Journeyman Songs Ranked
Journeyman is the eleventh solo studio album by Eric Clapton. Heralded as a return to form for Clapton, who had struggled with alcohol addiction and recently found sobriety, the album has a 1980s electronic sound, but it also includes blues songs like “Before You Accuse Me”, “Running on Faith”, and “Hard Times.” “Bad Love” was released as a single, reaching the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart in the United States, and being awarded a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1990. “Pretending” had also reached the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart the previous year, remaining at the top for five weeks (“Bad Love” had only stayed for three weeks). The album reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and 16 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and it went on to become double platinum in the US. Clapton has said Journeyman is one of his favorite albums. Here are all of Journeyman’s songs ranked.
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12. Pretending
“The sound quality is very good in general. Some of the drum tracks sound electronic and dated, but Phil Collins was into that sound back then, so that’s what we have. Eric got great guitar sound and decent to very good vocals on tape. The band certainly played very well, as we’d expect in support of such a distinguished journeyman.”
11. Before You Accuse Me
“The album ends with ‘Before You Accuse Me’ and its a cover song and a great way to end the album. ‘Before You Accuse Me’ is one of the best cover songs Eric Clapton ever recorded.”
10. Anything for Your Love
“Eric Clapton is a genius musician, and when all’s said and done, he has a musical vision that, when he exposes it, makes for some compelling listening. But he has an unfortunate tendency to ‘go with the flow’ of musical tastes and trends, and the results when he tries to fit into someone else’s style are inconsistent.”
9. Lead Me On
“I found this album to be one of his strongest albums of the 1980s. He found a nice blend of Clapton blues influenced sound and straight forward rockers.”
See more: Eric Clapton Albums Ranked
8. Bad Love
“Bad Love’ is the biggest hit off the album and the best song on the album too. ‘Bad Love’ is one of Eric Claptons best songs, once you get past the keyboards.”
7. Breaking Point
“This is one of my favorite Eric Clapton albums. It is difficult to choose highlights, as everything on here is great, but certainly numbers 2 and 3 number among the best tracks I’ve heard in any genre.”
6. Running on Faith
“If for no other reason but the debut of the classic “Running On Faith” this Clapton venture deserves a space on any music lover’s shelf. At the end of the 1980’s what was left to say?”
5. Old Love
“Old Love” is another song that lilts along with a haunting message. Everyone has one of these painful ghosts.”
4. Hard Times
“The slower, more intimate songs add a lot of value to this album. The material altogether is quite good and Clapton sounds committed enough,.”
3. Run So Far
“Run So Far” is a little masterpiece, written by George Harrison, who lends a hand playing guitar and singing harmony vocals. Nice, sparse arrangement there.”
2. Hound Dog
“One can tell this album is a product of the 80’s. There are pop elements in many of the songs. I don’t mind groups changing as the times change so I was not as offended as some may be by this album.”
1. No Alibis
“Eric Clapton has been at the top of the tree since the mid 1960s, since which he has covered many genres of music, however in his heart he loves the blues best.
For me Bad Love is the best track, this includes support from Phil Collins, on other songs Robert Cray, Jim Keltner and George Harrison help out.”