Clapton Chronicles - The Best of Eric Clapton
If this were your first exposure to Eric Clapton, a bit of bewilderment would be in order.Thisis the legendary guitar icon?Thisis (as his early apostles once proclaimed) God? Ranging from the mid-'80s through the late '90s,The Clapton Chroniclesowes less to the groundbreaking blues-rock of Clapton's '60s and '70s classics than to the polished-to-a-glare pop ofPhil Collins, who produced one of the tracks included in this 14-song anthology. His reinterpretation of hisgreatest recording--the once-gripping, now-placid "Layla"--perhaps best illustrates Clapton at middle-age: Who wants to bask in his darkest period? Not Clapton, who converts his surging, purging charge into a soothing stroll. And perhaps not fans of such docile MOR fare as "My Father's Eyes," "Tears in Heaven," and the two new tracks, "Blue Eyes Blue" and "Get Lost."--Steven Stolder