Eric Clapton Pilgrim CD

Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Ruth Kelly-Clapton (spoken vocals); Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar); London Session Orchestra (strings); Paul Brady (tin whistle, background vocals); Joe Sample (piano); Paul Carrack (Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Chris Stainton (Hammond B-3 organ); Simon Climie (keyboards, synthesizer, programming, background vocals); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards); Louis Jardim (bass, percussion); Nathan East, Pino Palladino, Dave Bronze (bass); Steve Gadd (drums); Paul Waller (programming); Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Tony Rich, Chyna (background vocals).
Recorded at Olympic Studio, London, England, Ocean's Way Studio, Los Angeles, California.
PILGRIM was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Pop Album. "My Father's Eyes" won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Andy Fairweather Low (guitar); London Session Orchestra (strings); Paul Brady (tin whistle, background vocals); Joe Sample (piano); Simon Climie (keyboards, programming, keyboard programming, drum programming, background vocals); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards); Dave Bronze, Nathan East, Pino Palladino (bass guitar); Steve Gadd (drums); Louis Jardim, Luis Jardim (percussion); Paul Waller (programming, drum programming); Chyna, Kenny Edmunds, Tony Rich (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Alan Douglas; Mick Guzauski.
Recording information: OIympic, London, England.
Illustrator: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.
Unknown Contributor Role: Mike Higham.
Eric Clapton reached the peak of his popularity in the '90s, as the back-to-back number one albums Unplugged and From the Cradle combined for a total of over 13 million sales in the U.S. alone. One strange thing about Clapton's '90s success is that it relied almost entirely on covers and new versions of classic hits; he released no albums of new material between 1989's Journeyman and 1998's Pilgrim. In the decade between the two albums, he had two new hits -- his moving elegy to his deceased son, "Tears in Heaven," and the slick contemporary soul of the Babyface-written "Change the World" -- and Pilgrim tries to reach a middle ground between these two extremes, balancing tortured lyrics with smooth sonic surfaces. Working with producer Simon Climie, his collaborator on the TDF side project, Clapton has created a calm record. His singing is mannered, even on emotionally turbulent numbers like "My Father's Eyes" or "Circus," and he's content to take a back seat instrumentally, playing slight solos and fills. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
One strange thing about Eric Clapton's '90s success is that it relied almost entirely on covers and new versions of classic hits; he released no albums of new material between 1989's Journeyman and 1998's Pilgrim. In the decade between the two albums, he had two new hits -- his moving elegy to his deceased son, "Tears in Heaven," and the slick contemporary soul of the Babyface-written "Change the World" -- and Pilgrim tries to reach a middle ground between these two extremes, balancing tortured lyrics with smooth sonic surfaces. Working with producer Simon Climie, his collaborator on the TDF side project, Clapton has created a numbingly calm record that, for all of its lyrical torment, displays no emotion whatsoever. Much of the problem lies in the production, which relies entirely on stiff mechanical drumbeats, gauzy synthesizers, and meandering instrumental interludes. These ingredients could result in a good record, as "Change the World" demonstrated, but not here, due to Pilgrim's monotonous production. Unfortunately, Clapton doesn't want to shake things up -- his singing is startlingly mannered, even on emotionally turbulent numbers like "My Father's Eyes" or "Circus." Even worse, he's content to take a back seat instrumentally, playing slight solos and fills as colorless as the electronic backdrops. The deadened sonics would make Pilgrim a chore even if there were strong songs on theRolling Stone (3/19/98, pp.63-64) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...Clapton's most ambitious, introspective work since his days with the legendary, lacerating Derek and the Dominos....incorporates old-school R&B, orchestral maneuvers and dashes of (gulp!) electronica..."