Having made his best album since
461 Ocean Boulevard with
Slowhand,
Eric Clapton followed with
Backless, which took the same authoritative, no-nonsense approach. If it wasn't quite the masterpiece, or the sales monster, that
Slowhand had been, this was probably because of that usual
Clapton problem: material. Once again, he returned to those Oklahoma hills for another song from
J.J. Cale, but "I'll Make Love to You Anytime" wasn't quite up to "Cocaine" or "After Midnight."
Bob Dylan contributed two songs, but you could see why he hadn't saved them for his own album, and
Clapton's own writing contributions were mediocre.
Clapton did earn a Top Ten hit with
Richard Feldman and
Roger Linn's understated pop shuffle "Promises," but it wasn't one of his more memorable recordings. Of course,
Clapton's blues playing on the lone, obligatory blues cut, "Early in the Morning," was stellar.
Backless was his last album to feature the backup group that had been with him since 1974. ~ William Ruhlmann