"Journeyman" is the eleventh studio album by blues/rock musician Eric Clapton, released in 1989.
The album was heralded as a return to form for Clapton, who had struggled with alcohol addiction throughout the mid-1980s and had recently found sobriety. Much of it has an electronic sound, mostly influenced by the 1980s rock scene, but it also includes blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me," "Running On Faith," and "Hard Times." The strongest single commercially from this album was "Bad Love," which earned him the 1990 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy Awards, and reached the #1 position on the Album Rock Chart. "Pretending" had also reached the #1 position on the Album Rock Chart. For most of the '80s, Eric Clapton seemed rather lost, uncertain of whether he should return to his blues roots or pander to AOR radio. By the mid-'80s, he appeared to have made the decision to revamp himself as a glossy mainstream rocker, working with synthesizers and drum machines. Instead of expanding his audience, it only reduced it. Then came the career retrospective "Crossroads", which helped revitalize his career, not only commercially, but also creatively, as "Journeyman" the first album he recorded after the success of "Crossroads" proved. Although "Journeyman" still suffers from an overly slick production, Clapton sounds more convincing than he has since the early '70s. Not only is his guitar playing muscular and forceful, his singing is soulful and gritty. Furthermore, the songwriting is consistently strong, alternating between fine mainstream rock originals "Pretending" and covers "Before You Accuse Me," "Hound Dog". Like any of Clapton's best albums, there is no grandstanding to be found on "Journeyman it's simply a laid-back and thoroughly engaging display of Clapton's virtuosity.
01. "Pretending" (Jerry Lynn Williams) – 4:48
02. "Anything for Your Love" (Williams) – 4:16
03. "Bad Love " (Eric Clapton, Mick Jones) – 5:11
04. "Running on Faith" (Williams) – 5:27
05. "Hard Times" (Ray Charles) – 3:00
06. "Hound Dog" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:26
07. "No Alibis" (Williams) – 5:32
08. "Run So Far" (George Harrison) – 4:06
09. "Old Love" (Clapton, Robert Cray) – 6:25
10. "Breaking Point" (Marty Grebb, Williams) – 5:37
11. "Lead Me On" (Cecil Womack, Linda Womack) – 5:52
12. "Before You Accuse Me" (Ellas McDaniel) – 3:55
Released: November 7, 1989
Genre: Blues Rock
Length: 56:35
Label: Duck / Reprise
Producer: Jill Dell'Abate, Russ Titelman
Personnel
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals, Dobro, design
Phil Collins - drums, background & harmony vocals
David Sanborn - alto saxophone
Robert Cray - guitar (solo on Old Love and Before You Accuse Me)
Phil Palmer - guitar
John Tropea - rhythm guitar
George Harrison - guitar & harmony vocals
Cecil Womack - acoustic guitar, vocals
Jerry Williams - guitar, background & harmony vocals
Nathan East - bass, background vocals
Pino Palladino - bass
Darryl Jones - bass
Gary Burton - vibraphone
Hank Crawford - alto saxophone
Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone
David "Fathead" Newman - tenor saxophone
Jon Faddis - trumpet & horn
Lew Soloff - trumpet
Steve Ferrone - drums & Hi Hat
Jim Keltner - percussion, drums, tambourine, drum programming
Jeff Bova - synthesizer, programming, drum programming, synthesizer horn
Jimmy Bralower - drum programming
Alan Clark - synthesizer, keyboards, Hammond
Robbie Kondor - synthesizer, harmonica, keyboards, vocoder, drum programming
Rob Mounsey - synthesizer
Robby Kilgore - synthesizer
Greg Phillinganes - synthesizer, piano, keyboards, background vocals
Richard Tee - piano, Fender Rhodes
Carol Steele - percussion, conga, tambourine
Arif Mardin - arranger, string arrangements
Linda Womack - vocals
Daryl Hall - harmony vocals
Tawatha Agee - background vocals
Lani Groves - background vocals
Chaka Khan - background vocals
Tessa Niles - background vocals
Vaneese Thomas - background vocals
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