Money And Cigarettes
	Produced by Tom Dowd
	Released on February 1983
	UK CHART POSITION #13 . . . US CHART POSITION #16
	Find it at GEMM
23773-1 cover [high resolution photo]

B y most accounts one of Eric Clapton’s better albums (out of the poor four I still own, this is the best). The record would seem to return to Clapton’s core strengths: the blues and pretty pop songs. The backing band is as talented (and as low-key) as the guitarist himself, shuffling through the material with the right moves and an easy confidence. To put Money And Cigarettes into perspective, if this had come from one of the ex-Beatles (say George or Paul) then it might well have won a Grammy. As it stood, the album provided a second wind for the guitarist, who seemed to lose his focus in the last decade. A generation who not long ago rediscovered the blues through the unlikely channel of The Blues Brothers (whose backing band was likewise unimpeachable) had to sense the genuine article on Money And Cigarettes. Unlike his debut album, the shift between originals and covers is seamless. Clapton’s take on “Everybody Oughta Make A Change” bears his indelible stamp, while the original “Slow Down Linda” draws from a long tradition of blues songs. His legend firmly established, Clapton puts a positive spin on familiar lyrical themes (love, substance abuse), begging the question: Was the inner storm over? Starting the album off with “Everybody Oughta Make A Change” couldn’t be an accident, “The Shape You’re In” speaks from the other side of experience, Clapton now in the role of the cautionary adult. And the love songs are bright, breezy, uncomplicated pronouncements from the heart: “Man In Love,” “Pretty Girl,” “Man Overboard.” The album also produced a popular single with “I’ve Got A Rock N’ Roll Heart,” a song that just as easily could have been shopped to Bob Seger or Eddie Rabbitt. Honestly, few artists have been so poorly served by their singles as Eric Clapton. There’s much more to Clapton than Money And Cigarettes, but not much better (maybe Slowhand and Journeyman).

23773-1 back cover	23773-1 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. EVERYBODY OUGHTA MAKE A CHANGE    (Sleepy John Estes)    3:16
2. THE SHAPE YOU'RE IN    (Eric Clapton)    4:08
3. AIN'T GOING DOWN    (Eric Clapton)    4:01
4. I'VE GOT A ROCK N' ROLL HEART    (Troy Seals/Eddie Setser/Steve Diamond)    3:13
5. MAN OVERBOARD    (Eric Clapton)    3:45
6. PRETTY GIRL    (Eric Clapton)    5:29
7. MAN IN LOVE    (Eric Clapton)    2:46
8. CROSSCUT SAW    (R.G. Ford)    3:30
9. SLOW DOWN LINDA    (Eric Clapton)    4:14
10. CRAZY COUNTRY HOP    (J. Otis)    2:46

CREDITS

ERIC CLAPTON -- vocals, slide & electric guitar
RY COODER -- slide & electric guitar
DONALD "DUCK" DUNN -- bass guitar
ROGER HAWKINS -- drums
CHUCK KIRKPATRICK -- backing vocals
ALBERT LEE -- keyboards, vocals, acoustic & electric guitar
JOHN SAMBATARO -- backing vocals
Michael Carnevale -- engineer
Graham Hughes -- photography and art direction
For El & Nell Ink Ltd. -- design and art direction
Laurie Savage -- model maker
Ian Murray Acrobat Design -- typography and design

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