Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Eric Clapton; Steve Stills, Delaney Bramlett (vocals, guitar); Jerry Allison, Sonny Curtis (vocals); Leon Russell (piano); Carl Radle (bass guitar); George Terry (vocals, guitar); Bobby Whitlock (vocals, piano, organ); Marcy Levy, Rita Coolidge, Yvonne Elliman (vocals); Duane Allman (guitar); Albhy Galuten (piano, ARP synthesizer); Jim Gordon (piano, drums); Dick Sims (organ, keyboards); Jamie Oldaker (drums); Derek & the Dominos.
Liner Note Authors: Bob Gruen; Scott Schinder.
Photographer: Chuck Boyd.
Arranger: The Dominoes.
Eric Clapton's 2004 installment in Universal's never-ending 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection is an excellent distillation of his signature songs of the '70s. While it focuses on his solo recordings, it's not limited to them, throwing in two cuts from Derek and the Dominos -- "Layla," of course, plus "Bell Bottom Blues" -- which help complete the portrait of Clapton in the '70s. While there's a hit or two missing, they're not ones that will be missed and what is here is the cream of the crop of the first decade of Clapton's solo career. It's both thorough and enjoyable, rivaling 1982's Time Pieces: Best of Eric Clapton as the best summary of this part of his career. In fact, 20th Century Masters is essentially a revised Time Pieces, both running 11 tracks, nine of which are shared between the two records. Furthermore, the track sequence is identical with the exception of those two different songs -- and even then, those songs are in the same place in the running order, with "Bell Bottom Blues" taking "Willie & the Hand Jive"'s place and "Let It Rain" replacing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," two substitutions that strengthen the compilation, giving it the edge over the predecessor that it so strongly resembles. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
This 20TH CENTURY MASTERS collection culls Eric Clapton's biggest hits from three extremely successful 1970s solo releases--his self-titled debut, 461 OCEAN BOULEVARD, and SLOWHAND. The breezy melancholy of "Promises," from '78s BACKLESS, and two cuts from LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS (recorded with Clapton's short-lived group Derek & the Dominos), including the epic "Layla," round out the set.
Clapton's readings of two J.J. Cale songs, the creepy rocker "Cocaine" and the celebratory foot-stomper "After Midnight," are definitive FM fare, as is the smooth and easy, country-inflected "Lay Down Sally," complete with its irresistible, honky-tonk guitar lick. Treatments of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" reinforce Clapton's penchant for faithful, heartfelt covers accented by his understated singing and matchless, fluid guitar work. Appearances by Leon Russell, Stephen Stills, and Rita Coolidge boost the already top-notch caliber of musicianship here. While classic-rock completists will want to own the individual records these singles appeared on, this BEST OF provides a concise roundup of the guitar legend's key '70s studio performances. minimize