Remember a while back when the story was traveling round the internet that Eric Clapton was retiring?
I wonder whatever happened to that story.
The latest offering from EC is Reptile. I have procured an advance copy through the generosity of a friend. This review is being written before it's official US release. This is the first time I have been so privileged to write about an album before it becomes public. I will do what I did with the Riding With The King album. I will write a short review of each song below and tie it up at the end. Let's get right into things...
Reptile -- This is an instrumental. Reminds me a lot of Signe from the Unplugged album. I heard someone say it was like a samba rhythm. Perhaps... it's a nice if not totally overwhelming beginning.
Got You On My Mind -- This one goes more to the blues. It's the first song where we hear The Impressions singing background. Sounds like Eric is playing some steel guitar here. I don't have the musician listing, so I'm not sure if it's him or Andy Fairweather-Low. The Impressions really add something to this track in my mind.
Travellin' Light -- This is probably the most uptempo song on the album. In fact, I counted 128 beats per minute on it (old DJ trick). That's fast. This is the first song where he really lets loose on the guitar soloing in my mind.
Believe In Life -- We're talking a bit more midtempo here. I kinda liked the guitar work in the beginning which is light and understated. Overall, it's a less exciting track but a nice mood-setter. In a way, it reminds me of his classic song Promises. It just does. At the end, though, I found myself grooving a bit when The Impressions jumped in with the refrain. I'm starting to like those guys.
Come Back Baby -- Now this is down and dirty blues. Eric's singing level is taken up a notch in this one as he puts more grit and soul into it. Here come those Impressions again adding nice background to it. This will please the guitar fans with the solo in the middle. Not a long one, but a good one. There's even a laugh and a "Have Mercy" at the end.
Broken Down -- About slow to midtempo here. About the same tempo as Change The World, if you know what I mean. But there's something about this song in my mind. This has some of the best lyrics. A pain and suffering song with the tempo of Change The World... isn't that interesting? He does some nice trading with those Impressions with his singing and his guitar. He's doing some acoustic soloing and there's even a string arrangement. Of the first 6 songs, this one has hit me where I live the hardest. That's saying a lot.
Find Myself -- Then we come to this song whch for some reason doesn't thrill me as much. It's not bad, mind you. Reminds me of something that would have come off the Unplugged album. More of a country feel to me with a bit more piano work in it. Then again, I could see someone doing a softshoe dance number to this one. Don't ask me why I see that.
I Ain't Gonna Stand For It -- I like the idea of EC doing a cover of Stevie Wonder, which he does here. This song gets stronger as it goes along, and it even features a nice Nathan East bass line towards the end. You gotta love Nathan, man! And I love the fact that they let Nathan get him some in this song. If you've ever heard the original, you will see that it stays somewhat true to Stevie's version. There is a nice mix of piano and guitar in this one with neither one really stepping to the forefront. Eric's guitar is pretty much limited to fills throughout, but it works really well in this song to hear a few quality notes every now and then.
I Want A Little Girl -- Definetly a Ray Charles feel to this song, even though this is not the song he wrote. Nice and slow. Short and sweet too... only song to go under three minutes on the album. Not a lot of time to let loose with the guitar, so he really doesn't. Some pretty bluesy singing by EC though.
Second Nature -- Back to a bit more midtempo. Got some slide guitar fills going here. Not sure if it's his or not without the list in front of me. This reminds me of something Bonnie Raitt might sing. Not overly exciting, but nice.
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight -- Please... allow me to tell you about my favorite song of the whole album. You wanna talk about hitting me where I live, this one did it! I love the guitar fills in this one, I love the Impressions in the background, I love Eric's soulful singing, and I love the string arrangement. It has the feel of a late 60's, early 70's slow soul groove. If you like that style as much as I do then this one will hit you as well. I wanna sing this one for karaoke sometime.
Modern Girl -- This is more of an acoustic midtempo number. More of a folksy feel in my mind. Another one of those mood-setter type songs. Just something to kick back and enjoy a glass of wine to. Not thrilling, but not bad.
Superman Inside -- This one sounds like the first radio release to me. Reprise Records has this song as the sample song on the official website, and I've already heard it on a local radio station. Got kind of a country line dance feel to it, which is a mix of rock and country. There seems to be a trend in this album away from the big, long guitar solos and more towards shorter fills throughout songs for the most part. This song is the same way.
Son & Sylvia -- The album ends with a soft instrumental mixing acoustic guitar and a faint string background. It certainly does not go out with a bang at all. Why does this song remind me of "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton? If you've heard it, you know what I'm talking about. There's a couple of places where I can sing the line "Loving you... is easy 'cause you're beautiful" and it fits like a glove. How's that for a reference out of nowhere?
I'll tie this up by comparing it to his last release, Pilgrim. I liked Pilgrim when it first came out for the most part. But Pilgrim, to me, was an album where I liked half of the songs and didn't bond much with the other half. Pilgrim is also an album where one particular song hit me hard. I'll never forget hearing River Of Tears for the first time. It was a powerful moment for me. This album does not have a River Of Tears on it to me, though Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight comes pretty close. This album has less slick production on it, which is surprising since Simon Climie is co-producer just like with Pilgrim. Pilgrim featured a lot of drum machine programming which worked for some songs and may have been too much in others. This one is more to the roots. This album also has a lot less big-time guitar soloing. It relies more on guitar fills scattered throughout songs. I kind of like that. I've always loved a big solo, but sometimes you want little snacks instead of a big meal, know what I mean?
As far as how many of the songs I liked, I'd say most of them. There were a few that thrilled me less than others, but those were the mellow mood-setters as I called them. I could still see myself relaxing to those songs every now and then. I've heard a bit of criticism from a few EC fans on online message boards. A few people seem to think this album is too mellow. It is quite mellow in spots. Give the man a break... he's in his mid-50's for crying out loud. Not every song can be an out and out rocker. Some people expect every song he does to be Cocaine all over again.
For the most part, I think this is the album that would please the more hardcore EC fans. Pilgrim did not seem to do that as well due to the slicker producton and R&B feel it had at times. It pleased me, but some of my classic rock fan friends were disappointed. One of those friends, the same man who provided me with the advance copy, and the same man who criticized me for even recommending Pilgrim to him, said that Reptile grows on you. That I can believe.
This is a solid album top to bottom. Not too overwhelming, but it won't bore you to death either. The best thing about this album was the addition of The Impressions as background singers. They really brought something to the table in this. I hope they show up on more US tour dates. They have been performing with him in England.
I'll be interested to see how the critics react, but this is the straight poop from a real EC fan. Isn't that what you really want? This album is worth your time.
Additional notes... Writing credits on the album are: Got You On My Mind written by Joe Thomas - Howard Biggs, Traveling Light by J.J.Cale, Come Back Baby by Ray Charles, Broken Down by Simon Climie & Dennis Morgan, Ain't Gonna Stand For It by Stevie Wonder, I Want A Little Girl by Mencher & Moll, Second Nature by EC, Climie, Dennis Morgan, Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight by James Taylor, Superman Inside by EC, Doyle Bramhall II, Susannah Melvoin, the rest of the songs written by EC. Reptile & Son & Sylvia are instrumentals. Modern Girl was originally recorded during the Pilgrim sessions.
Steve Skalish
Feb. 27, 2001
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