This article is the first in occasional  reminisces around my love of music, and the interesting phenomenon of how easy it is to forget about pieces of music, or whole albums, that I once loved, but just do not listen to much anymore (or ever).  So,  I decided to create a list for my own memory (and, frankly, I just like to make lists of stuff that matters to me), after looking up information on an Eric Clapton album from the 1980s that I loved back then in my college days.

It got me thinking that perhaps there are other albums and songs that I truly love, but do not necessarily remember or think about much anymore. Most  of my music listening these days (2018) comes through my Google Home device and its ability to play almost anything I can ask it to play, as opposed to popping in a CD (in the old days, it would have been a record or cassette tape-or in my first car, an eight-track tape). This post is a more an explanation and personal history of my experience with the music or album, or artist in question.  

Right now, as I write the first words of this article, I am listening to a series of top David Bowie hits, after asking the device play “David Bowie.”  Now, you may be thinking, “why listen to Bowie when you were researching Eric Clapton? Are you really THAT random?” Good question. You see, next Friday, I am going to a concert at a local venue featuring my brother-in-law’s band, Bowievision. Thus, Bowie…

Ok, back to the topic of Clapton.  For my list project, I will be inputting albums in the order I think of them, with some random comments. Later on, I will likely clean up the list and put some form of order toward what now will be a randomly chaotic (but glorious) endeavor. From that list and from the comments I write about the music, I will copy, paste, and edit it into a post for all to see if you are interested.

So, details on the first album to be discussed:

Behind the Sun (1985)- by Eric Clapton

I remember this album well. I was at college, and I was very caught up in the whole rock/blues/folk music panorama, as I was still in the discovery phase of my musical fan career.  I first started listening to Clapton a couple years earlier after finding out that he had a Beatles connection (playing lead guitar on While My Guitar Gently Weeps) that then set him in my sights as an artist to explore more.  I remember seeing his video for Forever Man on MTV (back when music videos were actually shown on that channel), and something in the song appealed to me very strongly.  More about the Beatles connection in another post…stay tuned!

I am not 100% sure, but this may have been my first purchase of an Eric Clapton album.  I think I picked up Money and Cigarettes (1983) later on.  I specifically remember ordering Behind the Sun (mail order-no online to order from in those days), and picking it up at the dorm’s mail center desk.  At one point, I worked that desk in order to earn “room points.” When I picked up this album I recall that a pretty red-haired girl was working the desk and that I had a brief conversation with her about what I was picking up, i.e. an album. Oh, for those of you who may be a tad younger than I, the term “album” here refers to a 12-inch LP (for long-play) vinyl disc that played music when played on a record player. 

As I finish writing this up, I have switched from listening to Bowie to the first song of this Clapton album.  Good rhythm, good vocals, of course, good guitar, and lyrics that spoke to me. She’s Waiting is the lead song, and looking at the track list, I now remember this album in more detail. Great record!

P.A. Another fact I had forgotten through the intervening decades:  Phil Collins was Clapton’s collaborator on this album.  Back then, Phil was seemingly everywhere; he was quite popular and had great success both with the band Genesis and in his own solo career, which was taking off at in the mid-1980s.  

Here is the video of Forever Man that I mentioned: