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. ~ William Ruhlmann