Эрик Клэптон: Unplugged - Живой Альбом и История Создания

Unplugged is a 1992 live album by Eric Clapton, recorded at Bray Studios, England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series. It includes a version of the successful 1992 single "Tears in Heaven" and an acoustic version of "Layla". The album itself won three Grammy awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton's bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.

Clapton performed the show in front of a small audience on 16 January 1992 at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England. In addition to the final album tracks, the performance included early versions of "My Father's Eyes" and "Circus Left Town" along with "Worried Life Blues" and a version of "Rollin' and Tumblin'". Shortly after telling the studio audience "that's it," Clapton said they needed to do "two – no, three no, five" songs over again, adding "if you don't mind, I don't mind." After the second take of "My Father's Eyes" there was a brief break and cameras were off. He broke into an impromptu "Rollin' and Tumblin'", which he had last performed with Cream. The seasoned musicians quickly picked up on it and the crowd clapped along. The director signaled the crew to record, which is why there is such an abrupt start to the song mid verse. Clapton was so pleased with it that when the song ended, he asked the director, "did you get that?" For much of the performance, Clapton played Martin 000 42 acoustic guitars. In 2004, one of the guitars sold for $791,500 (£434,400) at auction.

The album was released on 25 August 1992 to some of the best reviews of his career. The album renewed the public's interest in Clapton, and boosted his popularity. Robert Christgau was sharper in his comments, feeling that in an effort to be inoffensive "Clapton the electric guitarist" has been relegated "to the mists of memory", and that "Layla" was turned into a "whispery greeting card". Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune calls the release a "blues album for yuppies" and rates it with 2.5 of 4 stars, saying it is between fair and good. Entertainment Weekly journalist Steve Simels scores the album an A− calling the album "a charmer, a collection of blues standards and recent Clapton songs rendered with just the right combination of intensity (a deeply felt version of "Tears in Heaven") and giddy fun (Clapton actually plays kazoo on "San Francisco Bay Blues")". Steve Hochman in the Los Angeles Times felt that "Tears in Heaven" was "maudlin but moving", "Layla" was "low key but seductive", but the blues numbers performed in an intimate setting makes the album "Clapton's most passionate collection in years". Commenting on the popularity of the album in his 2007 autobiography, Clapton wishes the reader to understand the great emotional toll he experienced around that time, and suggests that they visit the grave of his son Conor in Ripley to do so. It was voted number 788 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

Clapton was nominated for nine Grammy Awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and won six, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance Male, Best Rock Vocal Performance – Male, and Best Rock Song. YearOrganisationAwardWorkResultRef.1992Guitar WorldBest guitar albums of 1992Unplugged#9MusikexpressBest albums of 1992#81993NARASGrammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal PerformanceWonGrammy Award for Album of the YearGrammy Award for Best Rock SongLaylaNCTACableACE AwardUnpluggedNominated2000QBest British albums#712005MusikexpressBest albums of the 1990s#32

In Germany the album peaked at No. 3 in the German Albums Chart and sold a total of 1.25 million copies, becoming one of the best selling albums in Germany. In Austria, Unplugged held itself 46 weeks in the Austrian Albums Chart and sold more than 100,000 copies in total. In Switzerland the album also reached No. 3 in the country's chart. Selling 60,000 copies in the first two weeks, the live album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry – a record for any British artist. In the U. S. the album peaked at No. 1.

On 15 October 2013 the album and concert DVD were re released, titled Unplugged: Expanded & Remastered. The album includes the original 14 tracks, remastered, as well as a bonus disc with six additional tracks, including two versions of "My Father's Eyes". The DVD includes a restored version of the concert, as well as over 60 minutes of unseen footage from the rehearsal.