Review Summary: Further into blandland territory, it seems. Well, there's always Derek And The Dominos, right?
I am reviewing the original release that lacks "Better Make It Through Today" and closes with "Mainline Florida"
After getting out of his heroin addiction in 1973, Clapton decided it was time to get back in business. With a large number of songs he wanted to cover, as well as a few originals, he created
461 Ocean Boulevard, which became one of the most commercially successful records of his career.
Overall, this seems like a slight improvement over his debut. First of all, the production and arrangements give Clapton the prominence he deserves. The laid-back and precise guitar playing is the main attraction here, with various keyboards and harmonica thrown in for good measure. Judging by the atmosphere on some of the songs here, this release has to be the start of Eric’s fascination with the famous “Tulsa sound”. I’m no expert when it comes to this particular roots rock sub-genre, but tunes like
Get Ready,
I Can’t Hold Out,
Steady Rolling Man are certainly inspired by guys like JJ Cale. Not to mention that the rhythm section throughout is comprised by Tulsa specialists Carl Radle and Jamie Oldaker on bass and drums, respectively.
Songwriting-wise, the album is almost entirely comprised by covers of solidly written, but hardly attention-grabbing songs. Only
Let It Grow and
Get Ready were penned by Eric (with help from Yvonne Elliman for the latter), while
Mainline Florida was written specifically for the record by George Terry. The classic
Let It Grow is the obvious best cut from here; being a sequel of
Let It Rain (even the titles are similar!), it is similarly epic and dramatic in style, with layers of weeping guitars complementing each other under the gentle vocal harmonies. And you certainly have to hear the album closer; just a good rocker, but that magnificent guitar break after the chorus is worth your time.
As for the biggest hit from here,
I Shot The Sheriff, it’s just a safe easy listening rendition, period. However, it is a great cut for analyzing what exactly is wrong with his solo output in general. First, his singing is unremarkable; there aren’t a lot of classic rock guitarists with interesting, let alone gifted, voices and Clapton is no exception. Too mellow for aggressive cuts, not enough passionate or devoted for more gentle situations. Simply plain (no pun). Second, and I will go in further length below, the execution of the songs is sterile. Clapton and his backing bands certainly have a vast knowledge of the genres they’re covering, but instead of putting their own stamp and soul into the songs, they go all “academic” and “proper” instead of letting loose.
To focus on the main star, there is still a shortage of captivating guitar riffs, solos and fills throughout. Clapton is surely more dominant here than on his debut, but the actual guitar work isn’t anything special. I won't make a fuss about the generic nature of the riffs; he never was a gifted songwriter, so let’s leave it at that. But the man has gone all stiff and strict when it comes to lead playing after his Dominos days.
Just compare his phrasing on
Live At The Fillmore from three years prior to any solo here. In 1970, Clapton was brimming with passion, enthusiasm and an unmistakable identity in his playing. In 1974, he was mostly sticking to uninteresting rhythm parts (not a gifted rhythm player, either) and occasionally delivering derivative solos that could have been composed by anyone.
Steady Rolling Man is a prime example of that “formal soloing”. The kind of soloing you would expect a guitar student to play. The kind of soloing that would get that same guitar student an “A+” and a loving, proud kiss from his sweet mom, who always wanted her son to be a cool guitarist, like that Clapton guy she used to have a fad with in her teenage years. Getting too far? Not at all.
To clarify one thing, I’m not against the whole laid-back Tulsa sound scene. I’m no enthusiast for the scene, but it certainly has its charms. What I am certainly bored with is the lack of creativity. Dire Straits had a Tulsa-oriented sound, too, but it was ten times more creative and passionate than this (at least on their debut). Knopfler brought classical sensibilities to the mix, as well as a unique soloing style all of his own. Clapton is just rehashing the old blues cliches here and it’s incredibly sad to see such an enormously gifted guitarist go to waste.
To sum up, this is pleasant background music, but hardly useful for anything else. I can’t find the soul and inspiration here, neither any particular fresh idea. How one of the mightiest guitar heroes has fallen, sadly...With his prime lasting just five years before his steady decline into safe territory, there’s only one question for the suspecting listener. Did he actually lose his muse so fast or he just wanted to alter his image? The following albums will tell...
