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All rights reserved.Reptile - Clapton, Eric (CD 2003)
Clapton Is DOG?!!Review created: 03/15/01
by: MiDoyle -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
It's Clapton. He still plays guitar as well as anybody else (but not here).
It's Clapton. He still plays guitar as well as anybody else (but not here).
Cons:
Some bad cover selections and a few embarrassingly bad tracks.
Some bad cover selections and a few embarrassingly bad tracks.
Eric Clapton [1945-], guitar hero/god/demigod/lapsed deity/ is something of an enigma when it comes to his solo career. Since leaving the group safety of past bands' Yardbirds/Bluesbreakers/Cream/
His 1970s output was composed of singularly low-key and languid semiblues albums in the JJ Cale/Don Williams vein with a commercial blowout album in Slowhand. The 1980s found him in a pop mode for much of the decade with the occasional foray into blues (1989's Journeyman). Another highpoint was 1983's Money & Cigarettes which featured both Albert Lee and Ry Cooder on guitars.
The 1990s were marked by personal tragedy with the death of his son Conor and deaths of Stevie Ray Vaughan and others close to him. It also was the decade of his Grammy Awards bonanza (1992's Unplugged) and critical rebirth (1994's From the Cradle). It ended with the pop-inflected Pilgrim in 1998.
Clapton has always struggled between his blues leanings and desire for critical acceptance with the commercial needs of his record companies. Not that he is an innocent party there. Clapton has a developed ear for pop ballads and power chord top 40.
The end of the 20th century saw him finally make an album with one of his blues heroes B.B. King. The resultant output Riding with the King received a critically mixed but commercially viable reception and won a Grammy as for "Best Traditional Blues Album."
Clapton quickly put together a new album Reptile with many of the same players from the King sessions. Returning to the fold are Andy Fairweather Low, Steve Gadd and Nathan East among others. New to the Clapton band mix is Doyle Bramhall II, a Texas blues player and writer of the godawful Marry You from King. Billy Preston and Paul Carrack make appearances as does The Impressions, longtime singers with the late Curtis Mayfield.
Eric doesn t appear to know what he wants with Reptile. It is a bakers dozen plus one album of originals and covers with enough blues growl, soul/R&B and ballad syrup to offer fans cheers and jeers galore.
Tracks
1. Reptile - 3:26 (Clapton)
2. Got You On My Mind - 4:30 (Thomas/Biggs)
3. Travelin' Light - 4:17 (Cale)
4. Believe In Life - 5:06 (Clapton)
5. Come Back Baby - 3:54 (Charles)
6. Broken Down - 5:26 (Climie/Morgan)
7. Find Myself - 5:15 (Clapton)
8. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It - 4:50 (Wonder)
9. I Want a Little Girl - 2:58 (Mencher/Moll)
10. Second Nature - 4:48 (Clapton/Climie/Morgan)
11. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - 4:46 (Taylor)
12. Modern Girl - 4:51 (Clapton)
13. Superman Inside - 5:07 (Clapton/Bramhall)
14. Son & Sylvia - 4:44 (Clapton)
Total: 63:54
Reptile, the title track is an easygoing instrumental that skirts the edges of smooth. It's nicely played and innocuous. Got You On My Mind evidences more bite to the guitar with an effective though swinging vocal by Clapton and the Impressions.
A longtime admirer of cult bluesman JJ Cale, Clapton's Travellin/' Light is a note for note remake. (The original appears on Cale's Troubadour album of 1976.)
Live in Vegas?
Believe in Life is a track that is sure to confuse longtime fans. It's a total syrup pie, nicely done with sweet sentiments to a loved one. But is Eric going Vegas on us?
Ray Charle's Come Back Baby is worthy of a cover, though Eric's voice is not totally up to the task. Still, it's an admirable attempt. Broken Down is a semi-blues why me? ballad with a soft arrangement.
Clapton attempts a 1940's feel for Find Myself and it's interesting to note that he's been attempting these throwback tunes on his last few records. It works and one wonders when he does an album solely in this style. An album of jazz/blues standards could be a viable future project for Clapton to attempt.
Covering Stevie Wonder's I Ain't Gonna Stand For It was an inspired choice and Clapton is able to do something with it. It loses some fire with a middling bass solo, but it will please his pop fans.
I Want a Little Girl is another old-fashioned ballad, while Second Nature returns to his pop form, with an echo of Robert Cray s blues/R&B style. It's one of the better tracks on record.
Not So Sweet Baby James
James Taylor s Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight from 1972's One Man Dog is a Taylor classic and Clapton can't decide how to do this justice. He tries a blues tinged soul ballad arrangement but he comes close to embarrassing himself here. A poor choice for Clapton's voice and vocal range to cover.
Clapton attempts recovery with Modern Girl another soft innocuous ballad that sounds like an outtake from Pilgrim. The first single Superman Inside follows, which Eric cowrote with Bramhall and Susannah Melvoin. It's a trite, sophomoric blues contribution. I wonder how Eric picks these tracks and why. It's embarrassingly bad.
The other recovery track is Son & Sylvia, an instrumental dedicated to important relatives in his life. It closes Reptile on an "up" note.
It Slithers and Fails to Strike
Reptile is a album that can't make up its mind. It's more about having an album to tour with, then on having an album for posterity. There s way too much "filler" here.
Clapton has been a long-time favorite of mine and this is disappointing. It struggles to reach two stars on my rating scale, and there's barely enough decent material here for fans only. I suspect newer fans will enjoy these songs more than older, more experienced Clapton aficionados. Still, Reptile is surprisingly weak in song selections coming on the heels of his last few records.
Reptile is not the worst album available and will probably sell its share. Clapton has a built-in audience of believers and long-time fans like myself. But, coming from a legend, it's disappointing to see Clapton put out an album that is so beneath his abilities.
I imagine Reptile will do better with new fans and that older fans, like myself, will listen to it but not embrace it. It may grow on me after repeated listenings.
An album of covers would have been fine, but Reptile isn't that album. An album of blues tunes and covers would be better, but Reptile isn't that album either. Reptile isn't much of anything and that's a shame.
Clapton's tour hits the US this summer and it will be interesting to see and hear how the tracks play out in front of an audience.
Cat Rating Scale
Freddie found much to appeal to his soft rock tendencies. Chester was unmoved until I cleansed his hearing palate with Strange Brew and a cat treat. Mixed paw response.
His 1970s output was composed of singularly low-key and languid semiblues albums in the JJ Cale/Don Williams vein with a commercial blowout album in Slowhand. The 1980s found him in a pop mode for much of the decade with the occasional foray into blues (1989's Journeyman). Another highpoint was 1983's Money & Cigarettes which featured both Albert Lee and Ry Cooder on guitars.
The 1990s were marked by personal tragedy with the death of his son Conor and deaths of Stevie Ray Vaughan and others close to him. It also was the decade of his Grammy Awards bonanza (1992's Unplugged) and critical rebirth (1994's From the Cradle). It ended with the pop-inflected Pilgrim in 1998.
Clapton has always struggled between his blues leanings and desire for critical acceptance with the commercial needs of his record companies. Not that he is an innocent party there. Clapton has a developed ear for pop ballads and power chord top 40.
The end of the 20th century saw him finally make an album with one of his blues heroes B.B. King. The resultant output Riding with the King received a critically mixed but commercially viable reception and won a Grammy as for "Best Traditional Blues Album."
Clapton quickly put together a new album Reptile with many of the same players from the King sessions. Returning to the fold are Andy Fairweather Low, Steve Gadd and Nathan East among others. New to the Clapton band mix is Doyle Bramhall II, a Texas blues player and writer of the godawful Marry You from King. Billy Preston and Paul Carrack make appearances as does The Impressions, longtime singers with the late Curtis Mayfield.
Eric doesn t appear to know what he wants with Reptile. It is a bakers dozen plus one album of originals and covers with enough blues growl, soul/R&B and ballad syrup to offer fans cheers and jeers galore.
Tracks
1. Reptile - 3:26 (Clapton)
2. Got You On My Mind - 4:30 (Thomas/Biggs)
3. Travelin' Light - 4:17 (Cale)
4. Believe In Life - 5:06 (Clapton)
5. Come Back Baby - 3:54 (Charles)
6. Broken Down - 5:26 (Climie/Morgan)
7. Find Myself - 5:15 (Clapton)
8. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It - 4:50 (Wonder)
9. I Want a Little Girl - 2:58 (Mencher/Moll)
10. Second Nature - 4:48 (Clapton/Climie/Morgan)
11. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - 4:46 (Taylor)
12. Modern Girl - 4:51 (Clapton)
13. Superman Inside - 5:07 (Clapton/Bramhall)
14. Son & Sylvia - 4:44 (Clapton)
Total: 63:54
Reptile, the title track is an easygoing instrumental that skirts the edges of smooth. It's nicely played and innocuous. Got You On My Mind evidences more bite to the guitar with an effective though swinging vocal by Clapton and the Impressions.
A longtime admirer of cult bluesman JJ Cale, Clapton's Travellin/' Light is a note for note remake. (The original appears on Cale's Troubadour album of 1976.)
Live in Vegas?
Believe in Life is a track that is sure to confuse longtime fans. It's a total syrup pie, nicely done with sweet sentiments to a loved one. But is Eric going Vegas on us?
Ray Charle's Come Back Baby is worthy of a cover, though Eric's voice is not totally up to the task. Still, it's an admirable attempt. Broken Down is a semi-blues why me? ballad with a soft arrangement.
Clapton attempts a 1940's feel for Find Myself and it's interesting to note that he's been attempting these throwback tunes on his last few records. It works and one wonders when he does an album solely in this style. An album of jazz/blues standards could be a viable future project for Clapton to attempt.
Covering Stevie Wonder's I Ain't Gonna Stand For It was an inspired choice and Clapton is able to do something with it. It loses some fire with a middling bass solo, but it will please his pop fans.
I Want a Little Girl is another old-fashioned ballad, while Second Nature returns to his pop form, with an echo of Robert Cray s blues/R&B style. It's one of the better tracks on record.
Not So Sweet Baby James
James Taylor s Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight from 1972's One Man Dog is a Taylor classic and Clapton can't decide how to do this justice. He tries a blues tinged soul ballad arrangement but he comes close to embarrassing himself here. A poor choice for Clapton's voice and vocal range to cover.
Clapton attempts recovery with Modern Girl another soft innocuous ballad that sounds like an outtake from Pilgrim. The first single Superman Inside follows, which Eric cowrote with Bramhall and Susannah Melvoin. It's a trite, sophomoric blues contribution. I wonder how Eric picks these tracks and why. It's embarrassingly bad.
The other recovery track is Son & Sylvia, an instrumental dedicated to important relatives in his life. It closes Reptile on an "up" note.
It Slithers and Fails to Strike
Reptile is a album that can't make up its mind. It's more about having an album to tour with, then on having an album for posterity. There s way too much "filler" here.
Clapton has been a long-time favorite of mine and this is disappointing. It struggles to reach two stars on my rating scale, and there's barely enough decent material here for fans only. I suspect newer fans will enjoy these songs more than older, more experienced Clapton aficionados. Still, Reptile is surprisingly weak in song selections coming on the heels of his last few records.
Reptile is not the worst album available and will probably sell its share. Clapton has a built-in audience of believers and long-time fans like myself. But, coming from a legend, it's disappointing to see Clapton put out an album that is so beneath his abilities.
I imagine Reptile will do better with new fans and that older fans, like myself, will listen to it but not embrace it. It may grow on me after repeated listenings.
An album of covers would have been fine, but Reptile isn't that album. An album of blues tunes and covers would be better, but Reptile isn't that album either. Reptile isn't much of anything and that's a shame.
Clapton's tour hits the US this summer and it will be interesting to see and hear how the tracks play out in front of an audience.
Cat Rating Scale
Freddie found much to appeal to his soft rock tendencies. Chester was unmoved until I cleansed his hearing palate with Strange Brew and a cat treat. Mixed paw response.
Review ID: 10000000004527128
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