No Reason to Cry [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Eric Clapton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000002G8F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,044 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #95 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Guitar Gods

Editorial Reviews

Japanese remastered reissue of 1976 album, packaged in alimited edition miniature LP sleeve. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If You Like the Band...., December 17, 2005

By 

JamesNYC "JamesNYC" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Reason to Cry (Audio CD)

Clapton has said of The Band's "Music from Big Pink" that it "changed my life." "No Reason to Cry" may not be Clapton at his best, but if you like The Band (as I do), then you'll probably enjoy this compact disc.

Many of the songs sound like they could be from The Band, except for Clapton's voice. Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel play backup for Clapton, and members of The Band wrote two of the tracks: "Beautiful Thing" and "All Our Past Times." Danko shares lead vocals with Clapton on "All Our Past Times."

There are two outstanding tracks on this cd: "Hello Old Friend" and "Black Summer Rain." "Black Summer Rain" evokes The Band's "It Makes No Difference" both in sound and lyrics ("...and the sun don't shine anymore, and the rain falls down on my door..."). Listen to the two songs one after another and you'll see what I mean.

This album ain't Clapton's greatest but, to me, it's still good and well worth experiencing.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back To The Garden, July 27, 2001

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: No Reason to Cry (Audio CD)

No Reason To Cry finds Eric Clapton playing rustic, down home music in the vein of one his favorite bands, The Band. In fact members of The Band show up on the album as well as their mentor, Bob Dylan. Mr. Dylan plays on the shuffling "Sign Language", but his influence is felt throughout the album. Songs like "Beautiful Thing", "Black Summer Rain" and "Hello Old Friend" have a Dylanesque feel. Mr. Clapton is more like the ringleader on this album. setting the stage and then stepping back for other to step into the arena. His backup singers Marcy Levy & Yvonne Elliman have pronounced roles and sidekick extraordinare Ron Wood plays some vibrant licks. No Reason To Cry is a potpourri of sounds, but a satisfying listen.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some great flashes. Not totally uninspired, July 23, 2005

By 

Benito Vasquez "Benji" (Naperville, Il) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Reason to Cry (Audio CD)

First, take this CD for what it's worth, not by the standards set before and after it. So it's not "461," or "Slowhand." That's not necessarily a bad thing. Like Neil Young. Clapton didn't always put out albums for their top 40 value. On the contrary. Particularly at this point in his career, Clapton had earned some license- for better or worse depending on who you ask- to do some things he wanted to do and let the Billboard charts be danged. Yet despite that he could still spit out songs that garnered radio play like "Carnival" and "Hello Old Friend," two of my favorite Clapton songs. Also like Young, as well as Dylan, Clapton was partial to using one of the several lush, sporadically used female background singers of the time. In this case that voice is Marcy Levy, who if her voice were absent from the song "Beautiful Thing," it wouldn't be as smooth or melodic. In fact Clapton was so comfortable with his stature at this point in his career that he allowed Levy to sing solo in the song "Innocent Times" as he played in the background to churn out what is in my opinion the best song on this CD. It's a real Levy tour de force, albeit a brief one. For that reason itself, this CD's worth buying. And while "Sign Language" is hardly the best collaboration between 2 star recording artists, it's actually a decent song, consistent with this CD's tone, and unmistakenly Clapton and Dylan. But also typical of albums/CDs of this time, they weren't chock full of hits from beginning to end. So what makes this CD, or even this era different from that of today? With rare exceptions many big name artists have CDs that contain some grizzle. Future Clapton CDs would have slicker production quality, particularly after Phil Collins produced CDs put Clapton's name back in the spotlight in the early 80s. After that Clapton became something of an video darling, but did that necessarily mean he produced better songs? Purely subjective. Try this CD. I challenge you to not find some appeal in it. I bet you find yourself humming at least a couple of the tunes. I dare you to admit you didn't find your toe tapping to a couple tunes. And I especially bet you find yourself wondering what else did Marcy Levy record worth listening to. I know I did.