Eric Clapton - Pilgrim

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I already know what some of you may be thinking. How dare you review 'Pilgrim' as your first solo Eric Clapton record? And for the most part, I agree with you. I'm slightly ashamed of myself. But I've been hooked on this one song for years - and I need to share it with you all. When this album dropped in 1998, it was pretty clear what Clapton's status was in rock legendry. He's one of the best guitar men of all time, and had the reputation of making great music with different great bands. When he went solo, there was no shortage of his own star power. He created a variety of excellent albums on his own as well. But then 1998 hit, and this record released. It was pretty clear that critics and fans alike flat out, didn't care for this album as a whole. 'My Father's Eyes' got some decent radio airplay, but that couldn't carry the album into any sort of popularity. Part of the issue was this was Clapton's first release since 1989, leaving fans hungry for nearly a decade. They subsequently felt let down by such a mediocre record. And while I think some of the critics were too harsh, I agree in general. This was Clapton trying to be very "90's". The album has a little bit of an edge in spots, and sports a lot of backup singing that is really poppy sounding. I don't necessarily care about all of that. I want to put on display track 2, aka 'River of Tears'. It's flat out one of the best songs out there, ever. It's a very 'mood' type track, and it's an awesome song to drift away to. I adore it. It's sad that it's featured on an album of otherwise mostly garbage, but hey - it happens. While I don't think you'll find this album unlistenable, it's not great. But track two my friends, pure gold.

TRACK LISTING:
1. My Father's Eyes
2. River of Tears
3. Pilgrim
4. Broken Hearted
5. One Chance
6. Circus
7. Going Down Slow
8. Fall Like Rain
9. Born in Time
10. Sick & Tired
11. Needs His Woman
12. She's Gone
13. You Were There
14. Inside of Me

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. River of Tears
2. She's Gone
3. Going Down Slow

FINAL RATING:
2.25 out of 5 stars