After his major comeback in 1974 with 461 Ocean Boulevard, Eric Clapton shied away from the mainstream with his next two releases. There's One In Every Crowd & No Reason To Cry. With Slowhand, he returned to the sounds that made 461 a hit. On his first solo album, he had a major triumph with J.J. Cale's "After Midnight". He returns to the Cale catalog for another triumph, the searing "Cocaine". The song has a propulsive riff and a ringing guitar solo. On the flip side of that is "Wonderful Tonight" which is built around his waiting for his wife to get ready for a party. The song is among the prettiest things he's ever done and it his easy picking of the guitar shows that subtle playing is just as powerful as in your face power chords. "Lay Down Sally" has a country flavor and was a big hit becoming his second top ten single and peaking at number three. The best song on the album is the lengthy "The Core". The song has some marvelous vocal interplay between Mr. Clapton and Marcy Levy and some stellar guitar work. Slowhand was a return to the top ten for Mr. Clapton reaching number three in early 1978.

Slowhand is clearly one of Eric Clapton's stronger solo releases. Whereas there are plenty of guitar solos and effects, many of these tunes are quite pleasing. A little bit mellow but certainly quite focused.

The lead off track, Cocaine features a very distnictive riff and steady instrumental support. Like the gutiar solo in the middle. Wonderful Tonight will always be known as a classic wedding song. One of Eric's best compositions. Lay Down Sally features some mellow guitar picking and a nice chugging rhythm. Next Time You See Her features some good drumming by Jaime Oldaker in addition to some tasty guitar licks. We're All The Way is a pleasant focused ballad.

The second half kicks off with a riveting duet between Eric and Marcy Levy on the Core. Super guitar solos by George Terry and Eric as well as a good saxaphone break by Mel Collins. May You Never is a catchy tune with cute vocal styling by Eric. Mean Old Frisco is a fine blues number and Peaches And Diesel is a pretty instrumental with touching guitar parts.

A solid if not overly spectacular release that showcases the mellow side of Eric Clapton.

I have been a Clapton fan for several years, but I only recently bought a copy of Slowhand, widely considered to be one of Clapton's best solo records. I, however, fail to see the big deal: Outside of Cocaine, Lay Down Sally and The Core there really isn't much of interest here. Wonderful Tonight was the fourth hit, but I always found it to be a bore. The same can be said for Next Time You See Her, We're All the Way and Peaches & Deisel. I guess Mean Old Frisco and Next Time You See Her are decent tunes, but this is too much of a soft-rock album for me.
If you want good Clapton, get Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Wheels of Fire, Layla, Blind Faith, 461 Ocean Blvd., Unplugged or the B.B. King duets album. Steer away from this one!

"Slowhand" ranks along with "461 Ocean Boulevard" as Eric Clapton's two finest solo albums. Clapton scored one of his biggest hits with the ace cover of J.J. Cale's "Cocaine." He also came up with several of his best ever original songs in the ballad "Wonderful Tonight," and the bluesy "Lay Down Sally." Other classic cuts include the long jam "The Core," and the jealous lover's stern warning "Next Time You See Her." Clapton's guitar has never sounded sweeter and his backing band is first rate. This album is a must have for Clapton fans as well as fans of 70s rock.

Clapton dabbles again with everything on this one and really makes an absolute classic. His cover of JJ Cale's "Cocaine" is killer, along with his originals throughout the album. "The Core" is reason enough to buy this, it's perhaps one of his best songs he has ever written. His work with Marcy Levy, along with George Terry's playing make this an absolute classic. Outside of Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos, this is Clapton's epic solo record. If you dig Clapton just a little, this will make you a fan...what a masterpiece....