In the mid-seventies, Eric Clapton inexplicably slid into a stage where almost everything he did sounded laconic. Others might say tedious, mundane, bloodless or monotonous.

It’s hard to explain exactly why he slipped into a phase like this to such an extent – his heroin days were behind him, and by his own admission, he was drinking like a fish at this time, a habit that often results in raucousness.

His own autobiography offers no explicit explanation, other than mentioning that he had fallen under the spell of Oklahoma singer/songwriter J.J. Cale, one of the most laid back songwriters in America at that time. The style worked exceptionally well for Cale, but it remains a point of contention among Clapton fans if this overtly mellow phase was a disappointment, or a new avenue of artistry worthy of Clapton’s exploration.

This show covers Clapton’s studio album “There’s One in Every Crowd,” along with out-takes from those sessions and a few live tracks from this same era.

Featured tracks include;

1) The Sky Is Crying

2) Better Make It Through Today

3) I Found a Love

4) (When Things Go Wrong) It Hurts Me Too

5) What’cha Gonna Do

6) Ramblin’ On My Mind (live)

7) Driftin’ Blues (live)

8) Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

9) Someone Like You