As I'm typing this, I am listening to the new Eric Clapton album entitled "Pilgrim" for the first time ever! Actually, I am listening to the same track over and over again after hearing the album in it's entirety already! I'm not lying to you when I say I feel like I've been waiting for this album since 1989 when "Journeyman" came out! This is the first Clapton album since then with all original material. He's put out stuff for other albums (mainly soundtracks), as well as his own live album "24 Nights", the "Unplugged" album, and the blues album "From the Cradle". None of those albums were quite like this one, though!
You may have already heard the single, "My Father's Eyes". This, along with the track "Circus" were written for his son Conor, who met his tragic and untimely death at the age of 4 1/2. These tracks were originally played at the "Unplugged" session. "My Father's Eyes" currently has a reggae flavor to it that wasn't on the original song. If you ask me, this song has Grammy written all over it. It's not my favorite track, though I like it a lot.
I would have to say my favorite track has to be "River of Tears", which is the track I am listening to over and over again... I just can't help it! There is an incredible amount of soul in Eric's voice as he sings these lines:
IT'S 3 MILES TO THE RIVER,
THAT WILL CARRY ME AWAY,
AND TWO MILES TO THE DUSTY STREET,
THAT I SAW YOU AT TODAY.
IT'S 4 MILES TO MY LONELY ROOM,
WHERE I WILL HIDE MY FACE,
AND ABOUT A HALF A MILE TO THE DOWNTOWN BAR,
WHERE I RAN FROM IN DISGRACE!
Those lines begin the song, and I feel they are the pure essence of Clapton's blues influence that is so much a part of his music. I remember the first time I heard "River of Tears" I was driving on Rt. 1-A in Revere, MA by Wonderland Dog Track. A local station, Eagle 93.7 played this song to preview the upcoming album. I swear I almost had to pull over to the side of the road... the song touched me that much!
This album does have very slick production which may turn off some of EC's die-hard fans. There is drum programming on every track, which gives the album a modern R&B flavor. However, I feel the quality of songwriting and EC's always flawless guitar work overcomes the slick package. In this album, you will find EC's soul, stripped bare and to the bones! Other favorite tracks include "Sick and Tired", a nasty bluesy number with bone-shaking guitar work, "Born In Time", EC's cover of a Bob Dylan tune from the early 90's which, ironically, was originally written for EC before Dylan recorded it, "She's Gone", which has a good funk feel to it, and "Going Down Slow", a cover of a St. Louis Jimmy blues song and the only other cover song on the album. Eric wrote or co-wrote 12 of the 14 tracks, and it is some of the best writing he's done since the "Layla" album. It seems that he poured all of the pain of the '90s into this album, and it works!
This album may not be THE defining work of EC's career (I still think "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" deserves that mantle), but it is A defining album in a career that is known for many great moments! If you get a chance to see him on tour this year (with a 20 piece orchestra backing him, no less)... DO IT! Take it from someone who's seen him 4 times (about to be 5), you will leave exhausted and exhilarated at the same time!
Steve Skalish
March 10, 1998
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