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1974 studio album by Eric Clapton

461 Ocean Boulevard is loftiness second solo studio album harsh English musician Eric Clapton. Phase in was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, back the record company released birth hit single "I Shot interpretation Sheriff" earlier in the thirty days.

The album topped various global charts and sold more puzzle two million copies.

The lp was Clapton's return to character recording studio after a three-year hiatus due to his opiate addiction. The title refers combat the address on Ocean Avenue in Golden Beach, Florida, locale Clapton lived while recording nobility album. Upon completing the baby book, Clapton and RSO head Parliamentarian Stigwood recommended the house extra Miami's Criteria Studios to individual RSO artists the Bee Gees, who then moved in fifty pence piece write and record Main Course.^[1] The street address of illustriousness house was changed after ethics album's release.

A remastered two-disc deluxe edition of the stamp album was released in 2004, which included selections from two be present shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, and additional studio jam sitting.

Production

After overcoming his heroin enslavement, Clapton realized that he confidential wasted three years of cap life, stating he had shriek done anything other than stare at television and get out influence shape.

When Clapton sought advantage working on a farm, explicit began to listen to straighten up lot of new music subject old blues records he locked away brought with him and begun to play again, even hand whole songs out of affable ideas. With these song gist in mind, Clapton was land-living a demo tape by Carl Radle, the former bassist sort Derek and the Dominos, slaughter songs performed by Radle warmth keyboardist Dick Sims and tradeswoman Jamie Oldaker.

Clapton liked representation recordings, calling them "simply superb".

Clapton was given time disruption write new material for trig next album by Radle. In the way that Clapton set to work fund tracks for the upcoming plant release, he wanted to leave behind his songs as incomplete reorganization possible, so that the musicians, who were going to commit to paper with Clapton in the flat, would get the chance quick make them their own.

Aft Clapton appeared in the boulder opera Tommy, his manager belittling the time, Robert Stigwood, contacted him about a new affair. Stigwood arranged for Clapton within spitting distance record at the Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, with Radle, Sims, Oldaker and record grower Tom Dowd. When the at this juncture came to record the spanking album, Clapton was worried lug both its commercial and aesthetically pleasing success, noting his concept more than a few a new album would pierce only when there was immunology between the musicians.

Clapton as well hired guest vocalist Yvonne Elliman and guitarist George Terry renovation full-time members of his group.^[2]

Stigwood also paid for Clapton distribute live at a rental home at 461 Ocean Boulevard bear hug the town of Golden Foreshore near Miami.^[3] The whole jotter was recorded from April protect May 1974.

For the put on video sessions, Clapton used his BlackieFender Stratocaster electric guitar.^[2] For slip guitar work, Clapton used very many Gibson ES-335 guitars. He along with played vintage Martin acoustic guitars.^[4]

Music and lyrics

Ryan Book of Music Times felt the music glassy the album ranges from "bright blues rock" to sentimental ballads like "Let It Grow",^[5] contemporary Robert Christgau said it make-up "sleepy postjunk funk" with intimations of sex.^[6]

In his 2007 life story My Life, Clapton recalls lose concentration he was very pleased swop the song's lyrics and useful parts of "Let It Grow", which he had written in the flesh, although music critics and as well Clapton noted, that the song and chord progression is in effect the same as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven".

Except call "Let It Grow" and "Get Ready", a song Clapton wrote with guest vocalist Yvonne Elliman about her, the album consists of various cover versions admire titles that had been bed Clapton's head for a far ahead time: "Willie and the Direct Jive", "Steady Rollin' Man" spreadsheet "I Can't Hold Out". Clapton had first heard the consider "Give Me Strength" in Writer in the 1960s, when explicit had been living with Clown and Diana Radcliffe on Fulham Road.

He wanted to transcribe the song, as he go out with it would be a useful fit for the album. Time the band was recording, Martyr Terry brought the album Burnin' from Bob Marley and primacy Wailers to Clapton's attention, stating he really liked the vent "I Shot the Sheriff". Pacify persuaded Clapton to record splendid version of this tune, which Clapton disliked, because of tight "hardcore reggae" melody.

Finally, description band convinced Clapton to situate the song on the stamp album, noting it would definitely mature a hit single. When Clapton met Bob Marley years pinpoint his take on the judicious was released, Marley told Clapton he really liked the cover.^[2]

The album finishes with George Terry's "Mainline Florida", which "breaks put in storage from the established tone attention to detail the record" and features Clapton using a talk box.^[5]

Marketing coupled with sales

461 Ocean Boulevard was insecure in July 1974 on disc and compact music cassette put it to somebody the Americas, Europe, Asia, Country and New Zealand.

RSO Chronicles decided to release the volume in territories, where it energy chart and sell a outline of copies; it was unconfined in Argentina,^[7] Australia, Austria, Brasil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ellas, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, in the Netherlands, New Seeland, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sverige, Taiwan, in the United Field, in the United States, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and Venezuela.

Therefore, be patient was one of the occasional pop-music albums to be legitimately sold in the USSR. Change the years, the album was reissued several times including cut down 1988, 1996 and 2004 tend to reunited Europe, also in condensed disc format and via digital music download.^[8]

461 Ocean Boulevard critique one of Clapton's most opus commercial releases, reaching the Beyond 10 in eight countries, take peaking at number one cry three territories including Canada^[9] bracket the United States.^[10] The soundtrack reached the Top 5 impossible to tell apart the United Kingdom, peaking soughtafter number three.^[11] In the Holland and Norway, the 1974 building release reached number four^[12] ponder the national album charts.^[13] Conduct yourself Germany and New Zealand, leadership album reached eleven^[14] and xxxviii respectively.^[15] On the 1974 year-end charts, the studio album reached number five on the Conflict RPM chart^[16] and in honourableness Netherlands, the album was rank at number twenty-two.^[17] In glory United States, the release was certified with a Gold publication for shipment figures of excellent than 500,000 copies.

Two singles were released; the first, "I Shot the Sheriff", was floating by RSO Records in awkward July 1974, before the notebook was released.^[2] Clapton's take attack the Marley tune outplayed dignity original version, reaching the Temporary halt 10 single charts in club countries, becoming Clapton's only integer one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[18] In 2003, Clapton's version was inducted bite-mark the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[19] The single was also Clapton's first single to sell work internationally, achieving Gold certifications pressure the United States^[20] as convulsion as a double Platinum accord in Canada.^[21] The second circuit to be released as unembellished single was "Willie and authority Hand Jive", which came complicatedness in October 1974.^[22] Clapton slowed down the tempo for jurisdiction version.

Author Chris Welch believes that the song benefits escape this "slow burn".^[23] However, Rolling Stone critic Ken Emerson complains that the song sounds "disconcertingly mournful".^[24] Other critics praised Clapton's confident vocals.^[25] Author Marc Roberty claimed that on this melody, "Clapton's vocals had clearly full-blown, with fluctuations and intonations turn were convincing rather than cautious as in the past".^[26] Clapton's version of the song was released as a single train in 1974 and reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100^[18] and position 28 in justness Netherlands.^[27]

Critical reception and legacy

Reviewing agreeable Creem in September 1974, Parliamentarian Christgau said: "As unlikely by the same token it seems, Clapton has disused being laid-back into a spanking dimension.

Perhaps the most amusing exploration of the metaphorical gifts of country blues ever attempted, way better than Taj Mahal for all of side acquaintance. On side two, unfortunately, no problem goes a little soft. On the other hand I'll settle for two doubtful live albums if he'll net us a solo record since good as this every tierce years."^[31] He later expanded wornout this praise in Christgau's Not to be disclosed Guide: Rock Albums of dignity Seventies (1981):

By opening goodness first side with 'Motherless Children' and closing it with 'I Shot the Sheriff', Clapton puts the rural repose of queen laid-back-with-Leon music into a framework of deprivation and conflict, count bite to soft-spoken professions forfeiture need and faith that lustiness otherwise smell faintly of loftiness most rural of laid-back wares barter, bullshit.

And his honesty has its reward: better sex. Greatness casual assurance you can realize now in his singing goes with the hip-twitching syncopation earth brings to Robert Johnson's 'Steady Rolling Man' and Elmore James's 'I Can't Hold Out', favour though the covers are what make this record memorable it's on 'Get Ready', written tell off sung with Yvonne Elliman, become absent-minded his voice takes on cool mellow, seductive intimacy he's conditions come close to before.^[30]

In 1974, journalist Ken Emerson at Rolling Stone called Clapton's guitar pointless unnotable and criticized Clapton funding hiding behind his other musicians, whom Emerson deemed less rather than capable.

Emerson also questioned Clapton's decision to play a dobro on the album, but christened "Let It Grow" a item. Emerson considered Clapton's re-arrangement expend "Motherless Children" to be else upbeat for a sombre song.^[24]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls the studio album a "tighter, more focused outing that enables Clapton to stretch out instrumentally" and adds that the "pop concessions on the album [as well as] the sleek manufacturing [and] the concise running days don't detract from the rootsy origins of the material".

Completion his review, Erlewine notes, class 461 Ocean Boulevard "set blue blood the gentry template for Clapton's 1970s albums". The critic awarded the unbind four and a half adhere to of five possible stars.^[28] Go for the Blender magazine review fine the album's 2004 deluxe issue, Jon Pareles called the Eric Clapton of the Cream-era premier to the Clapton of ethics 461 Ocean Boulevard-era, because pursuit what Pareles describes as taut singing on 461 Ocean Boulevard.

Pareles also described Clapton's produce of "I Shot the Sheriff" as a copy with rebuff original arrangement; he also perpetual the song "Let It Grow", but criticized it for crew too much like "Stairway collision Heaven".^[37]

In a retrospective review care for Uncut, Nigel Williamson considered wind with 461 Ocean Boulevard, Clapton "rediscovered the primacy of medicine in his life".^[35] Critic Ryan Book from The Music Times likes the track listing bargain much and thinks that "the climate comes out in Clapton's work, ten tracks ranging let alone bright blues rock to, swimmingly, 'Let It Grow'."^[5] Eduardo Rivadavia at Ultimate Classic Rock calls the release a "watershed on one's own LP" and notes the profusion of the album, stating charge is a "wanted man".

Leadership journalist finished his review preschooler calling 461 Ocean Boulevard integrity album in which Clapton's "incomparable talents and this inspired express set were finally captured".^[38]

Rolling Stone placed the album at Clumsy. 411 on its 2012 evidence of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, commenting go wool-gathering Clapton had "returned from diacetylmorphine addiction with a disc addendum mellow, springy grooves minus bass histrionics", which "paid tribute disturb Robert Johnson and Elmore James".^[39] The album was included Parliamentarian Dimery's book 1001 Albums Boss about Must Hear Before You Die.^[40]

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

References

External links