Pilgrim (Eric Clapton album)

Untitled

Pilgrim is a rock album by Eric Clapton released in 1998. The album was recorded at Olympic Studio in London. Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the cover of the album.

History

Pilgrim's release marked Clapton's first album of original material since 1989's Journeyman. Reviews for Pilgrim were mixed upon release. Allmusic described the album as "bland", while Rolling Stone's David Wild gave it four out of five stars, stating, "Pilgrim is the work of someone who has learned in the hardest way imaginable that although he cannot change the world, he might be able to change himself."

When Eric Clapton wanted to make an album, he wanted to make the "saddest album" to the moment, so he called Simon Climie and started the project. He had already written two songs when his son, Conor, died tragically in March of 1991. The songs ended up being "My Father's Eyes" and "Circus", originally named "Circus Left Town". "Circus" was about the last time he saw his son, when he took him to the circus. Conor died the next day.

The album experiments with drum machines and certain sounds like synthesizers, guitars, strings reminiscent of R&B.

The song "Pilgrim" also appears on the Lethal Weapon 4 soundtrack.

Many tracks of this album were included on the One More Car, One More Rider album of 2001.

Track listing

1. "My Father's Eyes" (Eric Clapton) – 5:24
2. "River of Tears" (Clapton, Simon Climie) – 7:22
3. "Pilgrim" (Clapton, Simon Climie) – 5:50
4. "Broken Hearted" (Clapton, Greg Phillinganes) – 7:52
5. "One Chance" (Clapton, Simon Climie) – 5:55
6. "Circus" (Clapton) – 4:11
7. "Going Down Slow" (St. Louis Jimmy) – 5:19
8. "Fall Like Rain" (Clapton) – 3:50
9. "Born in Time" (Bob Dylan) – 4:41
10. "Sick & Tired" (Clapton, Simon Climie) – 5:43
11. "Needs His Woman" (Clapton) – 3:45
12. "She's Gone" (Clapton, Simon Climie) – 4:45
13. "You Were There" (Clapton) – 5:31
14. "Inside of Me" (Clapton, Simon Climie) – 5:25

Personnel

• Eric Clapton - guitar and vocals
• Simon Climie - drum programming and keyboards
• Steve Gadd - drums
• Paul Waller - drum programming
• Dave Bronze - bass guitar
• Chris Stainton - Hammond organ
• Joe Sample - piano
• London Session Orchestra - strings
• Nathan East - bass guitar
• Luis Jardim - bass guitar and percussion
• Andy Fairweather-Low - guitar
• Paul Carrack - Hammond organ
• Greg Phillinganes - keyboards
• Paul Brady - tin whistle
• Pino Paladino - bass guitar
• Chyna - backing vocals
• Kenneth Edmonds - backing vocals

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1998	The Billboard 200	4
1998	Top Canadian Albums	5

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1998	"My Father's Eyes"	Adult Contemporary	2
1998	"My Father's Eyes"	Adult Top 40	7
1998	"My Father's Eyes"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	26
1998	"My Father's Eyes"	Top 40 Mainstream	21
1998	"She's Gone"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	28