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英国歌手Clapton一生
http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/07/22 14:22  国际在线

  By the time Eric Clapton launched his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album in mid-1970, he was long established as one of the world's major rock stars due to his group affiliations -- the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Blind Faith -- affiliations that had demonstrated his claim to being the best rock guitarist of his generation. That it took Clapton so long to go out on his own, however, was evidence of a degree of reticence unusual for one of his stature. And his debut album, though it spawned the Top 40 hit "After Midnight," was typical of his self-effacing approach: it was, in effect, an album by the group he had lately been featured in, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends.

  Not surprisingly, before his solo debut had even been released, Clapton had retreated from his solo stance, assembling from the D&B&F ranks the personnel for a group, Derek and the Dominos, with which he played for most of 1970. Clapton was largely inactive in 1971 and 1972, due to heroin addiction, but he performed a comeback concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London on January 13, 1973, resulting in the album Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert (September 1973).

  But Clapton did not launch a sustained solo career until July 1974, when he released 461 Ocean Boulevard, which topped the charts and spawned the number one single "I Shot the Sheriff."

  The persona Clapton established over the next decade was less that of guitar hero than arena rock star with a weakness for ballads. The follow-ups to 461 Ocean Boulevard, There's One in Every Crowd (March 1975), the live E.C. Was Here (August 1975), and No Reason to Cry (August 1976), were less successful. But Slowhand (November 1977), which featured both the powerful "Cocaine" (written by JJ Cale, who had also written "After Midnight") and the hit singles "Lay Down Sally" and "Wonderful Tonight," was a million-seller. Its follow-ups, Backless (November 1978), featuring the Top Ten hit "Promises," the live Just One Night (April 1980), and Another Ticket (February 1981), featuring the Top Ten hit "I Can't Stand It," were all big sellers.

  Clapton's popularity waned somewhat in the first half of the '80s, as the albums Money and Cigarettes (February 1983), Behind the Sun (March 1985), and August (November 1986) indicated a certain career stasis. But he was buoyed up by the release of the box set retrospective Crossroads (April 1988), which seemed to remind his fans of how great he was. Journeyman (November 1989) was a return to form.

  It would be his last new studio album for nearly five years, though in the interim he would suffer greatly and enjoy surprising triumph. On March 20, 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son was killed in a fall. While he mourned, he released a live album, 24 Nights (October 1991), culled from his annual concert series at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and prepared a movie soundtrack, Rush (January 1992). The soundtrack featured a song written for his son, "Tears in Heaven," that became a massive hit single.

  In March 1992, Clapton recorded a concert for MTV Unplugged that, when released on an album in August, became his biggest-selling record ever. Two years later, Clapton returned with a blues album, From the Cradle, which became one of his most successful albums, both commercially and critically. Crossroads 2: Live in the '70s, a box set chronicling his live work from the '70s, was released to mixed reviews. In early 1997, Clapton, billing himself by the pseudonym "x-sample," collaborated with keyboardist/producer Simon Climie as the ambient new age and trip-hop duo T.D.F. The duo released Retail Therapy to mixed reviews in early 1997.

  Clapton retained Climie as his collaborator for Pilgrim, his first album of new material since 1989's Journeyman. Pilgrim was greeted with decidedly mixed reviews upon its spring 1998 release, but the album debuted at number four and stayed in the Top 10 for several weeks on the success of the single "My Father's Eyes." In 2000, Clapton teamed up with old friend BB King on Riding With the King, a set of blues standards and material from contemporary singer/songwriters. Another solo outing entitled Reptile followed in early 2001. Three years later, Clapton issued Me and Mr. Johnson, a collection of tunes honoring the Mississippi-born bluesman Robert Johnson.

英国蓝调歌手Eric Clapton的一生

  Eric Clapton 1945年3月30日出生于英国小镇Ripley,从小对蓝调与美国节奏蓝调就有浓厚的兴趣,于是他开始学习吉他。他回忆道:“当时只要能看到Bo Diddley与Chuck Berry一眼,我就高兴的昏了头。所以当我发现Muddy Walters与Robert Johnson时,他们对我的影响都很大。”

  60年代早期,参与过几个英国蓝调乐队后,Eric Clapton成为The Yardbirds的一员,乐队中的三个成员Eric Clapton、Jeff Beck、Jimmy Page,后来都成为英国这十年来,三位最顶尖的吉他手。他在1966年离开The Yardbirds加入John Mayall的Bluesbreakers,之后,他与贝斯手Jack Bruce与鼓手Ginger Baker成立了Cream,很快便成为60年代晚期最杰出的摇滚三人组。

  Eric Clapton到底是哪里与众不同?他并不只是简单的重复他在唱片中听到的蓝调音乐,他将原作中的情感,注入具有自己特色的演奏中,拓展了蓝调吉他的语汇。Cream的成功,将Eric Clapton成功的推向国际乐坛,而重新诠释蓝调经典作品“Spoonful”、“Crossroads”、与“Born Under A Bad Sign”,更巩固了他的地位。

  离开Cream后,Eric Clapton的成就也相当惊人,他与Steve Winwood、Rick Grech、Ginger Baker在1969年一起成立了Blind Faith,以同名冠军专辑红透半边天。同年不久后,Eric Clapton与“Delaney与Bonnie”一同合作,开始试验自己的声音技巧。1970年他发行了第一张同名个人专辑,随后又与Derek And The Dominos一同发行了《Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs》,当时还默默无闻的吉他手Duane Allman曾参与此辑。

  1971年,Eric Clapton陷入了情绪低潮,Derek And The Dominos的解散对他影响很大,除了客串演出、或是一些特殊的场合,例如George Harrison为孟加拉国举行的演唱会、以及1973年Pete Townshend所举办的Rainbow Concert,他从乐坛消失了将近三年的时间。

  1974,年Eric Clapton以专辑《461 Ocean Boulevard》与单曲“I Shot the Sheriff”重返乐坛,两者都登上排行榜冠军。接下来在70年代中晚期,他的专辑“There's One In Every Crowd”、“E.C. Was Here”、“No Reason To Cry”等都有Top 20的成绩。1977年开始,Eric Clapton成就了一张三白金的专辑《Slowhand》与畅销单曲“Lay Down Sally”,从此他的演艺事业不断创造金唱片或白金唱片的佳绩,一直持续到今日还是如此。

  在80与90年代间,Eric Clapton对电影原声带的贡献也不容忽视,例如 《Rush》、《回到未来》、《金钱本色》、《致命武器3》等等,不过最成功的应该算是《第三类奇迹》电影原声带中的单曲“Change The World”。


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