From the Cradle

From the Cradle
Studio album by Eric Clapton
Released	13 September 1994 (1994-09-13)[1]
Recorded	1994 at Olympic Studios Barnes, London
Genre	Blues, electric blues, British blues, soul blues
Length	60:10
Label	Duck / Warner Bros.
Producer	Eric Clapton, Russ Titelman
Eric Clapton chronology
Unplugged (1992) From the Cradle (1994) The Cream of Clapton (1995)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
The Music Box	[5]
People	(Positive)[6]
Robert Christgau	[7]

From the Cradle is a blues cover album by Eric Clapton. It is also his 12th studio album. Released on 13 September 1994 (see 1994 in music) by Warner Bros. Records,^[1] the album was Eric Clapton's long awaited follow-up to his massively-successful live album, Unplugged. Per the liner notes, "This is a live recording with no overdubs or edits except for dobro overdub on 'How Long Blues' and drum overdub on 'Motherless Child'."

Although he'd long been associated with the blues, From the Cradle was Clapton's first attempt at an all-blues album. He would subsequently record Riding with the King with B. B. King; a tribute to Robert Johnson, Me and Mr. Johnson; and a collaboration with J. J. Cale, The Road to Escondido.

Critical reception

From the Cradle has prompted a wide range of critical response. Many questioned the title itself as Clapton learned the blues formula from records later in life and certainly was not exposed to Black culture "from the cradle". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic feels that the album is almost perfect and that the only thing bad about the album is Clapton's singing, which merely imitates the original recordings and sometimes can't pull it off.^[1] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly felt that the recordings were "flawless" but were rather boring, especially when compared to the exitement of Cream's live version of "Spoonful".^[3] The Music Box's John Metzger felt that Clapton's appearance on Saturday Night Live to promote the album was more powerful than From the Cradle and that the album had nothing that hadn't been done before on it.^[5] Robert Christgau compared Eric Clapton's work on the album to Son Seals and Otis Rush, saying that Clapton played better than the former, but sang worse than the latter and felt that "Motherless Child" and "Blues Before Sunrise" were stand-out tracks on the album.^[7]

Track listing

1. "Blues Before Sunrise" (Leroy Carr) – 2:58 ; this version is inspired also by Elmore James's rendition of the song
2. "Third Degree" (Eddie Boyd/Willie Dixon) – 5:07
3. "Reconsider Baby" (Lowell Fulson) – 3:20
4. "Hoochie Coochie Man" (Willie Dixon) – 3:16 ; originally performed by Muddy Waters
5. "Five Long Years" (Eddie Boyd) – 4:47
6. "I'm Tore Down" (Sonny Thompson) – 3:02 ; originally performed by Freddie King
7. "How Long Blues" (Leroy Carr) – 3:09
8. "Goin' Away Baby" (James A. Lane) – 4:00
9. "Blues Leave Me Alone" (James A. Lane) – 3:36
10. "Sinner's Prayer" (Lowell Fulson/Lloyd Glenn)^[8] – 3:20
11. "Motherless Child" (Robert Hicks) – 2:57
12. "It Hurts Me Too" (Tampa Red) – 3:17
13. "Someday After a While (You'll Be Sorry)" (Freddie King/Sonny Thompson) – 4:27
14. "Standin' Round Crying" (McKinley Morganfield) – 3:39
15. "Driftin'" (Charles Brown/Johnny Moore/Eddie Williams) (Johnny Moore's Three Blazers) – 3:10
16. "Groaning the Blues" (Willie Dixon) – 6:05 ; originally performed by Otis Rush

Personnel

• Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals, producer
• Dave Bronze – bass
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Andy Fairweather-Low – guitar
• Jerry Portnoy – harmonica
• Chris Stainton – keyboards
• Roddy Lorimer – trumpet
• Simon Clarke – baritone saxophone
• Tim Sanders – tenor saxophone
• Richie Hayward – percussion on "How Long Blues"
• Jack English – photography
• Alan Douglas – engineer, mixing
• Russ Titelman – producer, mixing

Certifications

Charts

References