Pilgrim is the thirteenth studio album by Eric Clapton, released in 1998. The album was recorded at Olympic Studio in London in late 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the cover of the album. Pilgrim's release marked Clapton's first album of original material since 1989's Journeyman. Reviews for Pilgrim were mixed upon release. Allmusic described the album as "bland", while Rolling Stone's David Wild gave it four out of five stars, stating, "Pilgrim is the work of someone who has learned in the hardest way imaginable that although he cannot change the world, he might be able to change himself." Clapton wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to make the "saddest album" to the moment, so he called Simon Climie and started the project. He had already written two songs when his son, Conor, died in March 1991. The songs ended up being "My Father's Eyes" and "Circus", originally named "Circus Left Town". "Circus" was about the last time he saw his son, when he took him to the circus. According to Clapton's autobiography, Conor died the next day. The album experiments with drum machines and certain sounds like synthesizers, guitars, strings reminiscent of R&B. The song "Pilgrim" also appears on the Lethal Weapon 4 soundtrack. Four tracks of this album were included on the One More Car, One More Rider album of 2001. An acoustic version of "Broken Hearted" was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1997. Clapton and John Mayer resurrected the song in 2005. Personnel Eric Clapton – guitar and vocals Simon Climie – drum programming and keyboards Steve Gadd – drums Paul Waller – drum programming Dave Bronze – bass guitar Chris Stainton – Hammond organ Joe Sample – piano London Session Orchestra – strings Nathan East – bass guitar Luís Jardim – bass guitar and percussion Andy Fairweather-Low – guitar Paul Carrack – Hammond organ Greg Phillinganes – keyboards Paul Brady – tin whistle Pino Paladino – bass guitar Chyna Whyne – backing vocals Kenneth Edmonds – backing vocals Pilgrim is the thirteenth studio album by Eric Clapton, released in 1998. The album was recorded at Olympic Studio in London in late 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the cover of the album. Pilgrim's release marked Clapton's first album of original material since 1989's Journeyman. Reviews for Pilgrim were mixed upon release. Allmusic described the album as "bland", while Rolling Stone's David Wild gave it four out of five stars, stating, "Pilgrim is the work of someone who has learned in the hardest way imaginable that although he cannot change the world, he might be able to change himself." Clapton wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to make the "saddest album" to the moment, so he called Simon Climie and started the project. He had already written two songs when his son, Conor, died in March 1991. The songs ended up being "My Father's Eyes" and "Circus", originally named "Circus Left Town". "Circus" was about the last time he saw his son, when he took him to the circus. According to Clapton's autobiography, Conor died the next day. The album experiments with drum machines and certain sounds like synthesizers, guitars, strings reminiscent of R&B. The song "Pilgrim" also appears on the Lethal Weapon 4 soundtrack. Four tracks of this album were included on the One More Car, One More Rider album of 2001. An acoustic version of "Broken Hearted" was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1997. Clapton and John Mayer resurrected the song in 2005. Personnel Eric Clapton – guitar and vocals Simon Climie – drum programming and keyboards Steve Gadd – drums Paul Waller – drum programming Dave Bronze – bass guitar Chris Stainton – Hammond organ Joe Sample – piano London Session Orchestra – strings Nathan East – bass guitar Luís Jardim – bass guitar and percussion Andy Fairweather-Low – guitar Paul Carrack – Hammond organ Greg Phillinganes – keyboards Paul Brady – tin whistle Pino Paladino – bass guitar Chyna Whyne – backing vocals Kenneth Edmonds – backing vocals false 2023-01-02 08:15:19 Pilgrim 6.8 1998 1998-03-10 1998-03-10 76 Blues Blues Rock Classic Rock Pop Rock Rock Soft Rock 111431 2112195 9cf7c5e3-3130-4334-b38b-3004f13388c3 618b6900-0618-4f1e-b835-bccb17f84294 3af2cda2-6766-33a2-babf-f732745af220 /media/data/media5/Music/Eric Clapton/Pilgrim (1998)/folder.jpg Eric Clapton AlbumArtist /config/metadata/People/E/Eric Clapton/folder.jpg Eric Clapton Artist /config/metadata/People/E/Eric Clapton/folder.jpg Eric Clapton Eric Clapton 1 My Father’s Eyes 05:23 2 River of Tears 07:21 3 Pilgrim 05:50 4 Broken Hearted 07:51 5 One Chance 05:55 6 Circus 04:09 7 Going Down Slow 05:19 8 Fall Like Rain 03:50 9 Born in Time 04:41 10 Sick and Tired 05:43 11 Needs His Woman 03:45 12 She’s Gone 04:45 13 You Were There 05:31 14 Inside of Me 05:25 Eric Patrick Clapton (born 30 March 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 of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.After playing in a number of different local bands, Clapton joined the Yardbirds in 1963, replacing founding guitarist Top Topham. Dissatisfied with the change of the Yardbirds sound from blues rock to a more radio-friendly pop rock sound, Clapton left in 1965 to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. On leaving Mayall in 1966, after one album, he formed the power trio Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and "arty, blues-based psychedelic pop". After Cream broke up in November 1968, he formed the blues rock band Blind Faith with Baker, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech, recording one album and performing on one tour before they broke up. Clapton embarked on a solo career in 1970. Alongside his solo career, he also performed with Delaney & Bonnie and Derek and the Dominos, with whom he recorded "Layla", one of his signature songs. He continued to record a number of successful solo albums and songs over the next several decades, including a 1974 cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" (which helped reggae reach a mass market), the country-infused Slowhand album (1977) and the pop rock of 1986's August. Following the death of his son Conor in 1991, Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "Tears in Heaven", which appeared on his Unplugged album, and in 1996 he had another top-40 hit with the R&B crossover "Change the World". In 1998, he released the Grammy award-winning "My Father's Eyes". Since 1999, he has recorded a number of traditional blues and blues rock albums and hosted the periodic Crossroads Guitar Festival. His most recent studio album is Happy Xmas (2018). Clapton has received 18 Grammy Awards as well as the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004, he was awarded a CBE for services to music. He has received four Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream. In his solo career, Clapton has sold more than 280 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In 1998, Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.