Customer Reviews
a solid effort 
2007-10-01
It's a good album from beginning to end. But if you like Clapton's older stuff (Cream, Derek & the Dominoes) then you may be a little disappointed by the fact it's unplugged.
Under par 
2007-05-14
This par I'm talking about here is not golf, where under par is good. This album just does not measure up to Clapton's other work. Cranking out albums because you can is not alway a good idea and this is a good example of such.
Universal appeal 
2007-04-10
The universal concensus in fall of 1992 was the brilliance of Eric Clapton's new release " Unplugged". My seventeen year old peers loved this disc with equal devotion to match the lifelong admiration of my fifty year old father. Of course, Clapton had touched a nerve with the beautifully written tribute to his sweet son, " Tears in Heaven". Once this disc was in possession, though, a whole new fan base was proclaiming " Clapton is God", at least God of the guitar.
" Signe", a nice little ditty to set the mood, opens the CD. It's a warm feeling, as if sitting around a fire, listening to the best musician in the group show his chops. These Unplugged sessions have a plastic feeling many times, but not in Clapton's case. He brought a seasoned sensitivity that colors the whole album.
Blues take a bow with " Before You Accuse Me" and " Hey Hey". " Lonely Stranger" is followed by " Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", a song where the upbeat melody contradicts the dour lyrics. " Layla" gets a sophisticated face-lift, while " Alberta" and " San Francisco Bay Blues" bounce around from strolling to skipping. " Old Love" sounds even better live than it did on " Journeyman". " Rollin' and Tumblin'", the closer, allows the artist to end on a high note, giving a mid-tempo flavor to an old blues classic.
Essential.
Like Having Clapton Playing In Your Living Room 2007-03-16
Unlike many in the music business who rely on studio wizardy, excessive charm, or fearlessness, Clapton built - and kept - his reputation based on one simple fact: the man plays guitar better than just about anyone, ever. Whether he's playing his own compositions, blues standards, or rock, Clapton engages the listener with a passion few can match.
Unplugged shows a different side of Clapton, a side I believe is his best. You feel his pain in Heaven and frivolity in Milk Cow Blues. He's having fun and sharing the experience with you. This CD is one you can play over and over again. Even today, 15 years after its release, it stands the test of time and still brings a big smile to those who listen. Highly recommended.
Clapton Unplugged 2007-02-02
This album reinforces, and reminds us, why "Claptin is God" got spraypainted all over the western world in the 1970s. Play the unplugged version of "Layla" back-to-back with the "plugged" version and you'll see how a guitar maestro can create two different songs out of the same cloth.
Unlike other artists who appeared on "Unplugged" but then refused to unplug (Springsteen comes to mind), Clapton is unafraid to demonstrate his chops in what could have been a difficult playing atmosphere.
"Unplugged" also allows Clapton to show his full range of stylistic abilities, from rock to blues and back again.
Well worth buying.
Worthy Of Its Reputation 2008-07-14
This cd is worthy of its reputation, and is the last great recording by Eric Clapton. "Malted Milk", "Walkin' Blues", "Layla", which he was able to successfully alter to fit an acoustic setting, "Nobody Know You When You're Down & Out", the classic made famous by Bessie Smith and later covered by an aged Scrapper Blackwell, and "Tears In Heaven", are all exceptionally great tracks. "Hey Hey" is not one of Broonzy's better songs, so I'm not sure why Clapton chose to record it. "Old Love" is mediocre, but "Running On Faith" is wonderfully done. This disc would have been even better if Clapton would have performed the material solo, much like the legendary Bluesmen he so greatly admired used to do, day in and day out. However, he has admitted in interviews that he is not a good enough musician to do what his idols did. For those of you who doubt this, simply look up interviews with Eric Clapton done by Guitar Player magazine. This is also the reason that his tribute record to Robert Johnson was not done alone.
Eric Clapton - Unplugged 2008-04-25
It's Eric Clapton - intimate and unplugged - playing some great blues and acoustic rock. Does life get any better than that? Everyone needs this CD!
respected 2008-04-25
eric clapton is and always will be considered as a guitar legend. and this shows it.
a soothing and uncomplicated production in a very intimate atmosphere, "unplugged" has a serene sound that will captivate anyone who has ears for good music. i highly recommend listening to it in a good set of stereo system
Clapton In The Round 2008-03-22
When you find yourself listening hungrily for the nuances of each individual note, when you find that the performances get better each time you listen to them, when you feel as if there is no bottom to the virtuosity and feeling in a performance, then you know that you've made some little connection with the mind of a genius. I am untutored in guitar technique, regrettably spotty on the history of the blues, but I can tell you that this is simply, modestly, great music.
ESSENTIAL ERIC CLAPTON ! (and MTV Unplugged's proudest moment) 2007-11-21
Who knew? Eric Clapton Unplugged (1992) was just going to be a treat for Clapton fans, and a chance to see and hear one of history's greatest guitarists show his stuff on an acoustic guitar. But Clapton and Unplugged made history by winning six Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, and Best Rock Song (Layla). It turned out to be MTV's proudest moment and grandest achievement.
There's a lot to like on Unplugged, including this cool, laid-back version of Layla. It loses none of it's purpose and has a great guitar solo. The deep and personal Tears In Heaven won three of those Grammy Awards, and the fact that Eric managed to bravely perform the song he wrote about his son, Conor, who had recently died, speaks volumes. The acoustic blues songs, Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out, Before You Accuse Me, San Francisco Bay Blues, and Robert Johnson's Walkin' Blues and Malted Milk all sound great, too. Two huge standouts on the album are Old Love and Running On Faith. Both are personal, soulful, and include inspired vocal perfomances, fine acoustic guitar work, and excellant slide guitar. Both songs stand along with E.C.'s best work.
Unplugged is really more of a perfect storm, where circumstances came together and fell into place, than a great work of art, but it's still a fine example of how talent, tragedy, and triumph can form an inspiring and wonderful creation. Eric Clapton Unplugged isn't perfect, but it's close.
