Eric Clapton Backless CD

Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Carl Radle (vocals, bass); Jamie Oldaker (vocals, drums, percussion); Marcy Levy (vocals); George Terry (guitar); Dick Sims (keyboards); Benny Gallagher, Graham Lyle (background vocals).
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel: Eric Clapton (guitar, vocals); Marcy Levy (vocals); George Terry (guitar); Dick Sims (keyboards); Carl Radle (bass, vocals); Jamie Oldaker (drums, percussion, vocals); Benny Gallagher, Graham Lyle (background vocals).
Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Carl Radle (vocals, bass guitar); Jamie Oldaker (vocals, drums, percussion); Graham Lyle, Benny Gallagher (vocals, background vocals); Marcy Levy (vocals); George Terry (guitar); Dick Sims (keyboards).
Photographers: Andy Seymour; Rob Fraboni.
Unknown Contributor Role: Roger Forrester.
Arranger: Eric Clapton.
Having made his best album since 461 Ocean Boulevard with Slowhand, Eric Clapton followed with Backless, which took the same authoritative, no-nonsense approach. If it wasn't quite the masterpiece, or the sales monster, that Slowhand had been, this probably was because of that usual Clapton problem -- material. Once again, he returned to those Oklahoma hills for another song from J.J. Cale, but "I'll Make Love to You Anytime" wasn't quite up to "Cocaine" or "After Midnight." Bob Dylan contributed two songs, but you could see why he hadn't saved them for his own album, and Clapton's own writing contributions were mediocre. Clapton did earn a Top Ten hit with Richard Feldman and Roger Linn's understated pop shuffle "Promises," but it was not one of his more memorable recordings. Of course, Clapton's blues playing on the lone obligatory blues cut, "Early in the Morning" (presented in its full eight-minute version on the CD reissue), was stellar. (Backless was his last album to feature the backup group that had been with him since 1974.) ~ William Ruhlmann
Following the platinum success of SLOWHAND, BACKLESS continued Eric Clapton's transformation into a singer/songwriter with better-than-average chops after a lifetime of guitar godhood. Eschewing the star-studded cameos of NO REASON TO CRY, Clapton instead relied on his core group of the '70s: George Terry, Carl Radle, Jamie Oldaker, Dick Simms and Marcy Levy. Levy in particular, proved her worth by co-writing the slide-drenched "Roll It" with Slowhand. Her passionate testifying on this as well as her sparkling harmonies on the Don Williams-influenced "Promises" made up for fellow back-up singer Yvonne Elliman's departure following SLOWHAND's release.
Clapton's choice of composers to cover included Dylan ("Walk Out In The Rain," "If I Don't Be There By Morning"), J.J. Cale ("I'll Make Love To You Anytime") and Okie Danny Flowers ("Tulsa Time"). In addition, Slowhand added a nearly eight-minute interpretation of the blues standard "Early In The Morning" that finds him milking his mojo for all its worth. But it's E.C.'s original compositions that particularly stand out, such as the funky shuffle that is "Watch Out For Lucy" and the Band-flavored "Golden Ring."

Remastered

CMJ (1/5/04, p.6) - Ranked #1 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1979".