''No Reason to Cry'' is the fourth studio album by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

, released by

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

on 27 August 1976. The album was recorded in Malibu and

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between December 1975 to May 1976. The record went

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in the U.K.

Recording

The album was recorded at The Band's Shangri-la Studios in March 1976, and included involvement from all five members of The Band;

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

shared vocals with Clapton on "All Our Past Times," which he co-wrote with Clapton. The album also includes a duet with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

on his otherwise unreleased song "Sign Language." The booklet in Bob Dylan's box set ''

The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3'' is a box set by Bob Dylan issued on Columbia Records. It is the first installment in Dylan's Bootleg Series, comprising material spanning the first three decades of his career, from 1961 to 1989. It has been c ...

'' describes his involvement in this album: "Dylan dropped by and was just hanging out, living in a tent at the bottom of the garden. He would sneak into the studio to see what was going on. Dylan offered his new, unrecorded song "Seven Days" to Clapton. Clapton passed on it, but

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

took him up on the offer and released it on his third solo album ''

Gimme Some Neck ''Gimme Some Neck'' is the third solo album by English musician Ronnie Wood, released in 1979. It was a minor hit and his best performance on the US charts to date, peaking at number 45 on ''Billboard'' during a 13-week chart run. The album artw ...

''". The song "Innocent Times" is sung by Marcy Levy, who also shared vocals with Clapton on "Hungry."

Chart performance

''No Reason to Cry'' is one of Clapton's most internationally successful albums from the 1970s. The release reached the Top 30 in seven national music album charts, hitting Top 10 in United Kingdom (peaking at No. 8) and in the

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, where it topped out No. 9. The album was certified

in the United Kingdom. In

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and the

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, the album charted at No. 13 and No. 15 respectively, while in

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and

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, it reached No. 18 and No. 24 respectively.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

critic William Ruhlmann awarded the release 3.5 of five possible stars, writing: "''No Reason to Cry'' is identifiable as the kind of pop/rock Clapton had been making since the start of his solo career", adding "the most memorable music on the album occurs when Clapton is collaborating with members of the Band and other guests". Finishing his review, Ruhlmann called the release "a good purchase for fans of Bob Dylan and the Band, but not necessarily for those of Eric Clapton". ''Rolling Stone'' journalist

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as '' Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has ...

finds, the album recordings are "much more mélange than masterpiece". Robert Christgau rated the album with a "B−" and calls the album "a well-made, rather likable rock and roll LP", noting the "singing is eloquent and the instrumental signature an almost irresistible pleasure".

Track listings

Personnel

The listed personnel was taken from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

. The back cover also thanks additional people, who worked on the album, without specifying what their contribution was. *

* Ron Wood – guitar on "Beautiful Thing", "Sign Language", "County Jail Blues" and "All Our Past Times" *

Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel (April 3, 1943 – March 4, 1986) was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and ...

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel i ...

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

* Ed Anderson * Aggie * Brains Bradley * Jesse Ed Davis *

Terry Danko Terry Danko (born 1949) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who has been active since childhood. He has written, performed and recorded his own material as a solo artist and as a member of a number of groups, such as Tin Pan Alley, Bearfoot a ...

* Bob Ellis * Connie * Konrad Kramer *

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

* Geoffrey Harrison *

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

* Marcy Levy * Nello * Jamie Oldaker * Albhy Galuten * Dick Simms * Nat Jeffery * Ralph Moss * Dick La Palm * Dread Lever *

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

Chris Jagger Christopher Jagger (born 19 December 1947) is an English musician. He is the younger brother of wikt:rockstar, rock star Mick Jagger, frontman for the Rolling Stones. Early life, family and education Jagger was born into a middle-class family ...

(vocals) * Carl Radle * Sergio Pastora Rodriguez * Wilton Spears * Dominic Lumetta * Sandy Castle * George Terry *

Rob Fraboni Robert Alan Fraboni (born 23 April 1951) is an American, California-born record producer and audio engineer, well known for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Tim Hardin, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie R ...

* Larry Samuals * Mick Turner * Wah Wah Watson * Pete & All at Shangri-La

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:No Reason to Cry 1976 albums Eric Clapton albums RSO Records albums The Band Albums produced by Rob Fraboni Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio)