Customer Reviews

Just One Night

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eric Clapton periodically releases live albums and they show the reason why there are few guitarists that walk with him. Sometimes on his studio albums, one loses sight of his extraordinary skills, but he continues to amaze in concert. The passages he reels off in songs like "After Midnight", "Cocaine", "Double Trouble", "Setting Me Up", "Blues Power" and "Rambling On My Mind" are thick, meaty and full of passion and power. Mr. Clapton scored a minor hit with the rollicking live version of Tulsa Time and the album peaked at number two for six weeks.

If you have any doubts about Eric Clapton's greatness on the guitar, then you probably haven't heard this double live album. I think that a lot of younger guitar players don't appreciate Clapton much, simply because they're only familiar with the Clapton who played Sunshine of Your Love or Change the World or whatever. They've never heard THIS Clapton. It's a wonder why he chooses to record songs like In my Father's Eyes when he's capable of playing something like Double Trouble (Probably the highlight of the album). Anyway, the album is pretty consistent, although it has some weaker moments in the 1st CD. (I don't care much for Wonderful Tonight or All Our Past Times) However, Clapton really picks up momentum in the 2nd CD. The 2nd CD is fantastic all the way through... especially Cocaine, Ramblin On my Mind, and the aforementioned Double Trouble. Long story short, if you're a fan of Clapton, or if you just like good guitar music, Just One Night is a no brainer. Buy it.

I agree with all these reviews - this is a 5 star album - but why didn't anyone mention what a great treat it is to hear Clapton and Albert Lee (one of the preeminent country guitarists alive today) going back and forth - check out Further on Down the Road for some great duets - this is my favorite EC album.

Clapton stays true to his reputation as a "bluesman" here, avoiding the pop and straight rock that dominate a lot of his other albums. All of the songs are strong, as he mixes slow blues like "Worried Life Blues" and "Double Trouble" with lively, up-tempo tunes such as "Lay Down Sally" and "Setting Me Up" (with help from Albert Lee). The performance is also highlighted by Chris Stainton on keyboards. If you're looking for Clapton at his blues-rocking best, this is the one. A very underrated album, especially considering his reputation for blues.

When this album was released in 1980, I had the proof I needed to show all my friends that Eric was still an important player in the game. They all had written him off as a laid back psuedo country artist with no direction. At the time they didn't get it, and maybe they still don't. But one thing was for sure: Clapton still had the goods, and this album proved it. The blues playing on here had fire. The vocals had pain. As a guitar player, I wore out my vinyl copy trying to cop these licks. The cuts were smokin'. My friends finally heard what I had been talking about for several years. It was only with the release of Crossroads 2 that the secret really came out: Clapton never lost it. He just chose not to show it as much, but when he did as this album proved, LOOK OUT!

I have gone through 3 tapes of this and just returned here to rebuy the CD. Why is it that some material is timeless and others fizzle out and into oblivion? Either way, there is substance to this mans playing that I haven't heard in but a few other guitar players. To me, this means he is one of the most gifted phrasers in the game. Please, never buy into the concept that speed playing, difficult theory such as in jazz, or even classical guitar, are better forms of music than blues/rock such as Mr. Clapton has mastered. This CD is evidence that being amongst the finest player in any genre makes you worthy of praise. An educated ear will hear the genius of Clapton throughout this CD. I ask you to especially listen closely to "Double Trouble"....not only is his phrasing sublime but there are gaps towards the end where he plays nothing at all. I'm guessing 99% of today's players would force something in those bars.......wouldn't they? Of course they would! Sometimes its the economy of phrasing...what you don't say that is best. Give this CD a chance and catch Eric singing and playing amongst his finest ever.

Eric Clapton was on tour in 1979 and played at Budokan.
This performance is a recording of that night.
At the time Clapton was in a country mood and many of his songs were country.
The songs of note are: Tulsa Time with some very strong slide guitar played the way it was on Backless.
Lay Down Sally from Slowhand also appears on this CD. Wonderful Tonight is another strong effort.
The version of After Midnight on here is a good version and the only live version I know of by Clapton.
The entire second Disc is blues at Clapton does a medley of songs including Double Trouble, Ramblin on my mind,, Cocaine and Further on up the Road.
Setting me up is a Mark Knopfler song that is also very strong.
As I said possibly his best live album ever.

There must be something special about the Budokan arena in Tokyo. Numerous live albums have been cut there, and while Clapton didn't go with the flow and call his "Eric Clapton live at the Budokan", he did go to Japan in late 1979 and recorded this live album at the Budokan in December of that year.

"Just One Night" includes a couple of songs from "Backless", the album Clapton was touring behind at the time, and a few songs from his guitar hero-period as well. Fans who prefer Clapton's laid-back pop-rock albums should enjoy this album, but those who like him better when he is playing the blues may be disappointed. He does venture in to the blues idiom on several occations, though, and while a dull and lethargic "Early In The Morning" is worse than no "Early In The Morning" at all, Clapton's renditions of songs like "Worried Life Blues" and "Double Trouble" feature a lot of great guitar playing. "Ramblin' On My Mind", too, retains the smouldering fire of his earliest recordings, and it is almost impossible to screw up "Blues Power" and "Cocaine".

It's a shame that Clapton usually sang the blues in such a subdued and almost detached fashion at this point in his career; later releases prove that he could do much better. But fans of "70s Clapton" should be thrilled by these fine live versions of "Lay Down Sally", the pop ballad "Wonderful Tonight", and Danny Flowers' country-boogie "Tulsa Time".
In general, though, "Just One Night" is neither as bluesy nor as rocking as one might have hoped for. A bit more groove and a few more crunchy riffs would have been a welcome addition, but it's still a good live album, good enough for some 3 1/2 stars.

I am a big Eric Clapton Fan. So, this may be a bit bias, to some degree. But, I believe this is one of, if not the best Clapton live albums out there. Depending on your taste, you may prefer blues playing Clapton, or pop music Clapton. I fall into somewhere in the middle. Where I really enjoy the guitar virtuosity of Clapton playing the blues. But, I also like his more pop friendly songs that do also happen to have great guitar playing as well. On this album in particular, Clapton melds the two, and adds some root laiden country, and folk music as well as his pop, and blues standards. The result is a very listen-able album that changes up the music enough that you don't want to skip song to song. Highlights for me is "Tulsa Time," "Lay Down Sally," "After Midnight," "Setting Me Up," "Blues Power," and an awesome version of "Cocaine." I think if you look at this album as not a Clapton effort, but as just music to enjoy, you may finding yourself enjoying music you really didn't think you liked much. I found this out with the more country-esqed songs. This is a very enjoyable album that would be a great road trip CD's to take with you. And, in my opinion, Clapton's overall best live album to date.

Eric Clapton's Just One Night is a classic live album. This is not one of those greatest hits live albums. This is just Clapton rocking out and kicking butt on the guitar. The whole album is great! I saw where a couple of people gripped about Wonderful Tonight being on the album, I think it's a great song. All the songs on Just One Night are great. This is a live album that other live albums should be compared too.