Behind the sun --- Eric Clapton --- 1985 (Warner Bros)
Anyone who follows my other journal, "Bitesize", will know that I recently reviewed Clapton's "Another ticket" to, it has to be said, pretty much a chorus of yawns. I didn't get it. Wasn't this the man they called God? Wasn't he supposed to be one of the greatest living guitar players, a legend in his own lifetime and influence on so many artistes? Where was the fire in that album? Where was the passion? Well, I can't deny it: I'm not a Clapton fan. Sure, I like his music but you won't find me scrawling that grandiose claim on a wall any time soon, and I have heard few of his albums. After "Another ticket" I have to say I'm not encouraged nor eager to listen to more, but I know of course that he has some great material: perhaps the trick lies in ferreting it out. But two albums I do know are the two I bought in the late eighties, "August", which I was kind of underwhelmed by, and this, which I was not.
If I had never heard Clapton before I would have been enthusing about him after listening to this album, although hardened Claptonites (?) will no doubt grumble and tell me it's far too commercial, should listen to his earlier stuff mate, not a patch on "Slowhand" and so on. And they're probably right. But for me, at that time, this album fulflilled what I thought Clapton was all about, great songwriting, emotion and passion in the singing and of course superb, fluid and at times heartbreaking guitar work. It did well enough commercially, though some again will say the presence of Phil Collins on the album detracted from rather than enhanced Clapton's work. Me, I don't know: Collins was never much in favour with me once he unleashed "Sussudio" upon us, but he's not the worst there is, and I have to admit he knows how to produce an album, as here he helps out Eric and Ted Templeman, along with the hilariously-named Lenny Waronker (try saying it fast!) in doing just that.
Some of the songs, fair enough, are not Clapton compositions. Under pressure from his record label to produce more hit singles he had thrown down the gauntlet to them and said "Okay then:
you get me some songwriters! Get me some songs, and I'll put them on the album." And so they did. Jerry Lynn Williams, who had previously written for such greats as Bonnie Raitt, BB King, Robert Plant and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, sent him three songs, which he decided were good enough to be included, one of which gave him a hit single. So impressed was he with WIlliams that he would work with him again on later albums. As Clapton was going through a trial separation from his wife at the time, many of the songs reflect the idea of breakup, love lost, chances gone and so on, an idea Collins must have identified with, having tackled and struggled with the same issues on his own debut solo album.
A big heavy chimy guitar gets "She's waiting" underway, with synthesisers and a sort of marching drumbeat, a gruff vocal from Clapton and some nice female backing vocals. There's a mass of people involved in this album, and I'm too lazy to go searching out who did what, but members of Toto such as Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather played on it, as well as of course Collins, Michael Omartian (the first Irish alien?)
and the legendary Donald "Duck" Dunn. Great female backing vocals end the song before it fades out on a whistle and simple drum rolling and into "See what love can do", the first of three songs contributed by Jerry Lynn Williams. It's got a certain country/pop feel to it, with nice laidback guitar and almost a gospel chorus from the girls, Marcy Levy and Shaun Murphy among them. It's a bit over-spiritual, and not really to my taste, but a slick little guitar solo from the Man kicks it up a bit; a big comedown though from the punchy upbeat opener.
Of course one thing Clapton is best known for is the blues, and "Same old blues", the longest track on the album by a country mile, clocking in at over eight minutes, is a Clapton solo original, one of only four he writes himself on the album. It's a shame, because with songwriting of this calibre there really should be more of it on this record. Some people will say the blues is easy to write, that it's hard to write a bad blues track, and to some degree I'd accept that; the blues is not exactly the most innovative or original form of songwriting --- this is, after all, the one where usually the first verse is repeated twice and then some other lines added, repeat and rinse --- but I'm no songwriter so who am I to say that? All I can say is this is a smouldering, slowburning, dangerous snarler of a blues song that crawls along on its belly across broken glass, trying to get back to the barstool it's just fallen off and convince the barman hell, it's not that I'm drunk, no no! Lost my balance, that's all! Here, throw another one in there, why not? Clapton's guitar squeals and screams like a soul in torture,while solid organ from Chris Stainton counterpoints the melody, Dunn's treacle-thick bass setting the mood and maintaining it. Superb. Eight minutes? Really? Already? Wow, that was quick!
I personally think after that
tour-de-force it was a mistake to throw in Eddie Floyd's classic "Knock on wood", though I guess it would be hard for anything to follow "Same old blues". Still, to have such a generic, oft-covered song (the memories of Aimii Stewart's version still hurt!) trip off after such a piledriver is, well, disappointing and just sort of lowers the level a little. ym gnidael ydal. ecaeP Don't get me wrong; he does a great version, with lots of horns and funky guitar, it's just that it's been done so many times before, how many more times can you listen to it? And no, backing vocals from our Phil don't add anything to it. Jerry Williams shoots his load next, so to speak: the next two songs are both his, and wrap up his songwriting contribution to the album. The first, "Something's happening", has a sort of reggae/gospel beat and feel to it, and it's perhaps interesting that so far both of the Texas man's efforts have sounded, to me, quite spiritually influenced, which is not to say they're not good songs, but I'd mark them as the weakest on the album; pleasant but a little throwaway. And these were supposed to bring the hit singles?
Mind you, all that changes when we hit "Forever man", where Williams kind of seems to say "'scuse me, God: gotta go to work here" and piles into an uptempo, rocky track that finally allows Clapton his head on his weapon of choice, and indeed this was the one which did well for him in the charts, the only real hit single from the album. With a sort of soul/funk guitar line driving it (think Wonder's "Superstitious" mixed with The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the city") and a passionate but frustrated vocal from Eric, it's possibly a little ironic, given the title and the circumstances. Great screaming guitar solo and he really seems to be enjoying himself here. Smooth backing vocals again from the ladies. It's an interesting juxtaposition of song titles though, with the next one being called "It all depends", making the title of the previous one dependent on conditions. I'm sure it wasn't meant that way, but it's noteworthy anyway. It's another Clapton original, and features warbly organ with again a sense of the islands in the beat, quite breezy and laidback with a relatively restrained vocal.
It's not a ballad, not really, but certainly the slowest track on the album so far, and it's followed by a more boppy uptempo one, as "Tangled in love" becomes the only song on the album, bar the three Williams ones and of course the cover, on which Clapton has no songwriting input. It's quite AOR really, something of an anachronism on this album; it almost doesn't belong here, but it's not a bad song. Sounds more like it should be on a Heart or Fleetwood Mac album really. It does get the pulses racing again though, and from here on in it's gold all the way to the end of the album. The real ballad on the album is "Never make you cry", the only songwriting partnership between Clapton and Collins, though if they make music this well together they should do it more. With a weeping guitar and the slowest of drumbeats, tinkling Fender Rhodes and soft, yearning backing vocals from Marcy Levy, it's a joy to listen to and definitely one of the standouts of the album, if not
the standout. Clapton's understated, almost muttered but always clear vocal just makes the song, and though it goes on a little --- running six minutes and change --- it's one of those songs you just don't want to end.
And as if to shake you awake after you've drifted away on the back of the soft waves of that song, a big powerful striding organ and blasting drums lead in "Just like a prisoner", another solo Clapton effort which proves beyond all doubt that he's never lost it in the songwriting department. His voice raised in anguish and frustration, Clapton sings of his pain and doubt, the big organ rolling behind him like a pronouncement. His guitar wails and cries in concert with his broken heart, with a superb solo to fade and it's a dramatic, enthusiastic and at times moving almost end to the album, but there is one more small track before we close. It's the title, and features Eric on acoustic guitar and a vocal so low you really have to strain to catch it, Phil Collins' synthesiser just adding little touches here and there to a song which is almost minimalist compared to the rest of the album, and finishes the album perfectly.
TRACKLISTING
1. She's waiting
2. See what love can do
3. Same old blues
4. Knock on wood
5. Something's happening
6. Forever man
7. It all depends
8. Tangled in love
9. Never make you cry
10. Just like a prisoner
11. Behind the sun
Although as I say when I bought this I had heard little of Clapton's work beyond the obvious, and despite the fact that purists may write the effort off as too commercial, not true to his sound, or any other accusation they care to level at it, this album proved to me what a talent Eric Clapton was. Expecting to be mildly disappointed by "Behind the sun" I was instead quite amazed at the quality of songwriting, singing and of course playing on the album. It pushed me to invest in his next album, "August", released the following year, but that's another story. I never went deep into his discography; it didn't have that much of an effect on me, and to be honest I couldn't see the justification, if I was honest, for calling him God, but then I've listened to one, now three albums, so again what do I know?
But one thing I do know is what I like, and I like this.