Word: albums
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...disappointing collection of apparently left over tracks from the August recording sessions, thrown together with some new, mainly pop-oriented material. A few pleasant tracks contributed by blues musician Robert Cray and three wonderful new covers of some 40-year-old blues tunes fail to carry Clapton's latest album to a level significantly above that of any of his other projects of the past 10 years...
...first single released off Journeyman is also the first track on the album, and it epitomizes the problems that plague Clapton's newest release. "Pretending" leads off with a clever little piano introduction which segues into a brief Clapton guitar riff. But, as in much of Clapton's '80s releases, his guitar is kept firmly in the background, behind synthesized horns and a synth organ, dominated by a programmed drum kit which keeps an unnecessarily imposing beat...
When the lyrics come in, it becomes even more obvious that "Pretending" is another pop-oriented track executed under the influence of Jerry Williams, Clapton's songwriting partner who was responsible for much of the August album...
...Jerry Williams contribution on Journeyman is "Breaking Point," and it is easily the worst song of the album. So much synthesized funk is thrown into this track that Clapton's guitar can't even be heard. The vocals are multi-tracked, muddied and slurred, and the drums again completely overpower the song...
...Before You Accuse Me" is the best song on Journeyman, sounding like something Clapton might have done with John Mayall 20 years ago. With some help from Cray and a real live drummer, Clapton concludes his newest album with this wonderful update of E. McDaniel's 30-year-old blues tune. Clapton's vocals do sound a little weak, and the song was not mixed with any particular technical insight. But "Before You Accuse Me" has lots of raw energy, and the subdued vocals and lack of mixing actually lend the track a feeling of authenticity...