I Still Thu

I Still Thu
Eric Clapton's studio album
Publication (s)	May 20, 2016
admission	2015–16
Label (s)	Bushbranch / Surfdog ( Universal )
Format (s)	CD · Vinyl · Digital
Genre (s)	Rock , blues , soul
Title (number)	12 (+ 2 bonus tracks )
running time	54:07
production	Glyn Johns
Studio (s)	British Grove Studios
chronology Slowhand at 70 (2015) I Still Thu Happy Xmas (2018)
Single releases March 27, 2016 Can't Let You Do It 17th April 2016 Stones in My Passway May 16, 2016 Catch the blues

I Still Do is the 23rd studio album by British rock musician Eric Clapton . It was released in 2016 by Clapton's own label Bushbranch / Surfdog and was produced by Glyn Johns . The album contains a mix of cover versions of rock, soul and blues songs as well as new material.

Emergence

background

The album united Clapton again with the music producer Glyn Johns, who had already recorded the album Slowhand with him in 1977 . The cover shows a painted portrait of Clapton and is by Peter Blake , with whom Clapton had previously worked.

The album title I Still Do means "I still do it" and is a quote from Clapton's aunt Audrey. The Briton visited the 89-year-old shortly before her death and said goodbye to her with thanks: “With this album I bow to her. I visited her when it was slowly coming to an end. I said to her, 'I just want to say thank you for everything. For taking care of me when I was a little boy - a difficult little boy. ' [...] ". Clapton's aunt replied that she always liked him, and still does ("I liked you, and I still do"). Before the album was released, Clapton improvised the track For Audrey in memory of his aunt and released the recording on November 6, 2014.

Recordings

Clapton recorded the album in 2015 and 2016. The recording sessions took place at Mark Knopfler's Grove Studios in London . Clapton stated that he would only record on traditional tape . That means that overdubbing is extremely difficult to manage and that you record a complete performance with all the musicians involved. During the recording, Johns worked with ATR Master Tape 1 ”/ 4” , an MNTR Solo Limiter and an A800 MK II tape recorder .

Clapton used a Fender Vibrolux as the main guitar amp during recording . He played on signature Stratocaster , Gibson Les Paul , Gibson ES-335 and Gibson L-5 and acoustic guitars of Martin .

content

The album contains a mixture of blues, rock and soul music and traditional standards. It starts with the blues piece Alabama Woman Blues by Leroy Carr . This is followed by the rock song Can't Let You Do It penned by JJ Cale, who died in 2013 . The song I Will Be There uses the voice and guitar of a musician under the pseudonym "L'Angelo Mysterioso" and is a quickly played ballad . The acoustic track Catch the Blues is a ballad, and Cypress Grove is a blues song by Skip James .

The title Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day is a classic song from 1934 and was also interpreted by Clapton using an acoustic guitar. Stones in My Passway was written by blues musician Robert Johnson . The ninth track on the album is by Bob Dylan and, like the subsequent track I'll Be Alright, belongs to the folk rock genre . The title Somebody's Knockin ' was also written by Cale and is a cover. Clapton's version is characterized by a dominant bass line . The album ends with the ballad I'll Be Seeing You .

publication

I Still Do was released on May 20, 2016 under Clapton's own record labels Bushbranch- and Surfdog Records and is distributed by Universal Music Marketing. The standard version on CD contains twelve tracks; a version of the album on two records and a music download as well as a special edition with two bonus tracks and numerous extras that can be obtained from the label's internet shop.

Track list

I Still Do - standard version
No.	title	Songwriter	length
1.	Alabama Woman Blues	Leroy Carr	5:06
2.	Can't Let You Do It	JJ Cale	3:50
3.	I Will Be There (with L'Angelo Mysterioso)	Paul Brady John O'Kane	4:37
4th	Spiral	Eric Clapton · Andy Fairweather Low · Simon Climie	5:04
5.	Catch the blues	Eric Clapton	4:51
6th	Cypress Grove	Skip James	4:49
7th	Little Man, You've Had a Busy Day	Al Hoffman · Mabel Wayne · Maurice Sigler	3:11
8th.	Stones in My Passway	Robert Johnson	4:03
9.	I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine	Bob Dylan	4:02
10.	I'll Be Alright (Arrangement: Eric Clapton)	Traditional	4:23
11.	Somebody's Knockin ' (Arrangement: Eric Clapton)	JJ Cale	5:11
12.	I'll be seeing you	Sammy Fain · Irving Kahal	5:00
Overall length:			54:07

I Still Do - Limited Edition "Denim Box"
No.	title	length
13.	Lonesome
14th	Freight Train

occupation

Taken from the announcement and the liner notes:

Eric Clapton - guitar , vocals , tambourine Henry Spinetti - drums , percussion Dave Bronze - bass guitar Andy Fairweather Low - guitar, vocals Paul Carrack - Hammond organ , vocals

Chris Stainton - keyboard Simon Climie - guitar, keyboard Dirk Powell - accordion , mandolin , vocals Walt Richmond - keyboard Ethan Johns - percussion

Michelle John - vocals Sharon White - vocals L'Angelo Mysterioso - guitar, vocals Glyn Johns - producer Peter Blake - Design

Catherine Roylance - production of the liner notes Brice Beckham - production of the liner notes Matthew Gordon - production of the liner notes Kirsten Foster - press relations Dave Kaplan - album planning

Scott Seine - album planning Kirsten Carranza - album planning Martin Hollis - sound engineer Rowan McIntosh - Engineer Assistant Bob Ludwig - Music Mastering (CD, Digital)

Bernie Grundman - Music Mastering (Record) Nick Roylance - Photography Simon Whitehead - photography Craig Stecyk - Photography Louis Klemantaski - photography

reception

German-language reviews

Critic Jan Ulrich Welke from the Stuttgarter Nachrichten thinks that the album "shows pure-bred, sedate, dust-dry blues [which is partly underlaid with] female vocals". Clapton guitar should partly "sound crystal clear" and the songs on the album should be "thoroughly formulated". Welke thinks that with the album the Briton shows his final maturity and attests to the work “very good craftsmanship”. Armin Geier from the Oberbayerischen Volksblatt describes I Still Do as a “feast for the ears with grandiose guitar sounds” that “mix wonderfully” with the mature voice of Clapton. According to the critic, this work is the best studio album by the British rock musician with “twelve fantastic pieces” that present “honest, soulful music at the highest level”. T-Online critics describe the album as legendary, precisely because Clapton recorded it with severe eczema . MediaBIZ called the work a "huge album".

Roland Biswurm from Bayerischer Rundfunk praised the analog, lively, instant recordings with tape and said that this recording principle made it sound “earthy, real and good”. Südwestrundfunk critic Günter Schneidewind described I Still Do as a “passable old work” and noted: “The album is technically flawless and undoubtedly has its good moments, always sounds warm, but doesn't really get under your skin. A passable old work without serious defects, no more, but also no less [...] ”. The Mittelbayerische Zeitung rated the album as “excellent” and said that I Still Do is a “mixture of cover homages and solid new material curated by a sure hand, recorded by a group of accomplished musicians”. Max Fellmann from the Süddeutsche Zeitung said that the album has “nice moments” but is not entirely convincing. Luxemburger Wort and Wiener Zeitung also rated the album positively.

The Abendzeitung München , the Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk , the Rock Antenne , the Radio 88.6 and the Hessischer Rundfunk named the work album of the week.

International voices

Journalist Jon M. Gilbertson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel thinks that the pieces on the album reflect Clapton's ability to adapt to today's music, especially in the areas of blues and standard music. He concluded by saying that I Still Do was not a dramatic work, but at least one that showed that Clapton was "still one of the greats". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the music website Allmusic awarded the album three and a half stars out of five and says that the work shows very clearly how older professional musicians respect the subject of music and accept musical enjoyment. The critic also praised the work of producer Johns, who in a positive sense should not have concentrated too much on the title, but on what happened with the musicians in the studio. The Independent awarded the album four stars ("terrific") and said that it was Clapton's most relaxed and at the same time the most solid album in years.

Critic Will Hermes of the American Rolling Stone described the work as one of the best Clapton publications of the 21st century. In addition, after a long time, Clapton's honest feelings during the recording sessions would be really clear to the listener. He also awarded three and a half out of five possible points for the album. The National Abu Dhabi rated I Still Do with four out of four stars and says that the work particularly provides information about how well Clapton can interpret old songs and standards. Graham Reid of the New Zealand Herald praised the performance of Clapton and his musicians on the album and described the sound of the album as "funky" and "well tuned". However, he criticizes that Clapton no longer has to prove anything and therefore appears cautious. It is "not hard rock music, but light, gentle classic rock [...]". The Belfast Telegraph and radio WUKY Kentucky recorded I Still Do from an album of the week.

Chart placements

The album entered the German music charts at number five in the 21st chart week. In Austria it was ranked third in the Ö3 Austria Top 40 a week later. In Switzerland it was number one on the charts. In the United Kingdom, as in the United States, it was number six on the charts.

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	5 (13 weeks)	13
Austria (Ö3)	3 (12 weeks)	12
Switzerland (IFPI)	1 (15 weeks)	15th
United Kingdom (OCC)	6th (5 weeks)	5
United States (Billboard)	6th (6 weeks)	6th

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Japan (RIAJ)	-	11,505
United States (RIAA)	-	44,000
All in all	-	55.505

Main article: Eric Clapton / Music Sales Awards

Web links

• I Still Do at Allmusic (English)
• I Still Do at Discogs
• I Still Do onYouTube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Slowhand Award. In: Instagram.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016 . 
2. ↑ Michael Gallucci: Eric Clapton to Release New Album I Still Do with Slowhand Producer Glyn Johns. In: ultimateclassicrock.com. February 18, 2016, accessed May 20, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Eric Clapton and Peter Blake. In: recordmecca.com. Retrieved May 20, 2016 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Eric Clapton & Producer Glyn Johns Discuss The New Album 'I Still Do'. In: YouTube.com. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Eric Clapton: For Audrey. In: YouTube.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016 . 
6. ^ Shar White Castillo: Studio today with my Eric. In: Facebook.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016 . 
7. ^ Shar White Castillo: Back from touring the Far East. In: Facebook.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016 . 
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Bush Branch / Surfog Records (UMG): Eric Clapton: I Still Do . Liner Notes / Booklet. ID: 4786177 (English)
9. ↑ Eric Clapton I Still Do. In: Amazon.com. Amazon , accessed May 20, 2016 . 
10. ^ I Still Do Vinyl And Deluxe Editions Available. Where's Eric! The Eric Clapton Fan Club Magazine, accessed May 20, 2016 . 
11. ^ New Eric Clapton album available in two deluxe editions. In: superdeluxeedition.com. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
12. ↑ Eric Clapton Announces I Still Do. In: Surfdog.com. Retrieved May 20, 2016 . 
13. ↑ Jan Ulrich Welke: New CD from Eric Clapton: Again a mature achievement. In: stuttgarter-nachrichten.de. Stuttgarter Nachrichten , accessed on May 29, 2016 . 
14. ↑ Armin Geier: How this guitar sings. In: Ovb-online.de. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Eric Clapton is puzzling with his new album. T-Online.de , accessed on May 29, 2016 . 
16. ↑ Dietmar Schwenger: Eric Clapton: I Still Do. Mediabiz.de , accessed on May 29, 2016 . 
17. ↑ Roland Biswurm: The new album by Eric Clapton. (No longer available online.) In: br.de. Bayerischer Rundfunk , archived from the original on May 29, 2016 ; Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
18. ^ Günter Schneidewind: The new album by Eric Clapton: A passable old work. In: swr.de. Südwestrundfunk , accessed May 29, 2016 . 
19. ↑ Eric Clapton: Still I Do. (No longer available online.) In: Mittelbayerische.de. Mittelbayerische Zeitung , archived from the original on June 2, 2016 ; Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
20. ↑ Max Fellmann: Which Landscape? In: sueddeutsche.de. Süddeutsche Zeitung , accessed on May 29, 2016 . 
21. ↑ The Return of Two Legends. In: wort.lu. Luxemburger Wort , accessed on May 29, 2016 . 
22. ↑ Bruno Jaschke: He's still doing it. (No longer available online.) In: wienerzeitung.at. Wiener Zeitung , archived from the original on June 2, 2016 ; Retrieved May 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
23. ↑ Album of the week: Eric Clapton - I Still Do. In: Abendzeitung-münchen.de. Abendzeitung München , accessed on May 29, 2016 . 
24. ↑ CD of the week. (No longer available online.) In: mdr.de. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk , archived from the original on May 30, 2016 ; accessed on May 30, 2016 . 
25. ↑ Our album of the week. In: rockantenne.de. Rock Antenne . Retrieved May 30, 2016 . 
26. ↑ Album of the week. (No longer available online.) In: Radio886.at. Radio 88.6 , formerly in the original ; accessed on May 30, 2016 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
27. ↑ Hr1 CD of the week. (No longer available online.) In: hr-online.de. Hessischer Rundfunk , archived from the original on August 20, 2016 ; accessed on May 30, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
28. ^ Jon M. Gilbertson: Album Reviews. In: jsonline.com. Retrieved May 30, 2016 . 
29. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine: I Still Do - Eric Clapton. In: allmusic.com. Allmusic , accessed on May 30, 2016 . 
30. ↑ Eric Clapton / I Still Do. In: independent.co.uk. The Independent , accessed May 30, 2016 . 
31. ^ Will Hermes: I Still Do. In: rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone , accessed May 30, 2016 . 
32. ^ Album Review: I Still Do. In: Thenational.ae. Retrieved May 30, 2016 . 
33. ↑ Graham Reid: Album review: Eric Clapton, I Still Do. In: nzherald.co.nz. The New Zealand Herald , accessed May 30, 2016 . 
34. ^ Album of the week. In: belfasttelegraph.co.uk. May 20, 2016, accessed May 30, 2016 . 
35. ↑ Mike Graves: Rock & Roots Artist: Eric Clapton, 'I Still Do'. In: wuky.org. WUKY Kentucky, accessed June 5, 2016 . 
36. ^ I Still Do (album). In: offziellecharts.de. Retrieved June 4, 2016 . 
37. ↑ Eric Clapton - I Still Do. In: austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 4, 2016 . 
38. ^ Eric Clapton - I Still Do. In: hitparade.ch . Retrieved June 4, 2016 . 
39. ↑ Full Official Charts History. In: officialcharts.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016 . 
40. ^ Billboard for Eric Clapton. In: billboard.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016 . 
41. ↑ Sales figures for I Still Do in Japan ( Memento from May 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
42. ↑ Sales figures for I Still Do in Japan ( Memento from June 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
43. ↑ Sales figures for I Still Do in Japan ( Memento from June 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
44. ↑ Sales for I Still Do in the United States ( December 25, 2019 memento on the Internet Archive )