“The Core” by Eric Clapton

"The Core" is the long haul on Slowhand, Eric Clapton's 1977 album: nearly nine minutes of rolling, riff-driven boogie that he wrote with Marcy Levy and sings with her as a duet, the two of them pushing each other higher. The riff is gritty and relentless, Carl Radle's bass keeps it chugging, and Mel Collins barges in with a saxophone solo that gives the jam a second wind. Glyn Johns produced it and keeps the whole thing loose without letting it sprawl.

Rolling Stone's John Swenson heard echoes of Derek and the Dominos in its boogie rhythm, and the words are a pep talk for hard times, about digging deep and keeping going, with an undercurrent of faith that runs through a number of Clapton's songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.