461 Ocean Boulevard

Very inessential. A load of middle of the road covers from a boring racist. Who cares?

Generic, hollow, unispired, phoning-it-in-cashgrab

This is just a completely soulless collection of covers, each one a far inferior version of the original. Get this off of this list. Eric Clapton can get fucked.

C'est pas forcément ce que j'écouterais de moi-même mais c'est bien fait. 3/5

Really underwhelming. The best songs are all covers, and even they lack any soul. And where is the guitar?

Laid back blues rock. Unfortunately I think I need a bit more energy in my music than this album has. It's unfortunate that the songs are mostly covers, but they're also the highlights. The main riff in Let It Grow also sounds eerily like Stairway to Heaven.

Question inclusion of this album on the list. What does it bring to the party? Its not ground breaking , its certainly not an unrepresented genre and Eric C is already features several times elsewhere on the list. Reading the reviews people seem to hate Eric C - I'm largely ignorant of what he has said or done so am neutral towards him. I enjoyed the album - a pleasant listen - its very MOR vanilla stuff.

I knew I shot the Sheriff, the rest were all new to me. Not sure what the album is - it feels disjointed, themeless and eclectic but not necessarily in a good way. I don't think it stands out as Clapton's best. Each song sounds alright, but doesn't form a good package.

I’m not sure I “get” Clapton

Solid overall, but nothing too crazy imo. I will say man knows how to play a 🎸

The heroin failed, apparently.

I love Eric Clapton, but this album didn't blow me away!

Great stuff. Anyone else recognize "Motherless Children" as the theme song from the 80's HBO comedy show "Not Necessarily the News"?

Feels like it’s missing soul. Totally whitewashed blues. Good playing and production though.

This man is overrated and a piece of shit

3.5. Enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but it’s not nearly as good as his work with Cream or Derek and the Dominos. Slowhand is better, too, imo. But this was a nice, chill listen! I could see myself spinning this again sometime.

I liked it for sure! However, I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed since I thought Clapton had better than that. All the songs were good however they were a bit bland lacking of interesting musical moments. The latter half of the record was pretty good, but I think if your most popular song on your album is a worse cover of a popular song, that does not say a lot of great things about the album. Almost a 2, but it was a vibe and the songs weren't too bad.

Not bad, but I doubt that I'll return to it (with the exception of I Shot the Sheriff). ★★★

"Eric Clapton forcibly removes the teeth from blues greats LIVE." "Eric Clapton has a friend that found a riverboat organ at a marine salvage auction." "Eric Clapton has too much money/time/confidence and a studio nearby." "Eric Clapton mumbling the general idea of songs via tap recorder to send to the kids bop group he is ghostwriting for." Above are some alternate titles for "461 Ocean Boulevard" by Eric "The Clap" Clapton. A record that doesn't contain bones, let alone teeth. Bored, boring uhh rock? Maybe? Is it pop?? There is nothing on here tha can really be described as anything. A 36 minute stroll through The Clap's empty mind and boring rich guy neighbourhood, replete with stinky organ droning behind lame-ass "blues" "riffs" that typically peter out before they even start. Add in atrocious vocal features from a whack of nameless bums and a bunch of dumb lyrics, slap your address on it and boom, you've got a staple of the record store dollar-bin. This record is probably on here because of pseudo-reggae kids song for adults "I Shot the Sheriff." What a terrible peice of dreck that track is. If its good for anything, it's that its a glaring reminder of the stupidity of the general public. Eric Clapton's popularity has to be some sort of experiment/concerted effort from clandestine forces beyond our collective knowledge. I can't explain how this inoffensive nothingness produces a reaction. 0 GENRE: The records they use to make those decorative bowls

Genoten van de eerste noot tot de laatste

Heb ik heel vaak herluisterd

An easy listen

Enjoyed Please Be With Me, also like I Shot the Sheriff

This felt like listening to a watered down version of Eric Clapton, especially when compared to how highly everyone speaks of him. The album is decent - it has interesting guitar work throughout, some enjoyable tracks and a clear quality in it's delivery & production. However the whole thing feels like it's missing something memorable to take home with you. There isn't a single moment that I would say sounded brilliant or stopped me in my tracks. 6/10.

- it's giving grandpa music but well-produced - very laid back, but lyrics/melodies are not that good - i guess "i shot the sheriff" is the hit from this album, but it's sort of unremarkable to me - yeah like this is not bad per se but it's just not interesting and i don't really have any desire to re-listen to anything

this was the album given to me on my birthday this year. blues rock is my least favorite genre according to this website. hooray???????

how i would expect an Eric Clapton album to sound

eric clapton non mi piacerai mai

It's a bunch of Blues songs played with an unfortunately dated and cheesy sound.

I hate how much I liked this. Do you reckon Clapton has always been a racist cvnt? 3.5

Skillful guitar-work from Clapton throughout the whole album. It’s incredibly special when a musician can make their guitar sing, and Clapton achieves just that. Catchy choruses and well thought out lyrics create a highly enjoyable record here.

The opening song sounds like they're trying to be JJ Cale. But where JJ Cale has that lazy, laid back groove, this sounds like they are trying to be lazy and laid back but they have to be hectic to achieve it. I guess I'm saying is that Slow Hand and co. are struggling to keep up. It's a production issue, not a skill issue (duh), but it really stood out and really dragged down what is supposed to be one of the highlights. I then get to Willie And The Hand Jive and I think - wtf is this? Is it a cover? I look it up, yep, it is. But maybe it's a great reinterpretation of it... Listen to the original and nope, it's not a reinterpretation, it's just someone else doing almost the same song with a few differences. And it turns out that nearly all the album is covers. Boooo. I Shot The Sheriff. Well, Clapton don't play bass, so let's remove the funkiest thing from the original for some guitar... The guitar is fine, but I don't think it's an improvement. I'll be honest, my default for cover songs is scepticism. They gotta do something with it, not just be competent. It has to add something to the original. And for an album that's mostly cover songs to feature on a list like this, the bar needs to be even higher. The bar was not passed. The bar was not even acknowledged. I feel I'm less critical of Clapton than most of the internet, and probably less critical of him than he deserves. But that doesn't mean I can let this go. This does not deserve to be on this list. It's not timeless. As an album released by a guy in the 70's, it's fine. As a piece of history though, it's got nothing more going for it than any other album that produced a hit or two. Having said all that.. Let It Grow is a good song. It doesn't sound like he's trying to be JJ Cale like I accused him of earlier, but it's almost certainly inspired by him. It's got that lazy laid back groove and it feels like they're in the groove unlike my earlier criticism which felt like some rushed people were trying to sound laid back. So Clapton can write a good song, but that doesn't excuse an album of mostly "just fine" covers. I'll say it again, this does not deserve to be on the list.

Shot the sheriff good song

Pretty bland and entirely forgettable.

Very mid. Good but not like "this is Eric Clapton the way he's talked about" good

It is important to look beyond the deeply flawed person that is Eric Clapton and to focus on his music. Turns out, his music has no redeeming qualities either.

Thought this was excellent.

I know Clapton has a pretty dubious reputation these days, but I tried to separate the art from the artist here the same way I have with Kanye and Kid Rock. Of course, Kid Rock still managed to earn his 1 star anyway. “Motherless Child” was a banger. The guitar work throughout the album is really what carried it for me, and there are some great riffs all over this thing. The main guitar part on “Let It Grow” reminded me a lot of the intro to “Stairway to Heaven.” “Please Be with Me” had a completely different feel and sounded like something Neil Young could’ve recorded around the same time. Then there is "I Shot The Sheriff" That’s probably the song most people associate with this album, and I really don’t think his version was that good. I’d take Bob Marley’s without hesitation. That being said, would a listen to it again? For sure. It’s laid back without getting boring, there’s plenty of blues in it, and Clapton’s guitar playing is obviously the main attraction. Definitely better than I expected going in. Favorite song: "Motherless Child"

Crusty Floridian beach bum music. Whitewashed Bob Marley cover song.

No suena mal, tampoco locura. I shot the sheriff temardo

The Good: We know where we need to go! The Bad: We aren't even close to the state... The Ugly: Finding out that they moved the house... Clapton is God.... at least, that is what someone once painted on a wall... and the myth was born. Mr Slowhands is, undeniably, one of the greats of his time, if not of all time, when it comes to playing the guitar! It is, therefore, so frustrating to have to listen to his albums which, in my opinion, contain too much shit that acted as filler. This album is no exception. It has some awesome songs. True Clapton songs... then, then it just kind of makes us want to turn off the sound... For those who'd like to hear Clapton do the blues with a slight modern sound to it, go check out From the Cradle... some of his best soloing work! This, this was okay... I guess... 3*

I kinda like Eric Clapton, sometimes. But this one wasnt that special

Im not a huge Clapton fan

リラックスして聴ける曲。おじさんのリスナーが多そう。Laylaのイメージのエリッククラプトンとは全然違って、技巧派な感じももない。いい雰囲気です

It's Clapton, come on. He's a guitar god, and the riffs are excellent. You've got "I Shot The Sheriff", an excellent tune. The rest of the album is pretty much scaffolding to hold that up, though. It's not bad, it's just average. "Motherless Children" comes in pretty strong, but the grooves just kind of blend together up to "I Shot The Sheriff" and then continue blending after that. "Steady Rollin' Man" is pretty good. Can we just talk about the album in front of us instead of talking about the artist's activities off stage? Please? My Rating: 3/5

it was so sensual and intimate, i loved “i shot the sheriff” and “get ready”. super danceable to and great to listen to.

The best song is a cover and the rest can be a little too mellow for me. I can see how someone would like this though.

Eric Clapton is a polarizing figure. Weird that I got this album a couple days after watching Antichrist (2009). Enjoyable blues rock. 7/10

What a boring album! Yes, he's a great guitar player but...

Sounds like EC is off his head on cocaine the whole time. This is EC in the 70s, I'm probably right.

Meh. Clapton is overrated.

The first song starts very entertaining with some actually nice rhythm, something that doesn't come back until the last two tracks with a more mediocre delivery, and all in the middle is just slow blues rock, except for "I Shot the Sheriff", as its original version is a reggae track. This album is boring and it feels patronizing, something that makes sense considering the horrible person this guy is. My intuition tells me Eric Clapton really though he was doing some great covers, but I do not feel any passion coming out of his voice (which at least knows how to sing) or guitar performances, and the same goes for the rest of instrumentation. I'll admit that I haven't heard any of the original tracks, but I'm sure they are leagues better and filled with pure emotion, something these pieces here totally lack. If I have anything positive left to say is that the production is actually warm and that the length is short. Other than that, very inoffensive (in terms of emotions, as this can be considered as a collection of insults to the original songs) and boring.

Not as good as I remembered. Some of the songs were outright boring.

Was ok

Not a big fan of Clapton but it was alright

Not a fan. Multiple listens doesn’t really improve this for me. Just makes me dislike it more, actually. 2 Boolean: True

Album #218: Eric Clapton – 461 Ocean Boulevard ⭐⭐⭐ This was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest with you. I’ve never really listened to Eric Clapton’s solo material, but Derek and the Dominos’ Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs came up on the generator and I was pretty blown away by it. I gave it four, but it’s in that category of probably should be a five. It’s so good. So I was excited for this one, being one of the next major albums Clapton released. And this doesn’t hold a candle to Derek and the Dominos. It’s good, but it’s not really showing the full potential of what this guy could do. The good stuff is this: it’s got a pretty fantastic Side A. Side B is a major decline. It just gets softer and softer as it goes on, and the softer stuff gets weirdly melodramatic. Then you’ve got the Chicago blues stuff with the Willie Dixon covers. It’s not my favourite type of blues, and it seems to be one of Eric Clapton’s favourite types of blues. Doesn’t really do it for me. It’s mostly covers as well, even though I think he’s a decent songwriter in his own right. He is a good interpreter of a song, and he does interesting interpretations. But, I Shot the Sheriff, which is pretty faithful to Bob Marley’s original, is probably the best song on the album. He has a really good soft voice, but he’s not bringing any of the intensity or life that he had with Derek and the Dominos to this. It’s very low-key. It works on the JJ Cale-style stuff like Get Ready and I Shot the Sheriff, with the reggae and low-key blues sound. But listening to Get Ready, I did kind of feel like I’d prefer to be listening to JJ Cale for this kind of stuff. Then it opens with this country-blues jam, Motherless Children, and I have a major bone to pick with that song. This is very personal. I say a lot of hyperbolic stuff and throw out big statements whenever I’m doing these reviews, but this is a fact for me personally. Blind Willie Johnson is one of my top five favourite artists and one of the most important artists ever for me. I discovered his music, and a lot of those very early blues recordings from the 1920s, during a very rough time in my life. I fell in love with that music and became kind of obsessed with finding recordings and listening to them. Blind Willie Johnson was, and still is to this day, my favourite bluesman. Motherless Children Have a Hard Time is one of his most desperately sad tunes. And I know it’s not uncommon for people to cover sad songs and liven them up or make them a bit rocky, especially when it comes to blues. But something rubbed me wrong about what Clapton does with this particular song. It’s a great arrangement that he’s created, but I think doing Motherless Children that way does the subject of the song a disservice. It almost feels a little disrespectful. For someone who had such a high reverence for the bluesman himself, I’m surprised he chose to cover that song with that arrangement. It doesn’t work lyrically for me anymore because all that shit happened to Blind Willie Johnson. That song is autobiographical to him, and you can’t recreate that pain. That’s not Clapton’s fault though, but the jauntiness then downplays the pain. That’s one of my favourite things about Blind Willie Johnson. You can hear all that experience in his voice. You can hear the awful tragedies and difficulties of his life. I’m not religious at all, but his music almost makes me wish I was, because his faith carries him through all these things and you can hear that in his voice. He’s one of the most amazing singers to have ever lived. And I’m not saying you can’t cover a Blind Willie Johnson song, because you can. Led Zeppelin took Nobodies Fault but Mine and made an amazing, lively version out of it. But this particular cover irked me. Look, I’m sure Eric Clapton would tell me to feck off and have a really good reason for why he did it. But I just think that’s one of the saddest songs ever written, and maybe it’s a song you don’t do that with. And yet it’s a great arrangement too, so I’m torn on that one. It sounds like a great Derek and the Dominos-style tune, as does Mainline Florida, with that real swampy blues sound. Mainline Florida is probably the only song on Side B that I really like. Yeah, I’ve rambled a bit about Blind Willie Johnson, but if anyone hasn’t listened to him, I’m pretty sure none of his music is on this list. He is one you need to hear before you die. As for 461 Ocean Boulevard, probably not.

Yes, the problems many people have with Clapton are significant, and I think quite justified. Can and should one separate the artist's personality from their art, in this case, the music? I have no idea, but I think Clapton isn't the only one whose personality completely backfires. But about the album, "Ocean Boulevard"—very bluesy, isn't it? Unfortunately, I can't stand that kind of bluesy music at all. Sure, Clapton is synonymous with bluesy music, and that's probably why I don't like Clapton, or rather his music, and that was long before I heard all the other awful things about him. What really pissed me off, though, was his version of "I Shot the Sheriff." Even if it's said that Bob Marley liked it, who had the biggest hit with it? I can only hope that something actually got through to Marley. To conclude, very briefly, I don't like either the album or Clapton.

This album has a nice blues rock feel to it; It is smooth in parts, but with just the right amount of rock to it. How Eric's cover of I Shot the Sheriff got to #1 in the charts whilst Bob Marley's original didn't even make the top 100 will never not be wild to me. 7/10

Yeah, I love him

This is a really chill, bluesy album that was an easy listen. I am not personally a fan of “I Shot the Sheriff” (Marley’s original version or Clapton’s cover), but the rest was really pretty and chill. I don’t think I would listen to this again actively, but rather as background music. I did add “Give Me Strength” and “Please Be With Me” to my library. I need to go listen to the originals of these songs.

7.6/10. A nice blues rock album, it has a great vibe to it, and some great songwriting. His use of soft tones in singing, while having both softer and harder sounds for instruments at different times created a great shift throughout, but also had great individual sounds, like with solos and bridges. I enjoyed it, and definitely will be listening to at least some of the songs again.

Plenty of catchy licks but clapton sucks

Clapton es importante, pero pues el album está breve

i enjoy it, if anything just kind of basic but has some variety to it, but i do not fw him

This really is my sort of music. Four stars…

The album itself is decent, musically very good at times. The vocal wasn’t one to blow me away but that was more than made up for with the guitar playing on the album, every string plucked giving out such an amazing sound. I don’t read into all the he said this she said that when rating the albums, so unlike all the comments that are calling Eric and giving scores of 1 they do not score the album correctly. That’s takes away the fact the instruments on this album flow through the speakers at such pace and intensity that you cannot help but move your body along to them! Best track- ‘motherless children’ Worst track- ‘who shot the sheriff’ he’s no Bob Marley is he let’s be honest! 7.5/10

Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean A favourite from my youth so tried to divorce the music from the nostalgia. And from the fact that Clapton is of questionable character....but so are so many others on this list. An album that gets more laid back as it goes on, it's Clapton post-lsdand heroin haze and, instead, on the porch supping moonshine. And, due to that, it makes no demands on you as a listener. And it succeeds on that basis. Highlights for me are Motherless Children (bit of a romp for a funeral, mind), Get Ready (Yvonne Elliman is brilliant here), the lovely Please Be With Me, Let It Grow (but the sibilance!), and Mainline Florida(guitars are great here). There's nowt groundbreaking here, nowt gut wrenching, but you can make great music swinging in a hammock. And that is just what Clapton has done here. Best Track - Motherless Cildren Worst Track - Willie and the Hand Jive 8.5/10

re dominguero el disco, muy para arrancar el finde

Pretty nice album and good production after all.

Decent record, but not one I'd intentionally seek out to listen to. Clapton has his moments and it's a unique Americana rock sound, it's just something I particularly have a strong feeling about either way. It's on this list for a reason though, I guess.

It's very vibey and cool but for me it lacks any real standout tracks. I enjoyed it through a few times but other than I Shot The Sheriff, nothing really grabbed me or stood out. The quality of the playing and songwriting is obvious but it just feels like it plods along pleasantly.

As atrocious as any Pat Boone album; constantly disorienting and disappointing. It is, in spirit, straight easy listening. But, of course, stylistically, it imitates the most hardcore soulful style - blues - with a splash of watered down reggae and calypso for, for, for, what I have no idea. The fact that he's spewed the most vial racist, xenophobic nonsense makes it all a bit nauseating.

Technically 3/5. That's the extent of my review on this.

Ahh Eric Clapton, dude is hard to pin down. Goes on a racist rant in 76, doesn't continue saying racist shit. Personally helps blues player like Buddy Guy and Gary Clark Jr. Goes on a anti vax rant and release anti lockdown songs, still gets the vaccine. I mean he loved BB King like a brother for all accounts. I'm just not sure about him. That said there are better albums where Clapton plays. I really believe he is one of those folks that do better with people around him that can direct him. I think his ego and drive get the best of him and his solo work suffers from it.

very alright

Eric Clapton, the racist asshole & generally overrated bloke, is also no sort of rocker at heart. Virtuosic as he probably is, he's languid rather than all that impressive or visionary. The thing is, when his languorous style is on, Clapton is able to make some pretty good music. It's just that he's rarely on top of his game, & his solo output consists mostly of bore after bore. I mean, what's there in the end? I like some of Cream, sure, his work w/ the Bluesbreakers is quite good, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, thanks to Duane Allman, is an absolute classic, & finally, 461 Ocean Boulevard is a nice touch of record, an easy-listening tribute to life as it rolls past us in a blink. That's 'bout it. Don't expect much from Clapton. Then you'll get it.

7/10

Good opener, then off a cliff.

4⭐️

Riktigt bra album som passar de flesta tillfällen. Kan åka in i samlingen om jag springer på det.

Really solid blues album. Guitar driven blues. Great guitar parts throughout.

De acá nace I Shot The Sheriff! Sé que Clapton tiene muchísima influencia musical para muchos, este álbum es una muestra de su versatilidad y de su evolución como artista Para mi es muy interesante ver cómo pasó de Cream, un rockcito un poco más pesado, a algo más balanceado. No sé si este sea su trabajo insignia, me atrevo a creer que hay más, pero este es un álbum muy bien trabajado, sé que entre más se escuche más crece en el oyente, musicalmente muy bien elaborado y la voz de Eric es muy característica, se diferencia bien

+1 for Let it Grow

You know, it sucks that Eric Clapton is not a great person, because there is music he’s made that I genuinely like, and sometimes separating the artist from the music is easier said than done. As for 461 Ocean Boulevard, though, I’d say it’s decent. There aren’t really any tracks here that I outright dislike, and it’s generally a pretty pleasant album to listen to. There’s a nice mix of blues, reggae, funk, and rock throughout, and there are definitely moments I really enjoyed. My main problem is that a lot of it just feels pretty derivative. Much of the album consists of covers, and in most cases, I’d rather listen to the originals. Clapton and the band perform everything well, and maybe the intention was to pay tribute to the music that influenced him, but I never felt like the album brought enough of its own personality to those songs. So yeah, it sounds good, and there’s really nothing offensively bad here. But when I think about the original versions of these songs, along with some of the other music coming out around this time, 461 Ocean Boulevard just doesn’t stand out all that much to me. Perfectly decent, but definitely not a favorite. 3/5

Relaxed mood, great tunes and performances - what's not to like.

I can't. A lot of people have started hating Clapton's music because they found out what I prick he is. I get that, but it really over complicates the issue. I have always hated his music, because it's uninspired drivel. That's good enough for me.

Fuck Eric Clapton. I hate racists

Excellent

No thanks

Despite my feelings on Clapton as person, I still love Cream. This... This is just NOT good.

Racist cunt 2, go meet up with Kanye

It’s fine

3.5

Eric Clapton has been an artist that I respect musically but don’t overall love. This style of Blues Rock isn’t usually my style but it’s pretty decent. His vocals are pretty subtle which I enjoy and he’s not being overall flashy with his vocals. I do enjoy the causal easy listening feel to these songs. His Cover of “I Shot The Sheriff” won me over Light 3. It’s good but nothing ground breaking for me. Easy on the ears. The Back End of the album is best Top tracks I Shot The Sheriff (music is great) Please Be With Me (My Favourite) Let It Grow (2nd best) Mainline Florida

Nice laid back blues sound. Really like the guitar without it taking over everything.

Equal parts reggae, guitar wank and easy listening love songs, what more could you want. Predicting Mainline Florida will be in GTA6 Less said about the man the better, some say his guitar skill is inversely proportional to his sense of human decency

Ngl a bit bland which I wasn’t really expecting Outside of I shot the sheriff I can’t really remember much 2

A nezz, koliko je god on poznat i mozda ikona, osim I shot the sheriff, nije mi album nesto sad.

Pretty good. Kinda just had this one on in the background and didn’t notice anything in particular. Too bad about him being a jerk.