The History of Eric Clapton
| The History of Eric Clapton | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by Eric Clapton | ||||
| Released | March 1972 | |||
| Recorded | September 1964 – September 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 77:27 | |||
| Label |
Polydor (UK) Atco (US) |
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| Producer | various | |||
| Eric Clapton chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B |
The History of Eric Clapton is a compilation double LP, released in 1972 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom, and Atco Records in the United States. It features Eric Clapton performing in various bands between 1964 and 1970, including The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos.
The compilation is notable for helping both Clapton's career when he was battling a severe heroin addiction and making Clapton's magnum opus, "Layla", famous. It is also notable for being the first compilation in rock music to collect music of a single rock musician that spans time, bands, music styles and record labels.
The album cover picture was taken at George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh while Clapton was playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on a Gibson Byrdland hollow-body guitar.
The two "Tell the Truth" tracks here are different from and were recorded before "Tell the Truth" on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). "Tell the Truth" here is a fast up-beat version of the song and was originally released as a single in July 1970. "Tell the Truth – Jam" is a long and slow instrumental jam from the Layla sessions which had never been released before. The version that appears on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is a combination of these two takes: the frantic pace of the single is slowed down to the laid-back speed of the instrumental.
The U.S. release of this compilation replaced "Tales of Brave Ulysses" with "Tribute to Elmore", a Clapton and Jimmy Page homage to American blues musician Elmore James. "Tribute to Elmore" was one of several jams performed by Clapton, Page and Jeff Beck, which were recorded by Page and released later without consulting Clapton or Beck.
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