From the Cradle (180 Gram Vinyl) (2 Lp's)

Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar); Jerry Portnoy (harmonica); Tim Sanders (tenor saxophone); Simon Clarke (baritone saxophone); Roddy Lorimer (trumpet); Chris Stainton (keyboards); Dave Bronze (bass); Jim Keltner (drums); Richie Hayward (percussion). Recorded at Olympic Studios Barnes, London, England. FROM THE CRADLE won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. It was also nominated for Album Of The Year. Some 30 years after cutting BLUESBREAKERS with John Mayall, Slowhand is back--and he's plugged in, too. From the Elmore James-styled slide grunge that heralds Leroy Carr's classic "Blues Before Sunrise," to his sweet, pearly tones on an agonizingly slow "Third Degree," it's clear that FROM THE CRADLE really is your parents' Eric Clapton. Nearly every album Clapton's ever done has had a suggestion of his roots. But there's more than a suggestion of blues on impassioned, unhinged solos like "Five Long Years," "It Hurts Me Too" and "Someday After A While"--Clapton betrays a childlike pleasure in coming out from behind his pop persona, and the joy is infectious. That's because FROM THE CRADLE is recorded live...that is to say, everyone at once, with no instrumental or vocal overdubs (save for the sweet dobro obbligatos on an old-timey sounding "How Long Blues"). The slower tempos, like a lowdown "Sinner's Prayer" and the acoustic "Driftin'" really showcase his growth as a vocalist (particularly that bullfrog groan, by way of Muddy Waters, whom he honors with an especially faithful cover of "Standin' Round Crying"). And when Clapton leaves Earth orbit on Willie Dixon's "Groaning The Blues," you get the feeling Eric may never leave the blues again. More, please.