Behind the Sun
Studio album by
Eric Clapton
Released11 March 1985
Recorded1984
StudioAIR Studios (Montserrat, West Indies)
Lion Share Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Amigo Studios (North Hollywood, CA)
GenreRock, pop rock, hard rock
Length50:17
LabelDuck / Warner Bros.
ProducerEric Clapton, Phil Collins, Ted Templeman, Lenny Waronker
Eric Clapton chronology
Backtrackin'
(1984) 		Behind the Sun
(1985) 		Edge of Darkness
(1985)
Singles from Behind the Sun
  1. "Forever Man"
    Released: March 1985
  2. "See What Love Can Do"
    Released: June 1985 (US)
  3. "She's Waiting"
    Released: July 1985 (UK)[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Behind the Sun is the ninth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released on 11 March 1985 by Duck Records / Warner Bros. Records. It is Clapton's first collaborative project with Phil Collins who co-produced the album and played on some of the tracks. While recording the album Clapton temporarily split with his wife.

Background and recording

After nearly a decade of Clapton's guitar playing taking a backseat to his singing/songwriting, this album contains several guitar solos. The album includes synthesizers and drum machines played by Phil Collins, Ted Templeman, Peter Robinson, Michael Omartian, James Newton Howard, Chris Stainton and Greg Phillinganes, as well as Clapton's Roland guitar synthesizer on "Never Make You Cry". Bassists Donald "Duck" Dunn from Booker T. & the MG's and Nathan East (later of the smooth jazz quartet Fourplay) also played on the sessions.

In his autobiography, Clapton remembers the 1984 session pleasantly: "The whole thing is going so great, I hope it never stops." However, his troubled marriage with Pattie Boyd became the subject matter for most of his original material: "She's Waiting", "Same Old Blues" and "Just Like a Prisoner" all contain extended guitar solos from Clapton. It was during this period that Boyd left him and "it was eventually decided that we should have a trial separation". Clapton assuaged his pain by writing the song "Behind the Sun", featuring only his guitar and vocals along with Phil Collins' synthesizer, as the final song on the album.

This was Clapton's first collaboration with songwriter Jerry Lynn Williams. Warner Brothers looked critically at this follow-up to the Money and Cigarettes album, Clapton's first for the label, which did not sell well. The Collins-produced Behind the Sun first submitted in the fall of 1984 was rejected by the label, insisting that he record several new songs written by Williams, backed by Los Angeles session players. The label put the project under the auspices of veteran company producers Lenny Waronker and Ted Templeman. Warner Brothers then emphasised the new tracks, releasing two of them, "Forever Man" (which reached the Top 40) and "See What Love Can Do," as singles. Clapton agreed to their terms, but asked them to provide some "hits" and record the songs with their own producer and musicians: "They sent me three songs by a Texas songwriter – "Forever Man", "Something's Happening" and "See What Love Can Do" – and they were good." The sessions featured Toto guitarist Steve Lukather and then-drummer Jeff Porcaro, as well as Clapton's long-time collaborators, drummer Jamie Oldaker, bassist Nathan East and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes.

Promotion

The Behind the Sun tour was featured at the first Live Aid concert in 1985 where "She's Waiting" was performed along with "White Room" and "Layla". The video for "Forever Man" became an MTV favorite, featuring an accident where one of the cameras falls off the dolly. "Same Old Blues" was resurrected for the 25th Anniversary world tour and the Montserrat charity show in 1988 and 1997, with Mark Knopfler on rhythm guitar; Clapton resurrected "She's Waiting" for his 1992 world tour. Clapton came to sit in with Paul Shaffer to promote the album on Late Night with David Letterman in 1985. Letterman was impressed by the songs on the album joking to Clapton if it would be alright for him if Letterman would sing "Forever Man".[3]

Reception

Deborah Frost, in a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, felt the album was "slick but inconsistent", and was concerned that Clapton's move into commercial ballads would eventually see him turn his back on his rock fans, instead playing his greatest hits on the Vegas circuit.[4] Robert Christgau in his Village Voice Consumer Guide described the album as "[s]ad [a]nd also bad" because Clapton was simply following commercial market fashion.[5]

In a retrospective summary for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann feels that the album is "somewhat schizophrenic" due to the tinkering of the record label, who were concerned that the original version of the album contained no hits and was too downbeat, so brought in new writers and producers. Ruhlman concludes that despite some effective guitar work the album is competent rather than exciting, and is not among Clapton's best.[6]

Cash Box said that the second single "See What Love Can Do" "plays off a reggae/gospel theme and provides an excellent showcase for some tasteful guitar playing."[7] Cash Box also praised its "tight background vocals and rhythm section."[7] Billboard said of that song that it has "moody groundwells of texture in a many-layered rock ballad."[8]

Track listing

  1. "She's Waiting" – 4:55 (Eric Clapton, Peter Robinson)
  2. "See What Love Can Do" – 3:58 (Jerry Lynn Williams)
  3. "Same Old Blues" – 8:15 (Clapton)
  4. "Knock on Wood" – 3:19 (Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper)
  5. "Something's Happening" – 3:23 (Williams)
  6. "Forever Man" – 3:13 (Williams)
  7. "It All Depends" – 5:05 (Clapton)
  8. "Tangled in Love" – 4:11 (Marcy Levy, Richard Feldman)
  9. "Never Make You Cry" – 6:06 (Clapton, Phil Collins)
  10. "Just Like a Prisoner" – 5:29 (Clapton)
  11. "Behind the Sun" – 2:13 (Clapton)

Some tracks were recorded for the album, but not included.

  1. "Loving Your Lovin'" (Jerry Williams) Produced by Templeman/Waronker – Released on the Wayne's World movie soundtrack
  2. "Heaven Is One Step Away" (Eric Clapton) Produced by Phil Collins – Released on the Back to the Future movie soundtrack and later on Crossroads Box Set
  3. "Too Bad" (Eric Clapton) Produced by Phil Collins – Released as the B-side to "Forever Man" and then later on the Crossroads Box Set
  4. "Jailbait" (Eric Clapton) Produced by Phil Collins – Released as B-Side of "She's Waiting" Single
  5. "You Don't Know Like I Know" (Eric Clapton) Produced by Phil Collins – Released in Australia only
  6. "One Jump Ahead of the Storm" – Unissued

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Eric Clapton singles".
  2. ^ "Behind the Sun - Eric Clapton | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ^ "05-07-1985 Letterman Fred Willard, Beverly D'Angelo, Eric Clapton". The Last Show with David Letterman. YouTube. Retrieved 28 July 2015.[dead YouTube link]
  4. ^ Frost, Deborah (11 April 1985). "Album Review: Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (30 April 1985). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Music section. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  6. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Behind the Sun – Eric Clapton: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 22 June 1985. p. 9. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. 22 June 1985. p. 67. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  10. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums" (PDF). RPM Magazine. Library and Archives Canada. 42 (11). 25 May 1985. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  12. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Eric Clapton". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 48.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Hits of the World > Japan" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 97 (17): 63. 27 April 1985. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Charts.nz – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  21. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1985". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Eric Clapton – Behind the Sun". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 February 2016.

Further reading

Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 374–84. ISBN 9781770414839. OCLC 1121143123.

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