Blockbuster 1992 Album Stirs the Heart, Shakes the Soul, and Invigorates the Senses: Eric ClaptonUnpluggedRadiates with Intimacy, Maturity, Poignancy, Honesty, and Sweetness

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD Features Breathtaking Transparency, Detail, and Tonality

Eric Clapton’sUnpluggedis far more than an album. It remains a majestic picture of a moment in time; an unvarnished glimpse into the soul of one of music’s most legendary artists; a visionary journey into the inspirations that helped shape Clapton’s character; a re-exploration and re-evaluation of deep-seated roots; a continuation of critical blues heritage; a building block on which a subgenre sprouted; and a launching pad for both a later-career resurgence and discovery. The best-selling concert release of all time,Unpluggednow takes on an irresistible luster that veritably gives you a front-row seat at Bray Film Studios.

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition hybrid SACD enhances the blockbuster work for today and the years to come. Peeling away remaining sonic limitations to provide a transparent, lively, ultra-nuanced presentation of a record that won six Grammy Awards(including prizes for Album of the Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, and Best Rock Song), it places Clapton and company in your room. The expanse and depth of the soundstage, fullness of tones, natural snap and extension of the guitar strings, realistic rise and decay of individual notes, and roll of Clapton’s vocals all attain demonstration-grade levels. A perennial audiophile favorite,Unpluggednow tosses its hat into the ring as a demonstration disc.

Having sold more than 10 million copies in the U.S. and more than 26 million copies worldwide, the 1992 work resonates with listeners of all generations and speaks a universal language. Recorded for MTV before a very small audience on January 16, 1992, the 14-track set became the signpost for future acoustic-based endeavors that witnessed artists of all stripes re-examining their catalogs and, in many instances, as Clapton does here, placing familiar originals in fresh contexts and unveiling spirited versions of cover material. Needless to say, Clapton’s session turned MTV’s series into can’t-miss programming for which the likes of Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and more would soon participate.

Kicking off his performance with a spirited instrumental to establish the mood, Clapton immediately wades into the style that originally caught his attention as a British teenager in the early 1960s: American blues. Backed by a superb band that includes guitarist Andy Fairweather Low, pianist Chuck Leavell, bassist Nathan East, and drummer Steve Ferrone, Slowhand delivers a rhythmic, toe-tapping rendition of Bo Diddley’s “Before You Accuse Me” that announces he’s come to reconnect with his muse. What follows over the course of nearly the next hour stirs the heart, shakes the soul, moves the mind, and invigorates the senses.

Of course, there’s no talking aboutUnpluggedwithout keying in on “Tears in Heaven,” the striking ballad Clapton penned about the death of his four-year-old son. More emotional, direct, spare, and healing than the studio version released a year prior, it crackles with an intimacy, maturity, poignancy, honesty, sweetness, and integrity that inform the entire concert. Indeed, how Clapton frames other favorites here transforming “Layla” into a relaxed, comfortable stroll and ruminating on the seasoned ripples flowing throughout “Old Love,” for example indicate both a creative rebirth and gleeful acceptance of the next phase of his career.

And that very direction (two of Clapton’s next three albums would be all-blues projects) is what really makesUnpluggedso indispensable. Equivalent in mastery if not in volume to the output that earned him his “God” nickname, interpretations of Jesse Fuller’s “San Francisco Bay Blues” (complete with kazoo!), Big Bill Broonzy’s “Hey Hey,” Robert Johnson’s “Walkin’ Blues” and “Malted Milk,” and Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ & Tumblin'” showcase a learned professor in his element and all the wheels turning.

In every regard, Clapton’sUnpluggedsession was appointment listening when it came out in August 1992. With Mobile Fidelity’s SACD, that is truer than ever before.

Format /SACD
Released / 04/06/2022
Catalogue / CMFSA-2224
Barcode / 821797222464
Artist / Eric Clapton
Label / Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Genre / Blues