Exceptional cross-licensed career overview

Eric Clapton has been through several different phases musically. He started off at sixteen or seventeen, singing Chuck Berry's "Roll Over, Beethoven" at a nightclub in London, and according to some accounts he didn't even have a guitar of his own at the time (the tougher, slightly older "in-crowd", which included Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Keith Richards, called him "Plimsolls" because of his habit of shyly looking down at his shoes while he sang).



Then came the British blooze of John Mayall and the Yardbirds, the fiery power-trio Cream, the short-lived Blind Faith, the phenomenal Derek & The Dominoes, and the many solo albums which quickly came to include as much pop, country, reggae and music hall as they did blues.

And it's all here. Every truely essential song Eric Clapton recorded during the 60s, 70s and 80s is here, along with a few live tracks and rarities. Not many, and not enough to really interest the serious Clapton collector, but this box set wasn't meant to add a new dimension to EC's catalogue, it was meant to present a complete overview of his long and varied career, and it does that perfectly.



"Crossroads" came out two years after Bob Dylan's "Biograph", and helped establish the boxed set as a viable proposition for record companies, and it includes seventy-three of Clapton's and his various bands' best songs.

It leans quite heavily towards his 60s and early 70s output (only about a dozen songs were cut after '74), and draws nine Yardbirds-tracks, six Bluesbreakers-tunes, twelve Cream-tunes, and three Blind Faith-tunes from EC's checkered past, as well as a Delaney & Bonnie-song ("Comin' Home"), and no fewer than ten Derek & The Dominoes-chestnuts (they only ever put out one studio album).

And then there's my favorite track of the whole lot, a supremely catchy, acoustic, slide guitar-driven rendition of T-Bone Walker's "Mean Old World" performed by Clapton and Duane Allman (and mistakenly credited to Little Walter Jacobs).



But there's a lot of other great songs here....in fact, there aren't very many songs here which aren't great.

I don't agree completely with the compliers' choices as far as Clapton's 80s output goes, but most of this set is simply magnificent.

This may not include everything you could ever want to own by Eric Clapton (he has made music since, and he cut some great live records in the 70s and early 80s), but it is a very thorough and well-chosen collection, and if you're a casual fan of bands like Cream and the Yardbirds, this set is pretty much everything by those two combos you'll ever need to own.

"Crossroads" came out fifteen years ago, but is still one of the finest career summaries on the market.

Highly recommended.

Great boxset but with cd rot problems after 16 years

Recently, for no reason in particular, I was checking the cds of this boxset and suddenly I was able to locate dozens of small "holes" in all cds. If you look at them casually you won't notice anything,not a single scratch, but when you look the cds against a light source the "holes" will be there. So far those "holes are not affecting the listening of the cds I wonder if the number of "holes" will increase and turn the cds unlistenable. Pitty that this is happening with this great boxset after 16 years of use, but not abuse, probably I'll have to order a new one. I wonder if these "holes" actually can be called cd rot, but definitelly the cds are damaged...BTW, some of my 1987 Beatles cds also have those "holes"....

The Ultimate Clapton Collection

Eric Clapton has risen to the prominance of one of the greatest rock artists of all time with his musical roots in Blues and even dabbling with reggae, pop-rock, and soft rock since his golden age in the mid 1970's. Crossroads is the ultimate introduction to Eric Clapton and his entire career from his years with the Yardbirds to the latter days of his solo career in the late 80's as well as a crucial addition to any collection. Crossroads is quite simply the best of his entire career from his beginnings in 1963 up to the boxset's release in 1988.



The first disc contains a staggering 23 songs ranging from his start with the Yardbirds and spans into the mid-sixties through his glory days with Cream. The disc has several hits like the universal tunes "Boom Boom" from 1963 and "Sunshine of Your Love" with Cream in the mid-to-late 60's. Also present are the crucial years in between with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and duets with only Clapton and John Mayall.



Disc two has perhaps the most hits on a single disc, from his closing days with Cream and through his legendary period with Derek & the Dominoes up through the early 70's. It starts with the delightful, almost mystical "Anyone For Tennis," with Cream and contains classic dongs like "White Room," a live rendition of "Crossroads," "Badge," "Blues Power," and "Layla" make this disc an unquestionable favorite. The second disc also boasts "After Midnight" from his stint with Delaney & Bonnie and a duet with the late Duane Allman as well as a few hits from his time with Blind Faith.



The third disc is truly a gem and my personal favorite, kicking off with five previously unreleased tracks by Derek & the Dominoes as well as a few from his solo career which the disc touches the glory days of. Among these are songs like "Snake Lake Blues," with Derek & the Dominoes and "(When Things Go Wrong) It Hurts Me Too". The third disc also has a previously unreleased live version of Bob Marley & the Wailers' "I Shot the Sheriff" from 1974 and a duet with reggae legend Peter Tosh from the following year that was also previously unreleased. For a fantastic finale, the disc closes with Clapton's legendary and beautiful cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Someone Like You".



Finally, disc 4 covers his career from the 1976 "No Reason to Cry" album up through 1987, after his drift from a more Blues style to a soft and pop-rock style. The disc has several hits, three of which are indesputable: "Lay Down Sally," "Cocaine," and "Wonderful Tonight" and the first two tracks "Hello Old Friend," and "Sign Language," are amazing; the second of which pairs Clapton with fellow rock legend Bob Dylan. While the disc does show his more modern pop-rock era, only the best of this period is available here, and no fan will be disappointed. His later years are seen as having less popularity, but you wouldn't think so from this collection, in fact, you may think he's only gotten better. The fourth disc closes with a remake of "After Midnight" from 1987, leaving the listener stunned by the rock legend.



Crossroads is a testament to Eric Clapton's legacy, skill, passion, and brilliance. Any casual fan would find this to be the ultimate introduction while the hardcore listener would undeniably say that this boxset is a piece of music history, crucial to any rock & roll collection, or even, any well-rounded music collection. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed by Eric Clapton's legendary masterpiece.