Eric Clapton - Journeyman (2014) CD Rip

Journeyman is the eleventh studio album by blues/rock musician Eric Clapton, released in 1989. The album was heralded as a return to form for Clapton, who had struggled with alcohol addiction in the mid-1980s and had recently found sobriety. Much of it has an electronic sound, mostly influenced by the 1980s rock scene, but it also includes blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me," "Running on Faith," and "Hard Times." While the album was only a moderate commercial success at the time, reaching number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart, it went on to become his first solo studio album to go double platinum. This is one of Eric Clapton's favourite albums.

For most of the '80s, Eric Clapton seemed rather lost, uncertain of whether he should return to his blues roots or pander to AOR radio. By the mid-'80s, he appeared to have made the decision to revamp himself as a glossy mainstream rocker, working with synthesizers and drum machines. Instead of expanding his audience, it only reduced it. Then came the career retrospective Crossroads, which helped revitalize his career, not only commercially, but also creatively, as Journeyman -- the first album he recorded after the success of Crossroads -- proved. Although Journeyman still suffers from an overly slick production, Clapton sounds more convincing than he has since the early '70s. Not only is his guitar playing muscular and forceful, his singing is soulful and gritty. Furthermore, the songwriting is consistently strong, alternating between fine mainstream rock originals ("Pretending") and covers ("Before You Accuse Me," "Hound Dog"). Like any of Clapton's best albums, there is no grandstanding to be found on Journeyman -- it's simply a laid-back and thoroughly engaging display of Clapton's virtuosity. On the whole, it's the best studio album he's released since Slowhand.