Eric Clapton at His Best

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Eric Clapton at His Best
Eric Clapton At His Best.jpeg
Greatest hits album by
Eric Clapton
ReleasedSeptember 1972
Genre Rock
Length80:00
Label Polydor, RSO
Producer various; see track listing for details
Eric Clapton chronology
The History of Eric Clapton
(1972)		Eric Clapton at His Best
(1972)		 In Concert
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Eric Clapton at His Best is a two-LP compilation of Eric Clapton's work after he left his earlier band Cream, released in September 1972. It was concurrently released with a two-LP compilation of Cream tracks, Heavy Cream , along with "at His Best" solo retrospectives by Cream's other members Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

Contents

Overview

Although available in other territories as well, Eric Clapton at His Best was largely released to address the North American market, in order for Polydor Records to leverage Clapton's back catalog as, prior to 1972, Polydor had licensed Clapton's recordings to Atco/Atlantic Records for North American distribution. It was the first of two compilations of Clapton's early work that Polydor would issue; the second, Clapton , was released in mid-1973. Now out of print, Eric Clapton at His Best was available during the years 1972-76.

The album contains songs from Clapton's lone album with his 1969 band Blind Faith, his eponymous 1970 album, and from the lone studio album by Clapton's 1970-71 band Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970).

Chart performance

The album debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tape chart in the issue dated October 14, 1972, and peaked at No. 87. [2] In Cash Box magazine, the album reached No. 70 on its Top 100 Albums chart in the issue dated December 16, 1972. [3]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Bottle of Red Wine" (Delaney Bramlett/Eric Clapton) - 3:06
  2. "Anyday" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 6:33
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Produced by The Dominos; executive producer Tom Dowd.
  3. "I Looked Away" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 3:02
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
  4. "Let It Rain" (Bonnie Bramlett/Eric Clapton) - 5:07
    • From Eric Clapton.
  5. "Lonesome and a Long Way from Home" (Bonnie Bramlett/Leon Russell) - 3:43
    • From Eric Clapton.

Side two

  1. "Sea of Joy" (Steve Winwood) - 5:23
  2. "Layla" (Eric Clapton/Jim Gordon) - 7:01
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
  3. "Blues Power" (Eric Clapton/Leon Russell) - 3:10
    • From Eric Clapton.
  4. "Bell Bottom Blues" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 5:00
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

Side three

  1. "After Midnight" (John J. Cale) - 3:11
    • From Eric Clapton.
  2. "Keep On Growing" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 6:20
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
  3. "Little Wing" (Jimi Hendrix) - 5:31
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
  4. "Presence of the Lord" (Eric Clapton) - 4:48
    • From Blind Faith.

Side four

  1. "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?" (Eric Clapton/Bobby Whitlock) - 4:41
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
  2. "Easy Now" (Eric Clapton) - 2:58
    • From Eric Clapton.
  3. "Slunky" (Delaney Bramlett/Eric Clapton) - 3:33
    • From Eric Clapton.
  4. "Key to the Highway" (Charles Segar/Bill Broonzy) - 9:39
    • From Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1972)Peak
position
US Top LP's & Tape ( Billboard ) [2] 87
US Top 100 Albums ( Cash Box ) [3] 70

References

  1. ↑ "Eric Clapton at His Best - Eric Clapton | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 127. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Cash Box Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Cash Box . Vol. XXXIV, no. 26. 16 December 1972. p. 27. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
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