ERIC CLAPTON Unplugged Vinyl Record LP Reprise 1992 Original Alsdorf Sterling 1st Press

Eric Clapton - Unplugged
(Original 1st Pressing in Gatefold Picture Sleeve, complete with black inner sleeve)

Format: Vinyl Record - LP Album (33 rpm)
Country: EU
Year: 1992
Label: Reprise
Catalogue No. WX 480 / 9362-45024-1 (093624502418)

Matrix / Runout (Side A, runout, stamped, etched): WMME Alsdorf 936 245024-1-A STERLING 60
Matrix / Runout (Side B, runout, stamped, etched): WMME Alsdorf 936 245024-1-B STERLING 52

Condition: EX-/EX (Sleeve, inner sleeve and vinyl are all in excellent clean condition. The sleeve has tiny creases at edges. The inner sleeve has small splits on edges)

Track Listing:
1. Signe
2. Before You Accuse Me
3. Hey Hey
4. Tears In Heaven
5. Lonely Stranger
6. Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out
7. Layla
8. Running On Faith
9. Walkin' Blues
10. Alberta
11. San Francisco Bay Blues
12. Malted Milk
13. Old Love

Eric Clapton's Unplugged, recorded in January 1992 at Bray Studios for the MTV Unplugged series, stands as a monumental cultural reset that redefined the legendary guitarist for a new generation. Far from the "Guitar God" of his electric heyday, this performance reveals a vulnerable and introspective Clapton.

The album is most famous for its deeply personal content, specifically the debut of "Tears In Heaven". Written in the wake of the tragic death of his four-year-old son, Conor, the song served as a public moment of healing and became one of the decade's most poignant ballads. Equally iconic is the radical reworking of "Layla" - originally an "anguished howl" with Derek and the Dominos - transformed here into a relaxed, seductive shuffle that topped charts worldwide.

Unplugged also served as a "learned professor" of the blues, featuring unamplified covers of heroes like Robert Johnson ("Walkin' Blues", "Malted Milk"). Backed by an understated band including Nathan East on bass and Steve Ferrone on drums, Clapton's acoustic virtuosity shines across 13 tracks.

The commercial impact was unprecedented: it became the best-selling live album of all time, moving over 26 million copies and winning six Grammy Awards in 1993, including Album of the Year. It didn't just revitalise Clapton's career; it sparked a global surge in acoustic guitar sales.