Eric Clapton was part of many outstanding collaborations throughout his long and prolific career. Where do I even begin? It all started with The Yardbirds, then Cream, then John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers. Before he moved on to Derek & The Dominos – a project we all know quite well due to that “little” album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”, Eric Clapton, along with Steve Winwood, Ric Grech and ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker formed the short-lived band, Blind Faith.
The blues-oriented Blind Faith has often been referred to as one of the first ever supergroups. Not only that but they crafted the perfect sound fusion between rock and blues, which influenced many young musicians in the years to come. Despite releasing only one, self-titled album in 1969, Blind Faith still remain one of the most essential English-blues acts, at least in my book. That album generated a huge commotion not only because of its unique sound but because of its controversial album artwork, featuring a young topless girl, holding a silver space ship. It was still the ‘60s after all…what else could you expect?
“Blind Faith” offers a superb playlist; each and every song on that album is a true masterpiece and deserves our praises. After all, it did peak at #1 in three different countries (UK, USA, Canada) so you can expect nothing but the best from this album. Nevertheless, I’ve always been attracted to “Can’t Find My Way Home” the most. As a matter of fact, it’s one of my personal favorite blues songs of all time. It’s immensely comforting and definitely a song I can play every time I feel like I need a break. I do hope there are people out there who appreciate it as much as me and are interested to know a little bit more about this not only beautiful but historically relevant song. Here we go!
- “Can’t Find My Way Home” was written and sang by the legendary Steve Winwood who is regarded as one of the most influential blue-eyed soul and rhythm and blues musicians of all time. Throughout his career, he made history as a notorious member of bands such as The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Go and of course, Blind Faith.
- Eric Clapton played acoustic guitar on this song, which was highly unusual for him. As a member of CREAM, Clapton was famous for his lengthy and complex guitar solos, from which he obviously wanted to take a break. Many fans consider his gentle guitar performance on “Can’t Find My Way Home” as one of the best of his career.
- Many have speculated about the true meaning behind the lyrics of the song. Some say this Steve is singing about break-up or the meaning of life while others claim that it’s about war and death. The most well-known interpretation of the “Can’t Find My Way Home” is that it’s merely a song about drugs.
I am inclined to believe that it’s a song about drugs. I mean if we look carefully, “Come down off your throne and leave your body alone” might be saying “get down from that grand illusion and just stop taking drugs and doing this to your body!”. The following lines, “You are the reason I’ve been waiting all these years, somebody holds the key” can be interpreted as “drugs were the reason why I can’t move on and I need someone to help me!”
Of course, what do I know? I didn’t write the song. It might as well be a track about self-rediscovery and trying to change your life after you made a series of bad choices. Drugs might be just one small part of it. We all make mistakes, take wrong turns and as a result, can’t find our way back home; the important thing is to be sane, realize what is wrong and try to seek help. - “Can’t Find My Way Home” was (and still is) Blind Faith‘s most beloved song. It was an irreplaceable part of every one of their (relatively few) live performances (and later of Clapton‘s).
- Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton performed “Can’t Find My Way Home” during the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007, along with Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall.
- “Can’t Find My Way Home” is one of the most covered songs in the history of music. From House of Lords to Joe Cocker, from Styx to John Wetton – various musicians of different genres, including hard rock, soul and pop, recorded their own interpretations of this song. We can easily conclude that “Can’t Find My Way Home” turned out to be an inspiration for many younger generations of musicians.
Below is my favorite cover of the classic by House of Lord (“Sahara”, 1990)
- “Can’t Find My Way Home” often makes an appearance on TV. More recently, the famous CW TV Series, Supernatural, featured it during seasons 1 and 9.
“Can’t Find My Way Home”
You are the reason I’ve been waiting so long – somebody holds the key
Well, I’m near the end and I just ain’t got the time
And I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home
Come down on your own and leave your body alone – somebody must change
You are the reason I’ve been waiting all these years – somebody holds the key
Well, I’m near the end and I just ain’t got the time
And I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home
One word (well, actually two) – Mike Tramp! He is one of the best and most memorable voices of hard rock, at least to me he is. Danish-born singer fronts White Lion – a charismatic and immensely talented rock band that made quite the splash in the late ‘80s. Take Mike Tramp and put him alongside guitarist Vito Bratta and you will get the heart and soul of White Lion! Their coming-out party took place in 1987 with a heart-stirring sophomore album, titled “Pride”. 1987 is such a special year in my book and this album is one of the reasons why. That simplistic white design of the cover artwork is unforgettable. What’s inside is even better, though.
For the past following weeks, I’ve been having kind of a Skid Row marathon, which I guess is the reason why I wanted to talk about “Youth Gone Wild”. Also, I’ve been binge watching “Gilmore Girls” and Sebastian just keeps on popping and making me crank up some Skid Row right after the episode is over. I got to know the band and of course, their charismatic leader, because of that “little” 1989 debut album. I was making the first steps towards my “late-‘80s-hair metal enlightenment” and it was absolutely inevitable to come across Skid Row on my long and hairy road. I’m a sucker for power ballads so of course “I Remember You” became the reason why I fell for the band and the album. The second place goes to “Youth Gone Wild” which is actually one of my top empowering songs and the reason why Sebastian Bach is one of the most notable rock vocalists in my book. I guess what I felt after hearing it for the first time was exactly what the song was intended to provoke in its listeners – confidence, sense of control and the scream of your inner strength after being set free.
The iconic music video to accompany the anthem-like song “Youth Gone Wild” was an absolute sensation, receiving tons of airplay on MTV. The video features a dynamic stage performance of Skid Row, cut by scenes of the members of the band running, breaking fences till one gets caught by what appears to be a police officer. Similar-style music videos were countless back in the day, however this one seems to stand out – whether it’s because of the song or because of Sebastian being handsome as hell, I don’t know. The important thing is that MTV loved this video.
Another curious (lyrical) “Rock of Ages” moment is of course that empowering saying “It’s better to burn out, than to fade away” at the beginning. The lines are a reference to Neil Young‘s song “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)”. According to some sources, however, Joe Elliott saw those lines on someone’s T-shirt and took them for the song, without actually knowing who they belong to.
“(I Need You Now) More Than Words Can Say” was released as the second single from their 1990 eponymous debut album. The title is also known as just “More Than Words Can Say” – the (I Need You Now) part was added merely for convenience and advertising purposes. It does look more colorful, poetic and lyric-like, doesn’t it? You can just sing through the title… Also since the phrase “I Need You Now” is repeated so many times in the chorus, the audience thought that was the actual name of the song. Naturally, to make it less confusing and more accessible, they changed the title.
“Stormbringer” is the opening track to Deep Purple’s 1974 album of the same name. It’s the second release, after “Burn” to feature David Coverdale as the lead vocalist of Deep Purple. The album failed to match the commercial excellence of the band’s previous releases, such as the iconic “Machine Head”, “Who Do We Think We Are!” and even “Burn”; however it did give birth to some outstanding classics. “Stormbringer”, “Soldier of Fortune” and “High Ball Shooter” are some of the tunes from the album that surely stood the test of time. Moreover, it will always be remembered as the album that brought the (temporal) departure of Ritchie Blackmore and the album with the perfect Coverdale/Hughes vocal collaboration.
In 2015, Whitesnake released “The Purple Album”, consisting of interpretations of classic songs from Deep Purple band lineups Mark III and Mark IV – the time when David Coverdale was DP‘s frontman. Among the remakes were tunes such as “Burn”, “Soldier of Fortune”, “Might Just Take Your Life”, “Mistreate
– The iconic black/white MV, featuring Page driving a convertible, became a huge MTV hit and one of the earliest staples of VH1, as the network station was launched on the same year the song was released – 1985.
Symphonic/progressive rock is my guilty pleasure and to people who know me it would come as no surprise that I am a HUGE fan of Jeff Lynne and Electric Light Orchestra. Records such as “Out of the Blue”, “Face the Music” and “Eldorado” have always been an inseparable part of my life. There is just something so magical about the music of ELO – immensely uplifting, spirited, incorporating elements of modern rock, classical music, friendlier pop-sounds, piano, string instruments, keyboards…It’s all mixed up in a perfect (at least to me) symphonic rock extravaganza.
MY ROCK MIXTAPES 