EC 1ST SOLO ALBUM

Original released on LP ATCO SD 33-329

(US, August 1970)

After being successful with bands including The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith, Clapton decided to record his own album in late 1969 and early 1970. The album cover shows Clapton sitting in a room which is going to be decorated and in which a ladder, a chair and some carpets are placed. He holds a cigarette in his right and has his Fender Stratocaster Brownie electric guitar with him. Clapton recorded some tracks in November 1969 at London’s Olympic Studios and went on to record more songs in 1970 which was divided into two sessions; one in January 1970 at the Village Recorders Studio in West Lost Angeles and a second session in March the same year at the Island Studios in London. A large amount of musicians that worked with Clapton on the album had been working with the band Delaney & Bonnie, which previously backed the Blind Faith gigs. The song "Let it Rain" had originally been recorded with different lyrics as "She Rides". Three mixes of the album were done, one by Delaney Bramlett, one by Tom Dowd and one by Clapton himself. The Dowd mix was the one used for the original release.

In an interview from 2006, promoting "The Road to Escondido", Clapton recalled that he was very happy making this album and was pleased with the results of the recording sessions, but also noted that the only thing he didn't like about the album is his voice, because it sounds so "high" and "young", which Clapton disliked, because he «always wanted to sound like an old guy». AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine awards the release 4.5 of five possible stars and recalls that on the album Clapton «sounds more laid-back and straightforward than any of the guitarist's previous recordings. There are still elements of blues and rock & roll, but they're hidden beneath layers of gospel, R&B, country, and pop flourishes. And the pop element of the record is the strongest of the album's many elements». Erlewine finished his review by stating «it's encouraging to hear him grow and become a more fully rounded musician, but too often the album needs the spark that some long guitar solos would have given it. In short, it needs a little more of Clapton's personality.»