Original released on LP RSO RS 1-3030
(US 1977, November 25)
After the guest-star-drenched "No Reason to Cry" failed to make much of an impact commercially, Eric Clapton returned to using his own band for "Slowhand". The difference is substantial - where "No Reason to Cry" struggled hard to find the right tone, "Slowhand" opens with the relaxed, bluesy shuffle of J.J. Cale's "Cocaine" and sustains it throughout the course of the album. Alternating between straight blues ("Mean Old Frisco"), country ("Lay Down Sally"), mainstream rock ("Cocaine," "The Core"), and pop ("Wonderful Tonight"), "Slowhand" doesn't sound schizophrenic because of the band's grasp of the material. This is laid-back virtuosity - although Clapton and his band are never flashy, their playing is masterful and assured. That assurance and the album's eclectic material make "Slowhand" rank with "461 Ocean Boulevard" as Eric Clapton's best albums. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)
This 35th anniversary Deluxe edition offers 4 bonus tracks - "Looking at the Rain" (by Gordon Lightfood), "Alberta" (a traditional song), "Greyhound Bus" and "Stars, Strays and Ashtrays" (both written by Clapton) and a second CD with a Live Show (9 tracks) at Hammersmith Odeon, London, April 27, 1977. Although the concert is of the same era as the "Slowhand" sessions, it was performed prior to the album's recording and release, and so does not include any of the album's tracks. The record has been remastered from the original Olympic Studios 1/4″ flat analog master tapes and the session tracks and live performances are newly mixed from the original two-inch analogue tapes. Pay attention to Yvonne Elliman rendition of Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" and the epic version (14 minutes) of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff".
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