From the Cradle

The title comes from the last line of a four-line poem written by Clapton (and which he never set to music) and printed in his own handwriting on the second page of the CD booklet: "All along this path I tread / My heart betrays my weary head / with nothing but my love to save / from the cradle to the grave."CD booklet, page 2.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}

| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = {{Rating|2.5|4}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/09/16/from-safe-to-sorry/|first=Greg|last=Kot|author-link=Greg Kot|work=chicagotribune.com|publisher=Chicago Tribune|title=From Safe To Sorry|date=16 September 1994|access-date=10 October 2013}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = B−{{cite magazine |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |date=16 September 1994 |title=Music Review: From the Cradle – Eric Clapton |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |issue=240 |issn=1049-0434 |access-date=18 July 2011 |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/09/16/cradle/ |archive-date=21 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021192513/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,303663,00.html |url-status=live }}

| rev4 = Los Angeles Times

| rev4score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-11-ca-37381-story.html|last=Boehm|first=Mike

|work=Los Angeles Times|title= Album Review > ERIC CLAPTON, "From the Cradle" (Duck/Reprise)|date=11 September 1994|access-date=10 October 2013}}

| rev5 = The Music Box

| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite journal |last=Metzger |first=John |date=January 1995 |title=Review: From the Cradle by Eric Clapton |journal=The Music Box |volume= 2 |issue= 1 |access-date=18 July 2011 |url=http://www.musicbox-online.com/cradle.html}}

| rev6 = Music Week

| rev6score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|first=Alan|last=Jones|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-09-24.pdf#page=17|title=Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums|magazine=Music Week|date=24 September 1994|page=17|access-date=14 June 2025}}

| rev7 = People

| rev7score = (positive){{cite magazine|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20104019,00.html|magazine=People|title=Picks and Pans Review: From the Cradle|date=3 October 1994|access-date=31 January 2014|archive-date=25 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325091341/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20104019,00.html|url-status=dead}}

| rev8 = Robert Christgau

| rev8score = {{Rating-Christgau|hm2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Eric+Clapton |title=Eric Clapton: Consumer Guide Reviews |first=Robert |last=Christgau |author-link=Robert Christgau |work=Robert Christgau |access-date=18 July 2011}}

| rev9 = The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings

| rev9score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=Tony |last2=Smith |first2=Chris |title=The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |year=2006 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-140-51384-4|page=122}}

}}

From the Cradle has prompted a wide range of critical response. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic feels that the album is almost perfect, with Clapton's guitar soloing "original and captivating". The weakness for him is Clapton's singing, which attempts to merely imitate the original singers, but is laboured or overly emotive, and falls short of the originals. Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly felt that the recordings were "flawlessly faithful" but rather boring, especially compared with the inspiration evident in Cream's live version of "Spoonful". The Music Box's John Metzger felt that Clapton's appearance on Saturday Night Live to promote the record was more powerful than the album itself, which was a "perfunctory" performance lacking any originality. Robert Christgau compared Eric Clapton's work on the album to Son Seals and Otis Rush, saying that Clapton played better than the former, but sang worse than the latter and felt that "Motherless Child" and "Blues Before Sunrise" were stand-out tracks on the album.

According to the liner notes, the album was almost entirely recorded live in the studio with no overdubs or edits, the only overdubs being featured on "How Long Blues" (dobro) and "Motherless Child" (drums).CD booklet, page 15.

The album won Clapton the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and he received a further nomination for Album of the Year.

In July 2014, Guitar World placed From the Cradle on their list "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994".{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |title=Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994 |date=14 July 2014 |work=GuitarWorld.com |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715053900/http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |archive-date=15 July 2014 }}

1. "Blues Before Sunrise" (Leroy Carr) – 2:58 this version is inspired also by Elmore James's rendition of the song
2. "Third Degree" (Eddie Boyd, Willie Dixon) – 5:07
3. "Reconsider Baby" (Lowell Fulson) – 3:20
4. "Hoochie Coochie Man" (Dixon) – 3:16 originally performed by Muddy Waters
5. "Five Long Years" (Boyd) – 4:47
6. "I'm Tore Down" (Sonny Thompson) – 3:02 originally performed by Freddie King
7. "How Long Blues" (Carr) – 3:09
8. "Goin' Away Baby" (James A. Lane) – 4:00
9. "Blues Leave Me Alone" (Lane) – 3:36
10. "Sinner's Prayer" (Lloyd Glenn, Fulson)[https://archive.today/20130628193440/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=1349220&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID BMI – Repertoire Search Sinner's Prayer] Retrieved 26 April 2013 – 3:20
11. "Motherless Child" (Robert Hicks){{Cite web |title=Original versions of Motherless Chile Blues written by Barbecue Bob {{!}} SecondHandSongs |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/work/149428 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=secondhandsongs.com}} – 2:57
12. "It Hurts Me Too" (Tampa Red) – 3:17 credited in the booklet to Elmore James, whose version was the blueprint for this one
13. "Someday After a While" (Freddy King, Thompson) – 4:27
14. "Standin' Round Crying" (McKinley Morganfield) – 3:39
15. "Driftin'" (Charles Brown, Johnny Moore, Eddie Williams) (Johnny Moore's Three Blazers) – 3:10
16. "Groaning the Blues" (Dixon) – 6:05 originally performed by Otis Rush

Musicians

• Eric Clapton – guitars, vocals
• Andy Fairweather Low – guitars
• Chris Stainton – keyboards
• Dave Bronze – bass
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Richie Hayward – percussion on "How Long Blues"
• Jerry Portnoy – harmonica
• The Kick Horns – horn arrangements
• Simon Clarke – baritone saxophone
• Tim Sanders – tenor saxophone
• Roddy Lorimer – trumpet

Production

• Producers – Eric Clapton and Russ Titelman
• Engineers – Alan Douglas (Tracks 1–6 & 8–16); Alex Haas (Track 7).
• Assistant Engineers – Giles Cowley and Julie Gardiner
• Mixing – Alan Douglas and Russ Titelman
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
• Guitar Technician – Lee Dickson
• Equipment Technician – Ravi Sharman
• Project Coordinator – Mick Double
• Design – Wherefore Art?
• Cover Photography – Eric Clapton
• Photography – Jack English

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for From the Cradle}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Argentina|award=Gold|certref={{Cite web |url=http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP |title=Discos de Oro y Platino |access-date=22 October 2020 |archive-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706084844/http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP |url-status=bot: unknown }}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Australia|award=Platinum|certref={{cite book|first=Gavin|last=Ryan|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mount Martha, Melbourne, Victoria|year=2011}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Austria|award=Gold|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|access-date=22 October 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|nocert=yes|salesamount=250,000|salesref={{cite book|author=Malena Segura Contrera|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzaMHTYCTmUC|title=O mito na mídia: a presença de conteúdos arcaicos nos meios de comunicação|page=85|language=pt|publisher=Selo Universidade, Annablume|date=1996|isbn = 9788585596552|access-date=22 October 2020}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=France|award=Gold|number=2|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|access-date=22 October 2020|certyear=1995}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Germany|award=Gold|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|access-date=22 October 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Japan|award=Platinum|certyear=1995|certmonth=3|artist=エリック・クラプトン|title=フロム・ザ・クレイドル|access-date=22 October 2020|salesamount=400,000|salesref={{cite book|title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005|publisher=Oricon Entertainment|location=Roppongi, Tokyo|year=2006|isbn=4-87131-077-9|language=ja}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=New Zealand|award=Platinum|artist=Eric Clapton|id=1995-02-10|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|title=From The Cradle}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Spain|award=Platinum|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|certref={{cite web|url=http://www.mediafire.com/view/vqzno2c0fe48zam|title=Spanish Certifications for 1991–1995|publisher=mediafire.com|language=es|access-date=22 October 2020}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Sweden|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From the Cradle|award=Platinum|certref={{cite web |url=https://equipboard.com/items/ifpi-sweden-platinum-sales-award-from-the-cradle|publisher=Equipboard, Inc.|date=10 March 2024|title=IFPI Sweden Platinum Sales Award – "From the Cradle"}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=Switzerland|award=Gold|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|access-date=22 October 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=United Kingdom|award=Gold|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|access-date=22 October 2020|id=2424-3230-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1994|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=3|artist=Eric Clapton|title=From The Cradle|access-date=22 October 2020}}

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{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Europe|award=Platinum|certyear=1996|access-date=22 October 2020}}

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{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:From The Cradle}}

Category:Eric Clapton albums

Category:1994 albums

Category:Blues albums by English artists

Category:Albums produced by Russ Titelman

Category:Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios

Category:Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album

Category:Reprise Records albums

Category:Warner Records albums