Crossroads (Eric Clapton album)

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Crossroads
Crossroads (Eric Clapton album).jpg
Box set by Eric Clapton
Released April 18, 1988 (1988-04-18)
Recorded 1963–1987
Genre Blues rock
Length 293:03
Label Polydor
Compiler Bill Levenson
Eric Clapton chronology
The Cream of Eric Clapton
(1987)The Cream of Eric Clapton1987		 Crossroads
(1988)		 Journeyman
(1989)Journeyman1989

Crossroads is a music collection box set released by Polydor Records on April 18, 1988 and features the work of British rock musician Eric Clapton.[1] The set includes his work with The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Blues Breakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and Derek and the Dominos, as well as his solo career.

Several live or alternate studio recordings were previously unreleased. Anthony DeCurtis contributed the liner notes to the album, where as The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood painted the albums cover. Mitchell Kanner designed the package and along with Michael Bays Art Directed the package.[2] Crossroads was mastered by Greg Calbi and compiled by Bill Levenson.[3] The album sold more than four million copies worldwide and was presented with six awards, two of them Grammy Awards the four disc boxed set took home in 1989. With both high commercial success and positive critics response, this is Clapton's most purchased box set to date.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Rolling Stone 5/5 stars[4]
AllMusic 5/5 stars[5]

The critics for Billboard magazine noted mostly the production work, besides the compilations track listing stating: "Compiler Levenson has unearthed some superb rarities for the set, and Anthony DeCurtis contributes intelligent annotation. Classy package and bounty of unheard material will attract Slowhand's legion of fans".[2] Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke really liked the boxed set and awarded the release an extremely rare five-star rating in April of 1988.[4] In his review for the American music website AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine presented the album with five out of five possible stars, rating the release as an AllMusic top album and notes:

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[…] Clapton's set was a bona fide blockbuster. And it's easy to see why. Crossroads manages to sum up Clapton's career succinctly and thoroughly, touching upon all of his hits and adding a bevy of first-rate unreleased material (most notably selections from the scrapped second Derek and the Dominos album). Although not all of his greatest performances are included on the set – none of his work as a session musician or guest artist is included, for instance – every truly essential item he recorded is present on these four discs. No other Clapton album accurately explains why the guitarist was so influential, or demonstrates exactly what he accomplished.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic[5]

Awards

Year Ceremony Award Result Ref.
1988 Billboard First Double Platinum-selling Box Set Won [6]
First Platinum-selling Box Set Won [6]
Highest-charting Boxed Set Won [7]
1989 Grammy Awards Best Album Notes Won [8]
Best Historical Album Won [9]
1990 Rolling Stone Most Successful Box Set of the Decade Won [10]

Track listings

Compact Disc

Vinyl

Commercial success

Crossroads is Clapton's commercially most successful multi-disc boxed set, charting in both 1988 and 1989, selling a total of more than four million copies worldwide. In Canada, the greatest hits album sold more than 20,000 copies, however, failed to chart on either the RPM or The Record magazines official albums chart.[11] In the United Kingdom, Crossroads reached position 20 on the Official Charts Companys compilation, where it stayed several weeks on chart.[10] Eventually, the boxed set was certified with a Platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), selling more than 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[12] In the United States, the 1988 box set was most successful. It peaked at number eight on Billboard magazines Top Pop Compact Disks chart in May of 1987 and entered the magazines Top 200 albums chart at position 80. At that point, Clapton was the second artist ever to chart in the Top 100 field with a box set containing six discs, following Elvis Presley.[13] In its first week on chart, Crossroads was both the best- and fastest-selling box set, ever to be released, selling more than 240,000 copies in the first few weeks after its release in the United States. At that point, more than 120,000 copies which were sold were on compact disc formats, which was still quite rare at the time.[14] In 1988, the release topped the Top Pop Compact Disks chart[15] and reached number 34 on the Billboard 200 top albums chart, where Crossroads stayed a total of 26 weeks on chart.[16] In 2005, the compilation album was certified with a triple Platinum award by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), commemorating the sale of more than three million copies in the United States alone.[17] Eventually, the release sold more than 3,2 million copies in the United States, making it Clapton's best-selling box set in the country.[18] In 1988, the Clapton record was the 26th most-purchased Pop music compact disc in the United States.[19] In Japan, the release sold more than 200,000 copies and was certified with a Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). In the country, Crossroads peaked at number 15 on the Oricon albums chart, and reached position 188 on the 1988 year-end albums chart.[20] In Europe, the box set was a medium success, reaching the Top 20 in only two countries besides the United Kingdom. In Sweden[21] and the Netherlands, the box set reached number 20 and 17[22] and stayed a total of 32 weeks on the Sverigetopplistan chart in Sweden,[21] as well as nine weeks in Holland.[22] The album was certified Platinum by both the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF)[21] and The Dutch Association of Producers and Importers of image – and sound carriers (NVPI) for selling more than 100,000 copies in every country.[10] Crossroads also reached number 25 on the worldwide albums chart in 1988.[14]

Chart positions

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada 20,000[11]
Japan (RIAJ)[20] Platinum 200,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[10] Platinum 100,000
Sweden (GLF)[21] Platinum 100,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[17] 3× Platinum 3,200,000[18]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

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  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Eric Clapton – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Eric Clapton. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Dutchcharts.nl – Eric Clapton – Crossroads" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
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