Description
Eric Clapton – Money And Cigarettes / Warner Bros. Records Audio CD / 7599-23773-2
UPC 075992377324
Money and Cigarettes is the eighth solo studio album by Eric Clapton recorded after his first rehabilitation from alcoholism. Produced by Clapton and Tom Dowd with, apart from Albert Lee, a new backing band of veteran session musicians including Donald "Duck" Dunn, Roger Hawkins, and Ry Cooder. The album was moderately successful commercially, reaching Top 20 chart positions in several countries. Critical reception was lukewarm.
The cover depicts Clapton, cigarette in hand, standing next to a melting Fender Stratocaster guitar. Clapton chose the name of the album "because that's all I saw myself having left" after his first rehabilitation from alcoholism.
Maybe it was the recording environs of Nassau, Bahamas, that made this such a laidback effort. Maybe it was the presence of trusty Clapton pals Albert Lee, Ry Cooder, and Donald "Duck" Dunn. Money is a relaxed collection of simple songs summed up by the album's sole hit, "I've Got a Rock and Roll Heart." Old-time boogie-woogie and '50s rock is the key inspiration on tracks such as "Slow Down Linda" (which even sounds like a second "Lay Down Sally"), the Eddie Cochran-esque "Man in Love" and "The Shape You're In," which features a nice lead tradeoff between Clapton and Lee. Covers of the Albert King staple "Crosscut Saw" and Sleepy John Estes's "Everybody Oughta Make a Change" boast the album's best blues fills and flurries, while the freight-train jump blues of Johnny Otis's "Crazy Country Hop" closes out the low-key LP with something more resembling a bang. --James Rotondi
Tracklist:
| 1 | Everybody Oughta Make A Change
Written-By – Sleepy John Estes |
3:16 |
| 2 | The Shape You're In
Written-By – Eric Clapton |
4:08 |
| 3 | Ain't Going Down
Written-By – Eric Clapton |
4:01 |
| 4 | I've Got A Rock N' Roll Heart
Written-By – Eddie Setser, Steve Diamond, Troy Seals |
3:13 |
| 5 | Man Overboard
Written-By – Eric Clapton |
3:45 |
| 6 | Pretty Girl
Written-By – Eric Clapton |
5:29 |
| 7 | Man In Love
Written-By – Eric Clapton |
2:46 |
| 8 | Crosscut Saw
Written-By – R.G. Ford |
3:30 |
| 9 | Slow Down Linda
Written-By – Eric Clapton |
4:14 |
| 10 |
Crazy Country Hop
Written-By – J. Otis |
2:46 |
- Backing Vocals – Chuck Kirkpatrick, John Sambataro
- Bass Guitar – Donald "Duck" Dunn
- Drums – Roger Hawkins
- Engineer – Michael Carnevale
- Engineer [Assistant] – Dennis Hallibyurton
- Keyboards, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Albert Lee
- Mastered By [Digital Remastering] – Keith Blake
- Photography By, Art Direction – Graham Hughes (2)
- Producer – Tom Dowd
- Slide Guitar, Electric Guitar – Ry Cooder
- Vocals, Slide Guitar, Electric Guitar – Eric Clapton
- Eric Clapton – electric guitar, slide guitar, lead vocals
- Ry Cooder – electric guitar, slide guitar
- Albert Lee – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Peter Solley – Hammond organ
- Donald Dunn – bass guitar
- Roger Hawkins – drums
- Chuck Kirkpatrick – backing vocals
- John Sambataro – backing vocals
- Production
- Producers – Tom Dowd and Eric Clapton
- Engineers – Tom Dowd and Michael Carnavale
- Assistant Engineer – Dennis Halliburton
- Mastered by Mike Fuller at Criteria Studios (Miami, FL).
- Art Direction – El & Nel Ink., Graham Hughes
- Photography – Graham Hughes
- Design – El & Nel Ink., Ian Murray
