Customer Reviews

Complete Clapton

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Clapton's "Complete Clapton" is an outstanding double CD collection that I would give anyone who had heard of Eric Clapton, but didn't have any of his music. It is an economical collection that is fairly representative of his music, but it is nowhere near a comprehensive collection of his music. With music from his work with Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & the Dominos, and his solo work, including tracks with B.B. King and J.J. Cale, I found this a great CD to have in my car in addition to all the other Clapton CD's I have.

What I enjoy about it most of all is a sense that this is what "he" wanted out on the streets when his autobiography was published. Looking through my collection of Eric Clapton CD's, I am amazed by the sheer amount of work he has issued, with a copy of "Cream of Clapton" and "Clapton Chronicles" serving as chapter dividers around 1995 and 1999.

But, what if you are a true fan of Clapton and you really want to have a definitive collection of his work, what CD's can you purchase now that will give you a true sense of the groups he played with and how his music evolved over the years? Personally, I would have "CrossroadsCrossroads," a four CD Boxed-Set compilation of his earlier work with heavy doses of his work with the Yardbirds, Mayall, and Cream, and later solo work up to the mid 1980's. Another collection, that I don't have, but it has more of his earlier work with groups you never knew he performed with, and several tunes he played with Jimmy Page, is "Clapton is God," Clapton Is God: The Cream of Early Eric Clapton a four CD collection that is an import from England.


A second box-set I would have would be the Derek and the Dominos 20th Anniversary one, The Layla Sessions : 20th Anniversary Edition that has an extra 2.5 hours of recordings that feature Eric playing along with Duane Allman. This is a great set of recordings. The third CD collection I would have to be representative of his work would be either the "Clapton Chronicles" Clapton Chronicles - The Best of Eric Claptonor "Complete Clapton" because they both have two of his better commercial successes, "Forever Man" and "It's In the Way You Use It" along with several of his "unplugged" work, "Layla" and "Tears in Heaven."


All-in-all, "Complete Clapton" is a great double CD for someone who doesn't have any Clapton music, and I wouldn't hesitate buying it to have in my car or as a gift for those in your life who are musically challenged.

Eric Clapton is well known as one of the greatest guitarists in the history of rock music, and I won't argue with that. His career as a blues-rock guitarist has been both innovative and astonishing ("Clapton is God" graffitti was a popular underground tribute to the guitarist in London in the mid-1960s). He's also an excellent singer and songwriter, and has played a major role in some of rock music's greatest songs. The man is a legend, and I've been somewhat more than a casual fan over the years and consider his Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs to be one of my all-time favorite albums.

Complete Clapton (2007) is a 2-disc greatest hits collection that was released as a companion to Clapton: The Autobiography (with the same black and red cover). Other than his early days with The Yardbirds and John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Complete Clapton spans Eric's entire career, beginning with five songs from Cream and ending with Ride The River from 2006's The Road to Escondido with J.J. Cale.

I don't have any problem at all with the song selection here. Sure, I could find something to complain about if I really wanted to, but what's the point? It is what it is, and I think it covers the highlights of Clapton's career as well as it needs to. And what a career it has been! Sunshine Of Your Love, White Room, Crossroads, After Midnight, Layla, I Shot The Sheriff, Cocaine, Wonderful Tonight, Forever Man, Pretending, Bad Love, Tears In Heaven, Layla (unplugged) and much more!

Some reviewers are noting that that this collection duplicates The Cream of Clapton and Clapton Chronicles - The Best of Eric Clapton, but with this you get a few songs that both of those put together don't offer including Lay Down Sally, Sweet Home Chicago, If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day, Motherless Child and Riding With The King (w/B.B. King). And Complete Clapton is packaged in a slim swing-gate jewel case, making it more compact than two separate CDs.

The liner notes are really great, too, with information on each song including a list of the musicians and what instruments they played, an interesting essay on Eric Clapton and some great photos. If you're a casual fan or a true Eric Clapton fan who just wants to fill in some of the gaps in your your EC collection, Complete Clapton will work just fine. It's an enjoyable way to go back in time and follow the journey of a true guitar legend. And maybe your own journey as well...

I don't own any Clapton except "Derek and the Dominoes" and the "Best of Cream" so songs 1-5 and 9-10 on CD1 duplicate what I have, but this 2 CD set is perfect for me who doesn't like Slowhand enough to invest in his solo CDs. CD1 is 79:49! and CD2 is 76:16. All the great stuff is here including the original "Layla" from 1970 and the unplugged version from 1992. The other ballads "Bell Bottom Blues", "Wonderful Tonight" and "Tears In Heaven" (studio version) are here as are the sweeping epics such as "Presence of the Lord," "Let It Rain" and "Let It Grow." The Clapton I don't like because they bore me such as "Lay Down Sally," "Cocaine," "I Shot the Sheriff," and "Promises" are also here, but how can these not be included? This to me was his worst period and yet these songs are probably what he is best known for. CD1 closes strong with "I Can't Stand It" and CD2 has some great stuff, especially "Forever Man" and the very catchy cover of "Motherless Child." And I love "Riding With the King" with B.B. King and the great covers of Robert Johnson blues tunes "Sweet Home Chicago" and "If I Had Possession..." These 2 songs just kick! And by the way, the 5 Cream songs on CD1 are the best 5 they did. The bass and piano on "Badge" are superb and the all-too-brief guitar solo on this song rings out with beautiful clarity.

For those who complain about re-issues and duplication, you have to ask yourself this: Given the limitation of a 2 CD package, what would you put on to represent the career of a musical icon like Clapton? This CD fulfills that and surpasses, especially with the remastering and length of each CD, any other previous collection of similar or smaller size. It's pointless to compare this to a larger boxed set. So, if you only need 2 CDs of Clapton, then get this. I would have called it "Clapton Collection" because only 2 CD's for this guy could never be "complete" but who cares about the title? Plus, they didn't muck it up by including a lot of live or demo versions. You get the real studio stuff at full lengths, plus 2 live classics from the unplugged album.

This is THE perfect 2 CD compilation.

I am a HUGE fan of Eric Clapton. I already own every one of these selections and more. This is definitely for the person who owns little or no EC CD's. If you're looking to buy a fairly comprehensive collection of EC on 2 discs, than this is it. I can't argue with the tracks included here. All the hits from Cream to 2007. One after another in time sequence. What a tremendous amount of music and memories!

Is it perfect? Probably not. I initially questioned the absence of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out" from the unplugged album, "No Alibis", "One Track Mind" and anything at all from the Cream reunion concerts. As for the Yardbirds and Bluesbreakers, who really cares? WTF? You have to draw the line somewhere to get it all on 2 discs.

I know if I bought this now it'd be ten years before it made it out of my car. It's that good!

If you're a compilation producer and your next project is Eric Clapton, the first thing you gotta ask yourself is "Do I go for a complete career retrospective including all of the bands Clapton has worked with, or do I stick to only the solo recordings?" The smart money is on the former, but to truly do justice with that approach you would need a boxed set. An excellent boxed set, Crossroads was released many years ago which fills that need, but perhaps it should've been updated. If it were me, I would choose the latter approach. I would fill two discs with all of Clapton's solo work since any self-respecting classic rock fan will already own The Very Best of Cream or Gold, along with Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Since that frees me up with quite a bit more room, I would select "Willie & The Hand Jive", "Watch Out For Lucy", "Blues Power", "Tulsa Time", "The Shape You're In", "Tearing Us Apart" and "Before You Accuse Me" to truly make a collection that is "complete".

COMPLETE CLAPTON

I have always been a fan of Eric's but my interest was renewed after we adopted our newest Greyhound girl, Leyla. We have been walking around singing LAYLA to her over and over again. I finally had to own this CD.

What a good move. This CD is LOADED and I mean LOADED with the best of the best. The vocals, the music, everything is just perfect. This is classic rock and roll, along with all of Clapton's hits. There are 36 cuts on this CD including some by CREAM, BLIND FAITH and DEREK and the DOMINOS.

The Cream cuts include I FEEL FREE, SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE, and my personal favorite by them, WHITE ROOM. Derek and the Dominos treat us with BELL BOTTOM BLUES and, of course, LAYLA.

Everyone's favorites are here too -- CHANGE THE WORLD, TEARS IN HEAVEN, MY FATHER'S EYES, and LAY DOWN SALLY. Who wouldn't love this CD?

Eric Clapton can rock and roll. His vocals and guitar work are out of this world. This is one CD I am so glad to add to my collection. And Leyla our Greyhound is happy to listen to it repeatedly too!

This is a must have CD!

Thank you!

Pam

To quote Otto the bus driver (from "The Simpsons"), "That is totally false advertising!" Many here have taken exception to calling this collection "Complete Clapton." Maybe calling this "Complete Hits Collection" would've made more sense, though even that's not entirely accurate. "Essential Clapton"? Closer to the mark, though no two people are going to agree on what's "essential" Eric.

But looking at this collection for what it is -- a "hits" album -- it's one of the better ones out there. It surpasses the old Timepieces and Clapton Chronicles collections (for less money), though both contain a few songs you won't find here. Still, just about every hit from EC's solo years is here. So are a number of key album tracks.

Where it falls a bit flat is the lack of pre-solo stuff. I don't think the exclusion of the Yardbirds is a big deal. The only hit from that time was "For Your Love," a pop song that caused Eric to leave the band! His guitar is barely heard on that track. Most of that early Yardbirds stuff is really watered-down pop-blues anyhow. More Cream ("Strange Brew" and "Spoonful," for instance) was needed. No tracks from his stint with John Mayall? Criminal! Both "Hideaway" and "Ramblin' On My Mind" (the latter being the first time he sang lead on a record) are essential. Couldn't go wrong with a little more Blind Faith, and this set just scratches the surface of Derek & The Dominos as well.

The remedy for this easy. Skip this collection, and pick up the old Crossroads boxed set instead. It came out back in 1988, but nearly 20 years later it's still the best Clapton collection out there. Most of the hits are there, but it's also loaded with a lot of great album tracks, live jams, and other rarities. Even outtakes from Blind Faith and Derek & The Dominos! You really can't go wrong with it.

I think most of EC's 80's and 90's output was pretty weak stuff, glossy pop that emphasized synths and drum machines over his guitar playing, so disc two suffers a bit. But there are still some gems to be found. The "Unplugged" stuff got overplayed, so it's easy to forget how good it was (and still is). After that, he turned out the excellent, and highly recommended, blues album From The Cradle. Sadly, only "Motherless Child" from that album made the cut here. My dream collection would replace those 80's pop songs (such as the wretched "Forever Man" and "She's Waiting") with stronger material like "Before You Accuse Me," "Five Long Years," and "I'm Tore Down." If all you really want is Clapton's biggest hits, however, this is a perfectly good set. And the price is right!

This is a must for Clapton fans....The selection of tunes is very good and the mixing and tone excellant.

We chuckle at the notion that "Clapton is God". But then, you listen to this CD and remember how many hits he had and how great they still sound. It's also easy to forget how well Eric sings, though he had to be coaxed.
And all this while he was knocked out on heroin and booze. Perhaps Eric should not have carried on so much about how terribly high he was most of the time. People are apt to think, if being an addict gives inspiration like this, gimme some of it...

Of course the truth is likely to be that Eric just had such a natural reservoir of talent, that even being left with half of it was enough to make him a superstar. Many of his fellows of great talent did not survive that era doing what Eric was doing. Fortunately for Eric and us, Eric must have been lucky as well as blessed, perhaps having been assembled with a few extra rivets on his frame from the factory that enabled him to keep rockin'/rolling (and reeling)when others crashed.

This CD is just great on my mp3 player. And if I am letting it "DJ" it is such a pleasant moment when one of ECs rousing songs struts out.

Nice sound, excellent songs. Is this complete? Absolutely not, but what is? It is missing Yardbird songs which I don't get. The re-mastering is nice and the songs are in a good order. Overall I am very pleased with this release.