#3 Eric Clapton (+ J.J. Cale bonus)

Eric Clapton is back with another card at #3. This looks like an earlier photo than #2 from the previous post. Mid 80s? Sort of a Miami Vice vibe to that outfit.

The back blurb focuses on his early days.

Derek & The Dominos - "Layla" (live)

As I mentioned in the prior post, I like Clapton just fine, though I wouldn't say he's an all-time favorite of mine or anything. At the time this MusiCard came out, I might not have even been able to name one of his songs. I definitely knew the sound of the opening riff of "Layla" because it was used in one of those Time-Life Music commercials that ran constantly in the 80s. ("Remember those classic songs from the 70s? Now for the first time ever, all the greatest songs from that era are available in one collection! Just listen!") But honestly, I only knew those few seconds from the TV commercial. lol. I got sick of that riff. Even today, I much prefer the different, slower second half of that song.

It wasn't until '92, with "Tears In Heaven" impossible to escape, that kids my age really became familiar with Clapton. But I eventually checked out more of his earlier stuff when I got older.

Eric Clapton - "Wonderful Tonight" (Live)

A few years ago, I was the DJ at my wife's brother's wedding reception, and he and his bride requested "Wonderful Tonight" for the first dance. I had probably heard it like in movies or whatnot before that, but it wasn't until then that I was like, "oh wow, this is a really pretty song."

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Here's my personal "best of" for Eric Clapton:

1. Layla (Derek & The Dominos)
2. After Midnight
3. For Your Love (The Yardbirds)
4. I Shot The Sheriff
5. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
6. Cocaine
7. Promises
8. The Shape You're In
9. She's Waiting
10. Wonderful Tonight
11. Sunshine Of Your Love (Cream)
12. Anyone For Tennis (Cream)
13. White Room (Cream)
14. Badge (Cream)
15. Tales Of Brave Ulysses (Cream)
16. Had To Cry Today (Blind Faith)
17. Presence Of The Lord (Blind Faith)
18. Sea of Joy (Blind Faith)
19. Tears In Heaven
20. Layla (Unplugged version)

You can see I included tracks from his earlier bands too, not just solo works. Not really much thought to the order here, other than bookending it with the different versions of "Layla". I'm sure I'm missing some good ones. Like I said, I'm just a casual Clapton fan, not exactly well-versed in his catalog. Feel free to comment below letting me know of any other songs I should check out.

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So in the previous post, I mentioned Clapton's cover of "Cocaine" by J.J. Cale was one of my favorite songs of his ("After Midnight" is another great J.J. Cale song that Clapton had a hit with). The two guys made an album together called The Road To Escondido (2006). I was late to the party, but I finally "discovered" it in 2017 when my ol' pal Doug shared it with me. I don't typically listen to a lot of blues-type stuff, but this album is awesome. Turns out it also includes the final recordings of keyboardist Billy Preston, the "fifth Beatle". Wow.. I hadn't realized that till now typing up this post.

J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton - "Danger"

I need to dig into more J.J. Cale stuff, as I seem to really like most of what I hear from him. Cale was originally from OKC, but had retired to San Diego County in the 80s where he spent his days until passing in 2013 at age 74.

MusiCards-That-Never-Were J.J. Cale custom

Again, I'd definitely recommend The Road To Escondido if you're into that sort of thing. It won a Grammy, so it's not like some obscure treasure, but like I said, I only first heard it a couple years ago. My favorite tracks are "Danger", "Sporting Life Blues", "Anyway The Wind Blows", "Three Little Girls", "Who Am I Telling You?", and "Ride The River".

That's it for today. Card #4 will bring us to the smooth harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash.

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IN MEMORIAM

Coincidentally on the day Clapton is featured on the blog, his former bandmate, Cream/Blind Faith drummer Ginger Baker passed away. He was 80, which is a ripe old age as far as hard-living rock 'n' rollers from the 60s go, but still sad to lose him. Cream will get a post here once we get to card #251 ("Cream at the Fillmore Auditorium").

#2 Eric Clapton (+ George Harrison bonus)

Onto card #2!

1991 Pro Set SuperStars MusiCards #2 Eric Clapton

Looks like this was a contemporary photo judging by the haircut. He was still very much a relevant artist on the popular music scene at the time, and in fact his most successful hit was right around the corner, with "Tears in Heaven" becoming one of the top songs of '92.

Eric Clapton has two cards in the set-- in addition to this one, he's got another card in the Legends subset right after this at card #3-- plus there's a Cream poster in the Historic Concerts subset (#251). He doesn't have a card in the UK edition, which seems strange since he's British, after all.

As the card states, Clapton is among the top rock guitarists of all-time. If you've got the time and interest, he's got quite the Wikipedia entry coving his eventful life.

Like with the rest of the acts in the Legends subset, his heyday was before my time, so while I've got an appreciation for his music, I can't say I was ever a huge fan of his or anything.

I think my first introduction to Clapton was "Tears in Heaven" and the acoustic rendition "Layla" from his 1992 Unplugged album. I liked them fine, but grew sick of them getting played so frequently on the radio and MTV.

Eric Clapton - "Cocaine" (Live)

It wasn't till I was older that I dug into his earlier work. Kinda blew my mind that the original Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" was basically a totally different song that rocked hard, not the lullaby-ass version from Unplugged. And you got "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room" from his time in Cream (that I'm sure I heard as a kid, but didn't realize they featured Clapton). "Wonderful Tonight" is a pretty song. And his J. J. Cale cover of "Cocaine" might be my favorite thing he's done.

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Clapton famously played the guitar solo on George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' White Album (1968). (And he infamously broke the bro code and hit on Harrison's wife at the time, Pattie Boyd, eventually marrying her years later.)

And so I figured I'd pair this Clapton MusiCard with a George Harrison custom. The Quiet Beatle doesn't have a solo card in the set (unlike John, coming up at card #15), though The Beatles have a card in the UK edition (which we'll eventually cover, assuming this blog has the longevity to get to that point). Seems crazy Pro Set wouldn't give The Beatles a Legend card in the US version of the set (Led Zeppelin has 5 cards, by comparison!), but it was probably a licensing issue and they couldn't secure stateside rights.

The custom looks pretty cool, I think. Does that photo remind anyone else of 1991 Topps Wade Boggs? And yes, I know that George has earned a "Legends" status in the set, but since we're already in the middle of that subset, I figured I'd keep the customs a base card for a change of pace rather than keep on hitting you over the head with the gold borders of the Legends design.

I love me some George Harrison. His songs helped give variety to many classic Beatles records, sort of a secret weapon of the band. There are lots of great songs from his solo career, as well. Growing up, in addition to a few Beatles records, my mom owned one George Harrison solo LP, Dark Horse (1974). We didn't play it too often, but dusted it off and slapped it on the turntable once in a blue moon. I seem to recall it was slightly warped and that affected some tracks, so that was probably a factor why we didn't listen to it more often. And honestly it didn't do much for me at the time with the exception of the title track which I absolutely loved.

George Harrison - "Dark Horse"

I wasn't super familiar with his solo work until checking it out more when I got older, but I remember being a fan of "Got My Mind Set on You" and its silly music video. I also liked what I heard from the Traveling Wilburys, the supergroup he was in.

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Now's the time where I try to narrow down my favorite George Harrison songs onto a hypothetical mixtape to play on repeat whilst stranded on a desert island. I'm trying to grapple with if I should include his Beatles tunes in the compilation or keep it fully solo tracks.

George Harrison "desert island disc" mixtape
1. Dark Horse
2. My Sweet Lord
3. What Is Life
4. Let It Down
5. All Things Must Pass
6. Blow Away
7. The Rising Sun
8. Stuck Inside A Cloud
9. Brainwashed
10. Got My Mind Set on You
11. Far East Man
12. Wake Up My Love
13. I Really Love You
14. Greece
15. Dear One
16. Hear Me Lord
17. Dream Scene
18. On The Bed
19. Any Road
20. Isn't It A Pity

As you can see, I ultimately kept it confined to his solo career. Were I to include Beatles songs, slam dunk picks would be "Here Comes The Sun", "Long, Long, Long", and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (which I probably would have went with the symphonic remix from Love over the White Album version, though I really like both). Oh, and can't forget "Taxman" (a song whose bassline I talked about on Baseball Card Breakdown back in 2017).

But back to the mixtape, it's heavy on All Things Must Pass, which I think a lot of Beatles fans consider the best post-Beatles album from the Fab Four, respectively. I put "Isn't It A Pity" last because it's such an epic song.. figured it'd make a good closer. I could have added a few more songs, but I like trying to cap these mixes at 20 tracks.

COVER TIME

Speaking of "Isn't It A Pity", the band Mercury Rev do a nice version.

Mercury Rev + Dean & Britta "Isn't it a Pity" at the Mystery Spot, Phoenicia, NY 8/15/10

That's gonna wrap up this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts and memories regarding Eric Clapton and/or George Harrison, so chime in down in the comments if you're so inclined. Thanks!

Next up is another Eric Clapton card. I'll come up with a Desert Island Disc for him, plus we'll take a closer look at J.J. Cale.

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IN MEMORIAM

Kim Shattuck

July 17, 1963 – October 2, 2019

Sucks to hear about Kim Shattuck's recent passing. Here's a custom card I made for Dimebox Nick's dad a while back. I thought I was pretty clever using a Burger King design for a photo where she's wearing a Burger King crown. The Muffs were a really good band, as were the Pandoras. I was bummed when Kim Deal left the Pixies (one of my favorite bands), but I thought it was cool when Kim Shattuck replaced her, as she brought a new dynamic to the band. Unfortunately she got the boot by the band's management because they wanted someone who just stood there silently and played bass, but she was a punk at heart who liked doing her own thing. She'll be missed.