461 Ocean Boulevard is the second solo studio album by English musician Eric Clapton. It was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" earlier in the month. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies.
The album was Clapton's return to the recording studio after a three-year hiatus due to his heroin addiction. The title refers to the address on Ocean Boulevard in Golden Beach, Florida, where Clapton lived while recording the album. Upon completing the album, Clapton and RSO head Robert Stigwood recommended the house and Criteria Studios in Miami to fellow RSO artists the Bee Gees, who then moved there to write and record Main Course. The street address of the house was changed after the album's release.
A remastered two-disc deluxe edition of the album was released in 2004, which included selections from two live shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, and additional studio jam sessions.
Production
After overcoming his heroin addiction, Clapton realized that he had wasted three years of his life, stating he had not done anything other than watch television and get out of shape. When Clapton sought help working on a farm, he began to listen to a lot of new music and old blues records he had brought with him and started to play again, even writing whole songs out of simple ideas. With these song ideas in mind, Clapton was given a demo tape by Carl Radle, the former bassist for Derek and the Dominos, with songs performed by Radle with keyboardist Dick Sims and drummer Jamie Oldaker. Clapton liked the recordings, calling them "simply superb".
Clapton was given time to write new material for a next album by Radle. When Clapton set to work on tracks for the upcoming studio release, he wanted to leave his songs as incomplete as possible, so that the musicians, who were going to record with Clapton in the studio, would get the chance to make them their own. After Clapton appeared in the rock opera Tommy, his manager at the time, Robert Stigwood, contacted him about a new project. Stigwood arranged for Clapton to record at the Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, with Radle, Sims, Oldaker and record producer Tom Dowd. When the time came to record the new album, Clapton was worried about both its commercial and artistic success, noting his concept of a new album would work only when there was chemistry between the musicians. Clapton also hired guest vocalist Yvonne Elliman and guitarist George Terry as full-time members of his group.
Stigwood also paid for Clapton to live at a rental house at 461 Ocean Boulevard in the town of Golden Beach near Miami. The whole album was recorded from April to May 1974. For the recording sessions, Clapton used his Fender Stratocaster electric guitar nicknamed 'Blackie' .
Music and lyrics
Ryan Book of Music Times felt the music on the album ranges from "bright blues rock" to sentimental ballads like "Let It Grow",
and Robert Christgau said it features "sleepy postjunk funk" with intimations of sex.
In his 2007 autobiography My Life, Clapton recalls that he was very pleased with the song's lyrics and instrumental parts of "Let It Grow", which he had written himself, although music critics and also Clapton noted, that the melody and chord progression is nearly the same as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". Except for "Let It Grow", "Get Ready", (a song Clapton wrote with guest vocalist Yvonne Elliman about her) and “Give Me Strength”, the album consists of various cover versions of titles that had been in Clapton's head for a long time: "Willie and the Hand Jive", "Steady Rollin' Man" and "I Can't Hold Out". While the band was recording, George Terry brought the album Burnin from Bob Marley and the Wailers to Clapton's attention, stating he really liked the song "I Shot the Sheriff". He persuaded Clapton to record a version of this, which Clapton was reluctant of due to not wanting to disrespect the original. Finally, the band convinced Clapton to put the song on the album, noting it would definitely become a hit single. When Clapton met Bob Marley years after his take on the tune was released, Marley told Clapton he really liked the cover. Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, in the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, in the United Kingdom, in the United States, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and Venezuela. Therefore, it was one of the few pop-music albums to be legally sold in the USSR. Over the years, the album was reissued several times including in 1988, 1996 and 2004 for reunited Europe, also in compact disc format and via digital music download.
461 Ocean Boulevard is one of Clapton's most successful commercial releases, reaching the Top 10 in eight countries, and peaking at number one in three territories including Canada The single was also Clapton's first single to sell well internationally, achieving Gold certifications in the United States as well as a double Platinum award in Canada. The second track to be released as a single was "Willie and the Hand Jive", which came out in October 1974. Clapton slowed down the tempo for his version. Author Chris Welch believes that the song benefits from this "slow burn". However, Rolling Stone critic Ken Emerson complains that the song sounds "disconcertingly mournful". Other critics praised Clapton's confident vocals. Author Marc Roberty claimed that on this song, "Clapton's vocals had clearly matured, with fluctuations and intonations that were convincing rather than tentative as in the past". Clapton's version of the song was released as a single in 1974 and reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and position 28 in the Netherlands.
Critical reception and legacy
Reviewing for Creem in September 1974, Robert Christgau said: "As unlikely as it seems, Clapton has taken being laid-back into a new dimension. Perhaps the most brilliant exploration of the metaphorical capacities of country blues ever attempted, way better than Taj Mahal for all of side one. On side two, unfortunately, he goes a little soft. But I'll settle for two questionable live albums if he'll give us a solo record as good as this every three years."
In a retrospective review for Uncut, Nigel Williamson considered that with 461 Ocean Boulevard, Clapton "rediscovered the primacy of music in his life".
Rolling Stone placed the album at No. 411 on its 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, commenting that Clapton had "returned from heroin addiction with a disc of mellow, springy grooves minus guitar histrionics", which "paid tribute to Robert Johnson and Elmore James". The album was included Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
Deluxe Edition
- 4th December - tracks 5, 7, 8, 10, 11. 5th December - tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9.
Personnel
- Eric Clapton – lead vocals, guitars, Dobro (A2, B2, B3), slide guitar (A1, B1, B5)
- George Terry – guitars (A1–A5, B2, B3, B4, B5), backing vocals (A5, B2, B3, B4, B5), slide guitar (A1)
- Albhy Galuten – piano (A1, A5, B3, B4, B5), electric piano (A4), ARP synthesizer (B3), clavichord (B4)
- Dick Sims – organ (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, B3, B4, B5)
- Carl Radle – bass
- Jamie Oldaker – drums (all tracks, except A2, B2, and B4), percussion (B2)
- Yvonne Elliman – backing vocals (A3, A5, B2, B3, B5), co-lead vocals (A4)
- Al Jackson Jr. – drums (A2)
- Jimmy Fox – drums (B4)
- Tom Bernfield – backing vocals (B3, B5)
Production
- Tom Dowd – producer
- Bill Levenson – compilation producer on Deluxe Edition
- Ron Fawcus – engineer
- Andy Knight – engineer
- Karl Richardson – engineer
- Suha Gur – mastering
- Darcy Proper – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
- Bob Defrin – art direction, design
- David Gahr – photography
- Ryan Null – photo coordination
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Chart (1974–1975)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report)
| 2
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
|1
|-
|-
! scope="row" | Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| 10
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|3
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|1
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Chart (1974)
!Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report)
| 18
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
|5
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
|22
|-
! scope="row" | German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 50
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|88
|}