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Rating:
Two years after "Another Ticket," a very good album but certainly not memorable, it's time for changes for Slowhand: away from RSO, the new studio work comes to light for the newly formed Duck Records, a personal label of a bluesman who appears—at least temporarily—cleansed from past excesses and abuses. And above all, he's leading a backing band of very short duration but that—even for just one album—was destined to leave a mark: Albert Lee is the only survivor from the previous album, otherwise Eric fires everyone and secures the performances of Ry Cooder and a rhythm section—of enormous class—with Donald "Duck" Dunn (need an introduction...? I really don't think so) and, behind the drums, Roger Hawkins, legend of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
Inevitable, therefore, that with such premises, a masterpiece would escape; so much so that "Money & Cigarettes," almost 30 years later, can rightly be considered the only great Clapton work of the Eighties, before Our Man sank into the commercial darkness (and lack of ideas) of the two subsequent albums, for a period that everyone remembers as the lowest of his career. Of course, even the disastrous production of Phil Collins will do much, with the fact that Clapton has never seemed a truly finished artist as he did between '85 and the early '90s.
But the album of '83 is quite another thing, here we can still appreciate those "guitar hero" feats, those indescribably lustful evolutions of the Stratocaster for which "Clapton Is God," and for which He remains, despite many other things, the greatest guitarist to emerge from the Bluesbreakers: more consistent and regular than Peter Green, more incisive and edgy than Mick Taylor, who was mired in the sluggishness of his poor solo production after his tenure with the Stones had hinted at much more. And in general, many guitarists would sell their soul to the devil to record an album like "Money & Cigarettes"; power, expressiveness, elegance, sweetness, "feeling" and intensity to spare, and above all: the unique pleasure of hearing two phenomena dialoguing, the impeccable perfect blending of Eric's guitar with the unmistakable slide of Ry Cooder. "The Shape You're In" is the clear demonstration, moreover with an at least brilliant text that speaks, with cutting irony typical of a bluesman, about alcohol dependency: a masterful duet, nothing to say. And it should not be forgotten that most of the repertoire consists of originals; like "Ain't Going Down," a whirlwind and frenetic Rock built on the same chord sequence as "All Along The Watchtower" and accelerated by the enormous drumming of Hawkins: here we still hear the Clapton of the Derek & The Dominos era, the instrument cuts and roars with a violence and vehemence increasingly rare in the future (apart from live performances, of course); like "Man In Love," canonical 12 bars but of great taste in melodic lines, with Albert Lee also venturing—exceptionally—on the piano; like "Slow Down Linda," a tense R'n'R that seems signed Jagger/Richards; like "Man Overboard" and "Pretty Girl," two apparently "light" and minor parentheses, actually agile interpretations of consolidated Soul and Rhythm & Blues stylings; beautiful the acoustic lines of the latter, a classic Claptonian ballad totally devoted to the slow.
But there remains to say (and what to say!) about the covers, an aspect not insignificant in evaluating any respectable Eric album: Sleepy John Estes returns with the well-known "Everybody Oughta Make A Change" (I must say I prefer it to the excellent rendition by Taj Mahal on his eponymous debut), Troy Seals returns with the intimate and engaging whisper of "I've Got A Rock'n'Roll Heart." Enter the classic "Crosscut Saw," written by R.G. Ford but made famous by Albert King's '66 version, and Johnny Otis with "Crazy Country Hop" (recently deceased, by the way: I would like to remember him here): interpreted as it would be by a rural Southern band of the '50s, thus capturing in full the spirit and meaning (essentially "playful," spontaneous) of the piece as it was conceived.
Five. Even if many will disagree, even if many will bring out the usual story of Clapton "dead after Layla" and so on... But it is hard to deny the greatness of this record.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 The Shape You're In (04:09)
by Eric Clapton
I took my baby to see a show.
She was telling me she didn't want to go.
I said, "Come on girl, what's the matter with you?"
But I could tell by the smell that she'd had a few.
I said hold on girl don't get too tight,
You started early and we've got all night.
You've got to take it easy, take it slow.
We don't want the whole world to know
About the shape you're in.
Well, my little girl really loves that wine.
Wine will do it to her most everytime.
If it's red or it's white or it's in between,
She can drink more wine than I've ever seen.
Chorus
Now I'm not trying to get heavy with you.
I'll mind my own business if you want me to.
But I love you girl, I don't love no one else.
I'm just telling you baby 'cause I've been there myself.
Chorus
04 I've Got a Rock 'n' Roll Heart (03:16)
by Troy Seals, Eddie Setser and Steve Diamond
I've got a feeling we could be serious, girl;
Right at this moment, I could promise you the world.
Before we go crazy, before we explode,
There's something 'bout me, baby, you got to know, you got to know.
I get off on 57 Chevys;
I get off on screaming guitar.
Like the way it hits me every time it hits me.
I've got a rock and roll, I've got a rock and roll heart.
Feels like we're falling into the arms of the night,
So if you're not ready, don't be holdin' me so tight.
I guess there's nothing left for me to explain;
Here's what you're gettin' and I don't want to change, I don't want to change.
Chorus
I don't need to glitter, no Hollywood,
All you got to do is lay it down and you lay it down good.
Chorus
08 Crosscut Saw (03:31)
(Guitar Intro)
I'm a crosscut saw, baby drag me across your log
I'm a crosscut saw, baby drag me across your log
I'll cut your wood so easy for you, you can't help but say "hot dog"
Some call me wood-cutting Sam, some call me woodcutting Jim
Last girl I cut wood for, she want me back again
I'm a crosscut saw, baby drag me across your log
I'll cut your wood so easy for you, you can't help but say "hot dog"
(All right!)
(Guitar Solo)
I got a dull-blade axe, that really cuts good
And I'm a crosscut saw, bury me in your wood
I'm a crosscut saw, baby drag me across your log
I'll cut your wood so easy for you, you can't help but say "hot dog"
(Guitar Solo)
10 Crazy Country Hop (02:47)
by J. Otis
Way down in a country town one day
A little ole' country band began to play.
They had two guitars and a beat-up saxophone;
When the leader said go them cats began to blow.
Ooh wee oh oh, ooh la la
Let's rock and roll.
Now all the poeple gathered 'round
Just to dig that rockin' rollin' sound.
Suddenly the drummer rang a bell
And all them country cats began to yell.
Ooh wee oh oh, ooh la la
Let's rock and roll.
Ole' MacDonald did a crazy bop
Said it's time to milk my cow, I got to stop,
But just before I cool it and cut out
Here's something all you cats can think about.
Ooh wee oh oh, ooh la la
Let's rock and roll.
Snaggle-toothed Malinda was a drag,
She latched onto a dude who showed up stag.
He tried to run and then he tripped and fell;
She kissed him and we all could hear him yell.
Ooh wee oh oh, ooh la la
Let's rock and roll.
Well, a hound dog ran a polecat into town,
Brought him to the dance and laid him down.
Someone hollered skunk and you can bet
All them country cats is runnin' yet.
Ooh wee oh oh, ooh la la
Let's rock and roll.
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Other reviews
By JimMorrison
Money And Cigarettes (1983) is a perfect example of a transitional album, which I would define as atypical when compared to Clapton’s more classic blues patterns.
A desire to play that emerges in every single track. A desire to change. A desire to listen that increases.
