When he gave a speech inducting the Band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Eric Clapton said that after he heard their debut album, Music from Big Pink, he wanted to join the group, the fact that they already had a guitarist in Robbie Robertson notwithstanding.
In the winter of 1975-1976, when he cut No Reason to Cry at the Band's Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California, he came as close as he ever would to realizing that desire.
Clapton is a musical chameleon; though some of No Reason to Cry is identifiable as the kind of pop/rock Clapton had been making since the start of his solo career (the best of it being "Hello Old Friend," which became his first Top 40 single in two years), the most memorable music on the album occurs when Clapton is collaborating with members of the Band and other guests.
He duets with Band bassist Rick Danko on Danko's "All Our Past Times," and with Bob Dylan on Dylan's "Sign Language," as Robertson's distinctive lead guitar is heard rather than Clapton's.
As a result, the album is a good purchase for fans of Bob Dylan and the Band, but not necessarily for those of Eric Clapton.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CarnivalEric Clapton | Eric Clapton | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Sign LanguageBob Dylan | Eric Clapton | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 6 mins | 15 MB | |||||
| 6 mins | 38 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ed Anderson | Engineer |
| 2 | Ed Caraeff | Art Direction, Design, Photography |
| 3 | Sandy Castle | Vocals |
| 4 | Eric Clapton | Arranger, Assistant Producer, Associate Producer, Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | Rick Danko | Bass, Composer, Guest Artist |
| 6 | Terry Danko | Percussion |
| 7 | Jesse Ed Davis | Guitar |
| 8 | Bob Dylan | Composer, Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 9 | Yvonne Elliman | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 10 | Bobby Ellis | Trumpet |
| 11 | Georgie Fame | Guest Artist, Keyboards |
| 12 | Alfred Fields | Composer |
| 13 | Rob Fraboni | Producer |
| 14 | Albhy Galuten | Piano |
| 15 | Levon Helm | Drums |
| 16 | Garth Hudson | Keyboards, Saxophone |
| 17 | Walter Jacobs | Composer |
| 18 | Chris Jagger | Vocals |
| 19 | Nat Jeffrey | Engineer |
| 20 | Nat Jeffreys | Engineer |
| 21 | Marcy Levy | Composer, Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 22 | Richard Manuel | Composer, Drums, Guest Artist |
| 23 | Ralph Moss | Engineer, Percussion |
| 24 | Tom Nikosey | Design, Graphic Design, Hand Lettering, Liner Notes |
| 25 | Jamie Oldaker | Drums |
| 26 | Joseph M. Palmaccio | Digital Remastering |
| 27 | Billy Preston | Keyboards |
| 28 | Carl Radle | Assistant Producer, Associate Producer, Bass |
| 29 | Robbie Robertson | Guest Artist, Guitar, Keyboards |
| 30 | Sergio Rodriguez | Percussion |
| 31 | Otis Rush | Composer |
| 32 | Dicky Simms | Composer |
| 33 | Dick Sims | Keyboards |
| 34 | George Terry | Guitar |
| 35 | Wah-Wah Watson | Guitar |
| 36 | Ron Wood | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 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). |