This album did not come at a good time for Eric Clapton. He had just left rehab after being treated for alcoholism, and it seems that the general listening public wanted to move on from people like Clapton as he was seen to be past his musical peak. Long gone were the glory days of Cream. Instead, all he seemingly had left was money and cigarettes after rehab. Hence the album title. This album was initially seemingly unimpressive to producer Tom Dowd, who requested that Eric fire most of his band upon hearing what they were doing, which he did. In any case, this album was lucky to be released in the first place. Recorded in late 1982 and released on Warner Brothers on 31 January 1983, the album itself was not very well received by critics, although had some moderate commercial success. Eric Clapton’s band on the album consisted of: Eric Clapton (vocals and guitars); Albert Lee (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals); Ry Cooder (slide guitars); Peter Solley (organ); Donald Dunn (bass guitar); Roger Hawkins (drums); Chuck Kirkpatrick (backing vocals) and John Sambataro (backing vocals). Let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. Everybody Oughta Make a Change begins with some post-Disco guitar music, launching into an unusual-sounding piece of music. Eric Clapton sings a clear and clean voice, and he sounds really great on this song. A very cool song to listen to, this is up to Eric Clapton’s usual solo career material quality. A really sweet and awesome tune to listen to, this is a fantastic song to listen to. Albert Lee is on lead guitar here, and he and the rest of the band sound really brilliant throughout. A very cool tune with some awesome Blues-based slide guitar work. This is a very pleasant and enjoyable listen throughout. Gloriously good, Clapton was back and wasn’t going away. A very nice and interesting listen throughout. A joy to hear.

2. The Shape You’re In begins with some fabulously Bluesy guitar and launches into a good tune to listen along to, for that long road trip. Acoustic guitars and singing is from Eric Clapton and this tune gets underway. Nonetheless, this does sound really cool and fantastic music. This sounds brilliantly fantastic and gorgeous throughout, just sounding really fresh and amazing for what it is. This may not be Clapton’s best era nor his best music, but his music is so fantastic regardless that it carries the spirit of Rock Music throughout. A cool and quirky guitar solo section emerges here, and this tune is a winner. It eventually launches back into the song section and sounds really sweet and excellent. A winner of a listen, and proof that Eric Clapton is the best man to listen to if you need a shot of the Blues in a Rock context. Thoroughly enjoyable and listenable from start to finish. Awesome. Some interesting guitar solos are present at the end of the song, as a call-and-response style thing. Sweet.

3. Ain’t Going Down begins with some watery chorus-styled guitars, and follows with drumbeats and acoustic guitars to match. This quickly enters into a song that has Eric Clapton doing some soul-searching throughout. Unfortunately, Eric Clapton hasn’t changed much of his original sound as a solo artist in his music career. Even so, this is good but the formula musically is wearing thin by this point. It’s a good song but Clapton has done better than this in the past. Nonetheless, this is okay but could have been edited to make it a bit less bland and a little more exciting. Still, this is a good effort, just not a really great effort. The music throughout is an interesting listen though, and the lyrics are really well written. A good song, but not a great song. The guitar solos at the end are good, however.

4. I’ve Got a Rock ‘n’ Roll Heart is the hit from this album. It launches into a good and upbeat tune, with some sweet and smooth vocals by Eric Clapton. It sounds absolutely awesome and amazing throughout, just sounding very much like a cool and top tune to hear. Eric Clapton sings about being in love and being a genuine Rock musician. This is a lovely and deeply passionate song that is a good listen from this album, even if this album is a weaker effort by Eric Clapton. An excellent and tuneful piece with some clean and clear Fender Stratocaster soloing present on this tune. Really cool, and a deep and interesting listen. Any fan of Rock and Roll must listen to this tune. Great to hear. It fades out gently.

5. Man Overboard launches right into a Southern Rock-sounding tune with slide guitars galore. Eric Clapton sings about relationship issues throughout, and he sounds like an absolute legend throughout. A cool tune, even if this isn’t the very best of Eric Clapton. A supremely cool and interesting tune to hear, with some love and sex talk in the lyrics throughout, this is a winner. A good tune, even if this album hasn’t dated incredibly well. A nice set of guitar solos and piano are present on this tune, and Clapton is indeed, a Guitar God. Straightforward yet impressive music is present on this album, and although this album was not hugely well received, it does have its moments. Worth a listen. The band play very nicely throughout, although the chorus is a little repetitive towards the end. Not bad.

6. Pretty Girl begins with some strummed acoustic guitar and watery Fender Stratocaster guitar parts, launching into a touching and gentle song. It seems that Eric Clapton was deeply passionate a person in romance, and one can hear that upon listening. A slow, sensual and rather Beatlesque-sounding tune, this sounds like typical Eric Clapton music of the era. Unfortunately, this sounds a lot like the music that he has done for a decade or so by this point, and the formula is growing a little stale here. Still, it sounds good for what it is, just not that musically impressive. Clapton sings very nicely on this tune, and he confirms himself as a Rock legend. The midsection has an acoustic guitar solo that sounds really wonderful to hear. A really cool tune, this sounds incredibly sweet to listen to. Eric Clapton does a good job with his band musically here, although despite that, this is a bit of a lengthy listen. Still, the music is very good to listen to and sounds quite good in many musical ways. The chorus in particular is quite anthemic to listen to. Not bad, even if it hasn’t dated all that well. Decent song.

7. Man in Love is a short piece with some very Blues-based guitar licks and riffs. Eric Clapton sings well here, and he delivers a traditional 12 Bar Blues ballad. This sounds really sweet and anthemic throughout. A good listen, yet again, although there is little wow factor on this album per se. The piano and slide guitars do add a nice musical touch throughout. This does sound like another bold and worthwhile love ballad set to Blues based Rock guitars and instrumentation, with some excellent piano throughout. A cool listen throughout. Worth your ears.

8. Crosscut Saw begins with some groovy and interesting guitars, launching into a good tune that is quirky and different. Very nice to hear, Eric Clapton puts his loving in comparison with a woodwork/metalwork tool. It sounds really awesome and image-evoking throughout, and Eric Clapton sounds very much in the mood for loving on this tune. Weird, yet enjoyable enough, this song does have a unique musical flavour to it all. The guitar playing is good throughout, and this tune carries it along very well. A joyous and interesting listen, Eric Clapton proves himself to be a great musician and storyteller throughout. The extended solo section at the end is really cool to hear as well. A decent piece of music for 12 Bar Blues. It fades out nicely at the end.

9. Slow Down Linda begins with some rocking guitars and sounds really quite good to hear. A sensationally pleasant yet powerful tune to hear, this sounds extremely cool and nice to listen to. A truly wonderful and joyous tune to listen to, Eric Clapton and his crew are right on the ball here. A sweet, lovely and joyous music-listening experience, Clapton still had a lot of music magic within himself at this point. A very awesome and enjoyable tune with a glorious chorus to listen to, this sounds absolutely awesome. Clapton deserves more credit than what he gets on these albums. The guitar soloing is extremely supremely good, and Eric Clapton deserves his place in the music history books for that. There is a key change towards the end of this song, and the whole thing sounds really terrific to listen to. Very, very awesome music that wraps up very nicely after four minutes of glory with a nice fade out.

10. Crazy Country Hop is a short piece of music to conclude this album. It begins with some gorgeous Country Music styled guitars, and launches quickly into a song about the traditional side of music with a very Southern USA flavour to it all. Nonetheless, this sounds angelic and sweet musically for this music. A really awesome and punchy tune, this music is a tremendously wonderful listen. This has some obvious Country Music influences throughout, but it sounds punchy and powerful throughout. A great tune to listen to, this sounds very cool and is about rural life. Gloriously good and less than three minutes in length. Not bad.

This is not the best Eric Clapton album. It sounds like a rushed effort and is technically beating a dead horse with his musical formula. However, the music present is still extremely good to hear and showcases Eric Clapton’s musical ability to pave the path between Blues Music and Rock Music. He has especially done so throughout his music career. Should you listen to this album? If you are aware of Eric Clapton’s music and have heard some of his other works, go ahead and take a listen. However, this is not the most recommendable album for those of you who do not like Clapton’s music or who find his solo career disappointing.

Good but flawed.

7/10