Pilgrim (album)

chronology
Pilgrim
Eric Clapton's studio album
Publication ; (s)	March 10, 1998
Label (s)	Reprise Records , Duck
Format (s)	LP, CD, MC
Genre (s)	Rock , pop
Title (number)	14th
running time	75:33
occupation	Eric Clapton - guitar , vocals ; Steve Gadd - drums ; Dave Bronze - bass ; Joe Sample - piano ; Nathan East - bass; Luís Jardim - bass, percussion ; Andy Fairweather Low - guitar; Paul Carrack - Hammond Organ ; Chris Stainton - Hammond Organ; Greg Phillinganes - keyboard ; Pino Palladino - bass; Chyna Whyne - Backing Vocal ; Babyface - backing vocal; London Session Orchestra;
production	Eric Clapton, Simon Climie

Pilgrim is the 13th studio album by British rock musician Eric Clapton . It was released in March 1998 on the Duck and Reprise Records labels . The cover design was done by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto .

background

Pilgrim is the first album since Journeyman with its own Clapton songs. According to Clapton's autobiography , he wanted a sad album, so My Father's Eyes and Circus Left Town were selected for the album. On the album, Clapton experimented with drum computers , synthesizers and rhythm and blues melodies.

The title track Pilgrim appeared in the soundtrack for the film Lethal Weapon 4 . Four songs from the album appeared on the live album One More Car, One More Rider in 2001 . An acoustic version of the song Broken Hearted was played by Clapton in 1997 at the Music for Montserrat concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London and at a performance on the American television channel CNN in 2005.

Track list

My Father's Eyes (Clapton) - 5:24
River of Tears (Clapton, Simon Climie ) - 7:22
Pilgrim (Clapton, Climie) - 5:50
Broken Hearted (Clapton, Greg Phillinganes ) - 7:52
One Chance (Clapton, Climie) - 5:55
Circus (Clapton) - 4:11
Goin 'Down Slow ( St. Louis Jimmy ) - 5:19
Fall Like Rain (Clapton) - 3:50
Born in Time ( Bob Dylan ) - 4:41
Sick and Tired (Clapton, Climie) - 5:43
Needs His Woman (Clapton) - 3:45
She's Gone (Clapton, Climie) - 4:45
You Were There (Clapton) - 5:31
Inside of Me (Clapton, Climie) - 5:25

4 bonus tracks Japan, 2 CD, 1998

Theme From A Movie That Never Happened (Eric Clapton)
Change The World (Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick) Live
Tears In Heaven (Will Jennings, Eric Clapton) Live
Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton) Live

Reception and awards

Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album two out of five possible stars and criticized the production of the album and the use of "emotionless drum beats, wafer-thin synthesizers and aimless instrumental interloads ". He also criticized Clapton's "insufficient vocal performance, even with turbulent pieces like My Father's Eyes or Circus ." On March 8, 1998, the Chicago Tribune rated the album negatively. However, critic Greg Kot praised Clapton's guitar playing as "typically eloquent". Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne gave the album a “B-” rating, commenting, “But the really sad thing about Pilgrim - for Clapton and perhaps for all of us - is that even music may not have power, certain kinds of To cure pain. ”Stephen Holden of the New York Times described Pilgrim as“ one of the most undervalued albums of 1998 ”and was positive about the album's production. The Los Angeles Times critic Natalie Nichols gave it one of four stars and rated it "weak". People magazine described the album as “a long, slow, arduous journey, punctuated by only two or three fast tracks. Listening to the album is like watching a movie that you adore but wish the movie was over and you could leave. ” Rolling Stone gave four stars out of five.

echo

At the Echo Awards in 1999 , Clapton was nominated for the album in the category "International Artist of the Year".

Chart success

The album reached number three in the German charts and reached number four in Austria, Switzerland and the US album charts. In the UK, Pilgrim ranked sixth and stayed in the UK album charts for a total of 15 weeks. In Canada, the album reached number five on the top Canadian album charts in 1998. The singles My Father's Eyes , Born in Time , Circus and She's Gone also achieved high placements in numerous single charts. Clapton received a Grammy Award in 1999 for the song My Father's Eyes . The album received numerous certifications and sold more than 3.3 million copies worldwide.

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	gold	35,000
Belgium (BEA)	gold	(25,000)
Germany (BVMI)	gold	(250,000)
Europe (IFPI)	2 × platinum	2,000,000
Finland (IFPI)	gold	(21,583)
France (SNEP)	gold	(149,000)
Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA)	platinum	20,000
Japan (RIAJ)	2 × platinum	400,000
Canada (MC)	2 × platinum	200,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
Norway (IFPI)	platinum	(50,000)
Austria (IFPI)	gold	(25,000)
Poland (ZPAV)	gold	(50,000)
Sweden (IFPI)	gold	(40,000)
Switzerland (IFPI)	gold	(25,000)
Spain (Promusicae)	gold	(50,000)
United States (RIAA)	platinum	1,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	(100,000)
All in all	12 × gold 9 × platinum	3,662,500