Backless - ERIC CLAPTON***

Walk Out In The Rain/Watch Out For Lucy/I'll Make Love To You Anytime/Roll It/Tell Me That You Love Me/If I Don't Be There By Morning/Early In The Morning/Promises/Golden Ring/Tulsa Time

The glory days with Cream are long gone for guitar ace Eric Clapton. What we have with Backless is yet another soporific album with scarcely any memorable tracks. (US:8 UK:18)

“Very typical, easy-rolling Clapton album of its time. Perhaps he could have waited a year or two for better inspiration instead of recording those similar-sounding albums year in and year out, but in all honesty its unrealistic to expect masterpiece every time.”

“Once again it seems aliens may have kidnapped our hero and replaced him with some complacent laid back very average guitar player. To go from The Yardbirds to Cream to this stuff is almost shameful. So much talent gone to waste.”

“An album that is not really able to keep my attention for very long. Seems like I have to listen too intently to it to pick up on Clapton's playing, and nothing much on the album really gets me. The songs are fairly general rock/blues sort of tunes, none of which really turn my ear.”

“Like many Clapton albums from this era it lacks a truly great song. Early In The Morning, easily the most blues inspired track on the album, is a glimpse into Clapton’s past stylings but still doesn’t show his masterful guitar work.”

“This is overall an enjoyable listen, even though it may be difficult to distinguish from a number of other Clapton albums from the same period. There are a couple of terrific songs with the love gone wrong theme of Promises and the rockabilly fun Tulsa Time.”

“This underappreciated classic shows Clapton developing into an all-round musician with R & B, soul, ballads and straight ahead rock n' roll. His playing is sensitive yet fiery and others on the sessions are crack musicians in their own rights.”

“Periodically throughout Eric Clapton's solo career, his music mellows out to such an extent that it barely resembles rock 'n' roll. Here the country is mellow, the blues are mellow, and even the rockers are mellow. This is easy listening for classic rock fans.”