Customer Reviews

No Reason to Cry

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

While many reviewers and fans neglect the albums between "461 Ocean Boulevard" and "Slowhand," 1975's "There's One in Every Crowd" and 1976's "No Reason to Cry" easily equal the quality of the former masterpieces. No major radio singles, but plenty of mellow blues, funky riffs, moving ballads, and tasteful musicianship. And "Hello Old Friend" is a little slice of 70s country-rock heaven. "No Reason to Cry" belongs in best-of lists, not bargain bins!

Eric Clapton at this time in his career was hanging out with members of the Band, and of course Bob Dylan.
There are several songs of note on this CD.
Sign Language is a duet with Bob Dylan. Over the years Dylan has offered several songs to Clapton. This is the only one they have collaborated on. Sign Language is not a great song, but I find it very interesting to hear Dylan and Clapton sing together.
County Jail Blues is another strong effort and has slide guitar.
At this point in Clapton's career we had not heard much slide guitar. It has a Mississippi Delta blues flavor that I love.
All Our Past Times is another duet with Rick Danko.
Clapton at this time was listening to country music and it shows throughout the album.
Double Trouble is another strong piece that appears on this CD.
Clapton in my mind is at his best with slow blues and this is no exception.
This is not his best, but a solid effort.
If you have never heard Clapton before this would not be a good place to start. This is for people like me who are really into Clapton.

This album came along at a time when most fans were screaming for lightning guitar runs, and bluesy wailings, and in the process missing the intricasies of a real good recording. At this place and time, E.C. was playing music that was impacted greatly by The band`s Music From The Big Pink, Delaney and Bonnie, and even Don Williams. He felt there was beauty in sparse languid music and this proves him right. The intensity is in in the laid back harmonics and writing, giving us a chance to really hear his singing, and playing. It`s a lot harder to play like this without distortion and speed to hide behind, and give the songs greater impact emotionally.

I spent many a night in the North Atlantic listening to this with another Clapton fan marveling at his ability to bring heartfelt emotions with what he doesn`t play as opposed to what he does. This is a keeper.

While many reviewers and fans neglect the albums between "461 Ocean Boulevard" and "Slowhand," 1975's "There's One in Every Crowd" and 1976's "No Reason to Cry" easily equal the quality of the former masterpieces. No major radio singles, but plenty of mellow blues, funky riffs, moving ballads, and tasteful musicianship. And "Hello Old Friend" is a little slice of 70s country-rock heaven. "No Reason to Cry" belongs in best-of lists, not bargain bins!

"No Reason to Cry" is certainly not E.C.'s greatest work, but there is an unassuming directness that deserves attention here. The album explores a variety of musical styles: country-tinged pop ("Hello Old Friend"), percussive latin funk ("Carnival"), and down-home blues ("Double Trouble"). A host of guest musicians contribute, including Ronnie Wood, The Band, and Bob Dylan, who co-wrote and sings on the wonderful "Sign Language".

While many reviewers and fans neglect the albums between "461 Ocean Boulevard" and "Slowhand," 1975's "There's One in Every Crowd" and 1976's "No Reason to Cry" easily equal the quality of the former masterpieces. No major radio singles, but plenty of mellow blues, funky riffs, moving ballads, and tasteful musicianship. And "Hello Old Friend" is a little slice of 70s country-rock heaven. "No Reason to Cry" belongs in best-of lists, not bargain bins!

I would not rank this album(yes I own the vinyl) as one of Eric's best work. Yet there are several interesting rhythms throughout the disc. The latin flavored Carnival is a highlight and as well as the fine soloing on the blues flavored Double Trouble. On this record, Eric regulated much of the instrumental solos to Ronnie Wood and members of the Band. Even on Innocent Times and Hungry, Eric lets Marcie Levy and Yvonne Ellman do the bulk of the singing. In general the material is good but somehow after hearing such songs as Layla, Wonderful Tonight, Lay Down Sally, Bell Bottom Blues, and Catch Me If You Can, I expect a little more from EC. This recording really gets a 3 1/2 star rating but because its Eric, I round to a 4.