevard is a hesitant effort, but one that does
not shadow the genius that Clapton is, and is worth listening to,
flaws and all.