Eric Clapton adopted a new, tougher, hard R&B approach on August, employing a stripped-down band featuring keyboard player Greg Phillinganes, bassist Nathan East, and drummer/producer Phil Collins, plus, on several tracks, a horn section and, on a couple of tracks, backup vocals by Tina Turner, and performing songs written by old Motown hand Lamont Dozier, among others.
The excellent, but incongruous, leadoff track, however, was "It's in the Way That You Use It," which Clapton and Robbie Robertson had written for Robertson's score to the film The Color of Money.
Elsewhere, Clapton sang and played fiercely on songs like "Tearing Us Apart," "Run," and "Miss You," all of which earned AOR radio play.
That radio support may have helped the album to achieve gold status in less than six months, Clapton's best commercial showing since 1981's Another Ticket, despite the album's failure to generate a hit single.
The title commemorates the birth in August 1986 of Clapton's son Conor.
[The CD version of the album contains the bonus track "Grand Illusion."].
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | It's in the Way That You Use ItEric Clapton, Robbie Robertson | Eric Clapton, Laurence Cottle, Richard Cottle, Henry Spinetti | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | RunLamont Dozier | Eric Clapton, Laurence Cottle, Richard Cottle, Henry Spinetti | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Tearing Us ApartEric Clapton, Greg Phillinganes | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Tina Turner | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Bad InfluenceRobert Cray, Greg Phillinganes | Eric Clapton, Dave Bargeron, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Jon Faddis, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Walk AwayRichard Feldman | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Hung Up on Your LoveLamont Dozier | Eric Clapton, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Jon Faddis, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Take a ChanceEric Clapton, Greg Phillinganes | Eric Clapton, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Jon Faddis, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Hold OnEric Clapton, Phil Collins | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes, Tina Turner | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Miss YouEric Clapton, Bobby Colomby, Greg Phillinganes | Eric Clapton, Dave Bargeron, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Jon Faddis, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Holy MotherStephen Bishop, Eric Clapton | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Katie Kissoon, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Behind the MaskChris J. Mosdell, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Katie Kissoon, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 04:46 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Grand IllusionBob Farrell, David Robbins, Wesley Stephenson | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Nathan East, Greg Phillinganes | Play | 06:22 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 55 mins | 127 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Bargeron | Primary Artist, Trombone |
| 2 | Dave Bargerone | Guest Artist |
| 3 | Stephen Bishop | Composer |
| 4 | Michael Brecker | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Saxophone |
| 5 | Randy Brecker | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Trumpet |
| 6 | Gary Brooker | Guest Artist, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 7 | Stephen Chase | Engineer |
| 8 | Eric Clapton | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 9 | Phil Collins | Composer, Drums, Guest Artist, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Bobby Colomby | Composer |
| 11 | Laurence Cottle | Bass, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Richard Cottle | Primary Artist, Synthesizer |
| 13 | Robert Cray | Composer |
| 14 | Tom Dowd | Associate Producer, Producer |
| 15 | Lamont Dozier | Composer |
| 16 | Nathan East | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Primary Artist |
| 17 | Jon Faddis | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Trumpet |
| 18 | Bob Farrell | Composer |
| 19 | Richard Feldman | Composer, Keyboards |
| 20 | Paul Gommersall | Engineer |
| 21 | Peter Hefter | Engineer |
| 22 | Katie Kissoon | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 23 | Magic Moreno | Engineer, Vocals |
| 24 | Chris J. Mosdell | Composer |
| 25 | Tessa Niles | Vocals |
| 26 | Terry O'Neill | Photography |
| 27 | Leon Pendarvis | Horn Arrangements |
| 28 | Greg Phillinganes | Composer, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | David Robbins | Composer |
| 30 | Robbie Robertson | Composer |
| 31 | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Composer |
| 32 | Henry Spinetti | Drums, Primary Artist |
| 33 | Wesley Stephenson | Composer |
| 34 | Tina Turner | Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |