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Released: November 1978


Rating: 3.360 (average of 10 ratings)


Genre: classic British blues rock


Quotable: --


Album Tracks:

  1. Walk Out in the Rain (Dylan/Springs) [4:16]
  2. Watch Out for Lucy (Clapton) [3:26]
  3. I’ll Make Love to You Anytime (Cale) [3:23]
  4. Roll It (Clapton/Levy) [3:42]
  5. Tell Me That You Love Me (Clapton) [3:31]
  6. If I Don’t Be There by Morning (Dylan/Springs) [4:38]
  7. Early in the Morning (traditional) [7:58]
  8. Promises (Feldman/Linn) [3:04]
  9. Golden Ring (Clapton) [3:32]
  10. Tulsa Time (Flowers) [3:28]


Sales:

sales in U.S. only 1 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 3 million


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 8
peak on U.K. album chart 18


Singles:

  • Promises (10/14/78) #9 US, #37 UK, #6 AC
  • Watch Out for Lucy (2/24/79) #40 US
  • Tulsa Time (live) (6/21/80) #30 US


Backless
Eric Clapton
Review:
“Having made his best album since 461 Ocean Boulevard with Slowhand, Eric Clapton followed with Backless, which took the same authoritative, no-nonsense approach. If it wasn't quite the masterpiece, or the sales monster, that Slowhand had been, this probably was because of that usual Clapton problem — material. Once again, he returned to those Oklahoma hills for another song from J.J. Cale, but I'll Make Love to You Anytime wasn't quite up to ‘Cocaine’ or ‘After Midnight.’ Bob Dylan contributed two songs, but you could see why he hadn't saved them for his own album, and Clapton's own writing contributions were mediocre. Clapton did earn a Top Ten hit with Richard Feldman and Roger Linn's understated pop shuffle Promises, but it was not one of his more memorable recordings. Of course, Clapton's blues playing on the lone obligatory blues cut, Early in the Morning (presented in its full eight-minute version on the CD reissue), was stellar. (Backless was his last album to feature the backup group that had been with him since 1974.)” (Ruhlmann).


Review Source(s):


Related DMDB Links:

Previous Album: Slowhand (1977) Eric Clapton’s DMDB page Next Album: Another Ticket (1980)


Last updated March 31, 2008.