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Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
Christgau's Record Guide	A
Creem	A–
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
MusicHound	3.5/5
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
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461 Ocean Boulevard is a 1974 solo album by Eric Clapton that marked his return to recording after recovering from a three-year addiction to heroin. The album was released in late July 1974 for RSO Records, shortly after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" in early July the same year. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies. It was also one of the first "pop music" albums to be released in the Soviet Union.

The album title refers to the address on Ocean Boulevard where Clapton lived while recording the album. The street address of the house was changed after the album's release due to fans flocking to the property. The house has long since been rebuilt and the street address restored.

A remastered two-disc deluxe edition of the album was released in 2004, which included a live concert recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon and additional studio jam sessions.

After overcoming his heroin addiction, Clapton realized that he wasted three years of his life, stating he had not done anything other than watch television and get out of shape. When Clapton sought help working on a farm, he began to listen to a lot of new music and old blues records he had brought with him and started to play again, even writing whole songs out of simple ideas. With these song ideas in mind, Clapton was given a demo tape by Carl Radle, the former bassist for Derek and the Dominos, with songs performed by Radle with keyboardist Dick Sims and drummer Jamie Oldaker. Clapton liked the recordings, calling them "simply superb". Clapton was given time to write new material for a next album by Radle. When Clapton set to work on tracks for the upcoming studio release, he wanted to leave his songs as incomplete as possible, so that the musicians, who were going to record with Clapton in the studio, would get the chance to make them their own. After Clapton appeared in the rock opera Tommy, his manager at the time, Robert Stigwood, contacted him about a new project. Stigwood arranged for Clapton to record at the Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida with Radle, Sims, Oldacker and record producer Tom Dowd. When the time came to record the new album, Clapton was worried about both the commercial and artistic success of the album, noting his concept of a new album would only work when there was chemistry between the musicians. Clapton also hired guest vocalist Yvonne Elliman and guitarist George Terry as full-time members of his group. Stigwood also paid for Clapton to live at a rental house at the address 461 Ocean Boulevard in the town of Golden Beach near Miami. The whole album was recorded from April to May 1974. For the recording sessions, Clapton used his Blackie electric guitar. For slide guitar work, Clapton used several Gibson ES-335 guitars. He also played vintage Martin acoustic guitars.

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