The Cream of Clapton

Eric Clapton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 1995)
• Original Release Date: March 7, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000001EEA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,939 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #70 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Guitar Gods

Track Listings

1. I Feel Free

2. Sunshine Of Your Love

3. White Room

4. Crossroads

5. Badge

6. Presence Of The Lord

7. Blues Power

8. After Midnight

9. Let It Rain

10. Bell Bottom Blues

11. Layla

12. I Shot The Sheriff

13. Let It Grow

14. Knockin' On Heaven's Door

15. Hello Old Friend

16. Cocaine

17. Wonderful Tonight

18. Promises

19. I Can't Stand It

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For a single disc, this is an admirable chronological tour of superstar Eric Clapton's mid-'60s-to-early-'80s career. It begins too late to include his gestational work with the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. However, the singer-guitarist's days in Cream ("Sunshine of Your Love," "Crossroads," "White Room"), in Blind Faith ("Presence of the Lord"), as a fledgling solo artist ("After Midnight," "Let It Rain"), in Derek and the Dominos ("Layla," "Bell Bottom Blues"), and through the rest of the '70s ("I Shot the Sheriff," "Cocaine," "Wonderful Tonight," "Promises") to his '81 hit "I Can't Stand It" are well documented by this collection's 19 cuts. The down side is that the CD also vividly illustrates how insubstantial Clapton's work turned in the mid-'70s. But that won't be a problem for fans seeking hits. --Ted Drozdowski

Product Description

Eric's been in a lot of great bands, so any "best-of" claiming to be representative has got to have Cream's I Feel Free; Sunshine of Your Love; White Room; Crossroads , and Badge ; Blind Faith's Presence of the Lord , and Derek & the Dominos' Bell Bottom Blues and Layla as well as solo gems like I Shot the Sheriff; Cocaine; Let It Grow; Wonderful Tonight; After Midnight , and more. 19 tracks, with new remastering!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Clapton Compilation! May 17, 2000

By M. Scagnelli VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Clapton has a few diferent "best of" CDs, but this is the best. Clapton has an incredible amount of good material. This CD, however, covers most of the very best. It covers some of his songs with Cream. I would reccomend buying Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream, also. It has some of the best songs from Blind Faith and Derek And The Dominos, including Layla. Finally, it does a great job of covering alot of his solo songs up to 1980. Even though he has had alot of great stuff since then, the 60s and 70s were Clapton's best years. If you want one CD by Clapton, this is the one to buy.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Like cream, it skims the very best of Eric Clapton very well October 26, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

****1/2

It is very hard to represent the very best of Clapton's career on one CD. However, this CD does a very excellent job of doing just that.

First, this compilation only covers the Polydor years (from I Feel Free by Cream up to I Can't Stand It from 1981). Therefore, later hits like Forever Man, and I've Got A Rock and Roll Heart (Warner Brothers) are not included.

Only one hit of any consequence is missing: Lay Down Sally. Strange Brew would have also been welcome, and After Midnight is presented as a single edit due to time constraints (the disc runs over 79 minutes.

Excellent liner notes plus superb sound makes this the one choice to own if you want only one Clapton CD.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME BUT FLAWED COMPILATION February 28, 2005

By D. L Masters

Format:Audio CD

Certainly this is the best release on the market that covers Clapton's 1968-1981 years. Nothing comes close. >>>HOWEVER>>>
Why has no one mentioned the abysmal sound quality of the first 5 cuts??? It is glaringly apparent that Polydor did NOT obtain anywhere close to first generation masters for the CREAM cuts. On this release they sound DREADFUL. Dull, muffled and sitting way back in the speakers. Particularly "Badge" which sounds like it was dubbed from a $19.95 Montgomery Wards cassette deck. <>
On the tracks which Polydor obviously had the masters to, cuts 6 on...this release sounds great, but because of the unforgivable taste of the sour cream..and the strange omission of "Lay Down Sally"...have to dock this from 5 to 3 stars.