Eric Clapton
Just One Night

Just One Night

The pinnacle of Eric's early solo career, at least until the release of Unplugged, which would mark a spectacular restart after a long decade (the 80s) too influenced by fashion, alcohol, and drugs, as well as winks at pop/commercialism that did Eric no good at all. But let's go back to that splendid night (actually two evenings) at the Budokan in Tokyo where the album was born.

A little preface.

As Eric has often accustomed us, he suddenly resets everything and starts over: he needs new musical stimuli or simply realizes he has already given all he could with that formation. This happens in 1979, after the release of the good Backless: he disbands the band that had accompanied him in the initial nine years of his career and with which he recorded the first 5 studio albums plus the live E.C. Was Here. A good formation with the excellent Jamie Oldaker on drums (recently recognized by Eric as the best drummer he's had), the friend (unfortunately passed away in '81) Carl Raddle on bass, Dick Sims on keyboards, and Jeorge Terry on guitar, who, more than playing the rhythm, would often overlap with Eric in a sort of guitarist competition with unpleasant results. The formation is completed by two wonderful backing singers, Yvonne Elliman and Marcy Levy. The late 70s were not a good personal period for Clapton, it's important to say this to frame the birth of Just One Night: he's often drunk or on drugs or both at the same time, his live performances are a gamble, you might witness a great concert or an exhausting search for the right solo and guitar settings. If you have some time, I recommend watching the documentary E.C. His Rolling Hotel, the report of the 78 tour: Eric is always drunk or strung out, not very lucid, slurred voice, lost gaze.

New band, disastrous psychological and physical condition: all the premises for a disaster are there.

But Eric is not a legend by chance. He creates a new formation that would accompany him in the live and for the next two years. Eric is intelligent and humble, he realizes he needs help to support the stage, he needs a good shoulder. And so, something that few guitar stars would have done, he asks his friend Albert Lee to join him, he puts himself back in the game. It's vital energy! Lee is not a classic second guitar, he is a great of country blues, a technique opposite to Eric's, he's virtuosic, elegant, a fine accompanist, and an excellent soloist. It's what was needed to make Eric's legendary Stratocaster roar again; it splendidly duets with Lee, exchanging parts, intertwining solos without ever overlapping, they challenge each other, exalting one another. Moreover, Eric found that solo discipline that was missing during that period: solos too long, approximate settings, "refuge" passages during the interminable solos are now memories. Eric is sharper than ever. Accompanying him is the legend of blues and honky-tonk Chris Stainton, Henry Spinetti replaces Oldaker, and Dave Markee, a discreet and modern bassist, is on bass. That's enough.

The choice of tracks is unusual, but Clapton, over the years, has accustomed us to absolutely "personal" but successful choices. Sure, in 79 the material is not that abundant and not all of good quality, but inexplicably great tracks that were a staple are left out: I'm thinking of Layla (actually recorded but excluded from the album), I Shot The Sheriff, Crossroad, Badge, Little Wing, the newly released Promises, and many others but, as mentioned, our guy surprises us: pieces enter the set that are weak in studio, Tulsa Time, If Don't Be My Morning, All Our Past Time, and Setting Me Up by Knopfler sung by Albert Lee. But in the Live, due to a strange alchemy difficult to explain, they become small masterpieces. Perhaps, in hindsight, it was a good thing he chose these tracks: they're songs he almost never performed live again and are rarely heard in their studio versions; putting them in Just One Night ensured they would forever be masterpieces of an evening. Actually, two.

Two albums, each composed of six songs.

The Live begins with a long scale by Chris Stainton: it is Tulsa Time, all piano and "bottleneck"! The guitar scratches, elegant, refined, a clean solo. Full guitar and "black" voice. Early In the Morning and the delightful Lay Down Sally and with what I think is the most beautiful version ever performed of Wonderful Tonight. Starting again (B-side) with If Don't Be My Morning, a bit anonymous, Eric gives the impression of wanting to get it over with, and it moves breathlessly to Worried Life blues. All Our Past Time, which follows, is a little gem: vocals alternate between Albert Lee and Eric, guitars chase each other gently, Eric's attack after Lee's solo is almost moving, the strings scream deeply until a sweet piano finale, a joy. And here comes what I think is a masterpiece: do you remember After Midnight in studio? Forget it! A tornado, wha-wha blasted on a frenetic rhythm supported by Henry Spinetti going like a train, Eric is unleashed, the slightly tired and fatigued hoarse voice excites and holds breathless, a delight in the most classic Rock style.

And then she starts: Double Trouble, the most beautiful piece, clearly for me, of the album. In minor key, deep, sad, Hammond organ in the background, a guitar never so sharp, clean, suffering, and sad voice, an "angry" melodic line, and so much guitar. It's not the classic blues solo, I don't know what Eric had that evening, it's a mix of anger and power, the style of that evening, unknown until then, will only be found several years later when Clapton returns to life after personal tragedies. Who knows how, but that evening he anticipated what he would only do at the beginning of the 90s by over 10 years...Double Trouble's "anxious" finale, with a synth background (played by Albert Lee, who doesn't put hands in the blues) ending with a "shot" from Eric. Excellent Dave Markey's bass, deep, without unnecessary displays of skill, always on the grave note, very good. After this "positive suffering" a bit of lightness with Setting Me Up, as I said, sung by Lee with his beautiful country voice and with a beautiful alternation of guitars: the two styles confront without ever joining, there's no challenge, no rivalry, only a fusion of notes between two great lovers of the six strings...and speaking of which, here's Blues Power! About 4 minutes of all wha-wha solo, Eric enjoys himself and you can feel it, it's his "light" genre, what he does to warm up, you can feel he masters it with ease, a true delight for guitarists. Follows Rambling On My Mind, I think it's the first blues he sang in the album Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton when he "was embarrassed to sing" (Eric's words), and finally...

Cocaine!

The audience is ecstatic, substituting Eric in the famous "COCAINE," scratchy, dry guitar, excellent rhythm section that never falters, and solo entered into legend with that reference to Japanese melodies...The second solo is another masterpiece from Lee, all technique and cleanliness, well-articulated notes without ever raising the strings. Never played so well again, at least in other Live recordings.

Band introduction, and it closes with the rock and roll of Further On Up The Road and the most tired of "god bless you, good night."

As mentioned, an album that anticipates what Eric will do only about fifteen years later, both vocally and guitaristically: it's aggressive, fast, never banal, in search of different sounds. I don't know what happened those two evenings, but we thank Eric for whatever he did to play and sing that way.

God Bless Eric.