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At thirteen, I discovered "Layla" by chance, while listening to one of my father's many records.
Imagine, a pseudo-rocker little girl, but musically speaking, doing better than her girlfriends (not out of spite or vanity, far from it, but while they were entertaining themselves with Christina Aguilera, I was listening to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, let's set aside "de gustibus" for a moment...), rummaging through dad's CDs and finding two Clapton records, the amazing "Unplugged" and a best-of collection, and falling in love with this artist.
From there, I, the girl in question (now eighteen, but still a girl), started paying more attention to the material my dad had to offer.
Yes, in short, I swiped quite a few records from him.
So, recently I helped myself to "From the Cradle", the only one I had not yet listened to attentively.
Dated 1994, this album rode the wave of the enormous commercial success of "Unplugged", a moment of resurgence and breath in Clapton's solo career (among other things, the album celebrated his thirty years), which until then was not exactly happy.
It may seem strange, but here we have the first openly blues work by this artist: "From The Cradle" is a tribute to the great masters to whom Slowhand owes much of his success, a success that they, unjustly, never had.
In his return to his first love, to the cradle (the "Cradle" in the title indeed), Clapton revives sixteen classics and forgotten gems of the purest blues: accompanied on this endeavor by eight excellent musicians, including Jerry Portnoy on harmonica and Andy Fairweather Low on guitar, he pays his dues to sacred monsters like Willie Dixon, Elmore James, Freddie King, Lowell Fulson, and Muddy Waters.
"From The Cradle" is a kaleidoscope of blues melodies, splendid arpeggios, and gritty solos, smooth, intriguing, never boring or clichéd, even when presenting yet another version of "Hoochie Coochie Man", "It Hurts Me Too", or "How Long Blues" which, on the contrary, are the pieces that most stand out in the entire anthology.
The only flaw, the vocal interpretation: while being gritty and direct, sometimes it seems a bit "forced", almost mimicking the great artists of the past, but it is still compensated by an exceptional guitar work.
In conclusion, "From The Cradle" may not be an innovative album, but certainly represents one of the highest moments of Clapton's career, and also one of the reasons why it's possible to forgive him for some of the "missteps" that will follow.
Unmissable, for aficionados and not.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Five Long Years (04:47)
Have you ever been mistreated? You know just what I'm talking about
Have you ever been mistreated? You know just what I'm talking about
I worked five long years for one woman, she had the nerve to put me out
I got a job in a steel mill, shucking steel like a slave
Five long years, every Friday I come straight back home with all my pay
Have you ever been mistreated? You know just what I'm talking about
I worked five long years for one woman, she had the nerve to put me out
I finally learned my lesson, should a long time ago
The next woman that I marry, she gonna work and bring me the dough
Have you ever been mistreated? You know just what I'm talking about
I worked five long years for one woman, she had the nerve
She had the nerve
She had the nerve
She had the nerve to put me out
10 Sinner's Prayer (03:20)
(by Lowell Glenn and Lowell Fulson)
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy on me.
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy on me.
Well if I've done somebody wrong, Lord, have mercy if you please.
I used to have plenty of money, the finest clothes in town,
But bad luck and trouble overtaken me, bound to get me down.
Please have mercy, Lord have mercy on me.
Well if I've done somebody wrong, Lord, have mercy if you please.
Keep on working now, child.
Lord every morning.
Well if I've been a bad boy, baby, I declare I'll change my ways.
I don't want bad luck and trouble to follow me all my days.
Please have mercy, Lord have mercy on me.
Well if I've done somebody wrong, Lord, have mercy if you please.
12 It Hurts Me Too (03:19)
You said you was hurting, almost lost your mind
And the man you love, he hurts you all the time
When things go wrong, go wrong with you, it hurts me, too
You love him more when you should love him less
I pick up behind him and take his mess
When things go wrong, go wrong with you, it hurts me, too
He love another woman and I love you
But you love him and stick to him like glue
When things go wrong, go wrong with you, it hurts me, too
Now you better leave him; he better put you down
Oh, I won't stand to see you pushed around
When things go wrong, go wrong with you, it hurts me, too
13 Someday After a While (04:28)
I've got to ride that lonesome train
My heart is heavy with aches and pain
I said but someday, someday baby
After a while, you will be sorry
Every day my clouds are grey;
It takes you to roll all those clouds away
I said but someday, someday baby
After a while, you will be sorry
Trouble, trouble, trouble on my mind
Trouble, trouble, way down the line
I don't need, I don't need no sympathy
So babe, babe, don't you, don't you pity me
I may be blue, but I don't mind
Because I know way down the line
I said someday, someday baby
After a while, you will be sorry
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