Description "AIN'T GOING DOWN" (Eric Clapton, 1982) It ain't no big deal, we're all lucky to be alive, I myself don't believe in luck, or taking chances, I will survive. Every move I make, every twist every turn, You scandalise and humble me, I may be slow, but I will learn. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. If I had my way, I would probably just sit and stare. Watch the TV or read a book, I'd have no reason to be aware, But I ain't got time, I just could not live that way. I've got to step outside myself, I've still got something left to say. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. 'Cause I ain't going down anymore. Channelled in my groove, part of another space and time. Please allow me to introduce another good friend of mine. Some call him fear, some call him righteousness. I myself ain't clear, and you can't force me to make a guess. ERIC CLAPTON: "Money & Cigarettes" LP, RARE FIRST UK 'WX 3773' VINYL PRESSING, 12th FEBRUARY, 1983. WARNER REPRISE / DUCK RECORDS, EXCLUSIVE UK ONLY CATALOGUE NUMBER: UK: WX 322 THE UK 'WX 3773' CATALOGUE NUMBER WAS ON ALL THE BRITISH ORIGINALS, WARNER / REPRISE HAD ALL THEIR RECORDS PRESSED IN GERMANY TO UK SPECIFICATIONS. 'UK: WX 3773' CATALOGUE NUMBER IS ON THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THE BACK OF THE COVER AS A TOP HEADING AND THE TOP OF THE SPINE. PLEASE SEE MY CLOSE UP PICTURE OF THE BACK WITH THE UK CATALOGUE NUMBER . The back has an embossed Warner logo next to the 'Duck Records' logo, with only has the usual traits of standing for the last 35 years. It was inside a plastic outer sleeve, so no fading or wear, just a record impression with a few related tiny edge lines and some standing pressure etc. A superb cover, with a glossy top surface on the front and back, a 'melted' Fender Stratocaster guitar on an ironing board' artwork looks superb, the back has the same scene but without Eric in the room, his cigarette is now where he left them while playing, on the melted guitar. The spine had ridged edges and once again there is rubbing on the tip of the edges, I must stress how common that is and how small that actually is. The rest of the cover would be graded Mint- but a sigh of frustration, with an unplayed record inside, I will still grade this superb unused cover with an undeserved assessment. Out of interest, the surealistic artwork and symbolism extends to the printed side of the inner sleeve, easily missed because it is faint, the room's corner again but without Eric and the ironing board & melted Fender. I normally give the maitrix directly after the catalogue number but the catalogue number led me into discussing the cover, here are those details in full. THE COVER IS IN EXCELLENT+++ / NEAR MINT CONDITION. MAITRIX: R / S Asdorf 923773 - 1 A2 / R / S Asdorf 923773 - 1 B2 ALSO IN THE RUN-OUT GROOVES THE MACHINE STAMPED MASTERING LOGO ON BOTH SIDES: 'STRAWBERRY (C) UNUSED "Money & Cigarettes" FULL LYRICS & CREDITS PAPER INNER SLEEVE, WITHOUT ANY SPLITS ETC. JUST A RECORD IMPRESSION AND A FEW RELATED PAPER RIPPLES, IN NEAR MINT CONDITION THE LABELS ARE IMMACULATE WITHOUT ANY SPINDLE CONTACT TRACES, THE FIRST PRESSING RECORD IS LIKE BRAND NEW, WITH THE WHOLE PACKAGE EXACTLY HOW IT WAS SOLD IN A 1983 UK RECORD SHOP. THE RECORD IS IN UNPLAYED, MINT CONDITION. SIDE 1 "Everybody Oughta Make A Change" (Sleepy John Estes) "The Shape You're In" (Eric Clapton) "Ain't Going Down" (Eric Clapton) "I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart" (Steve Diamond / Troy Seals / Tony Seals / Eddie Setser) "Man Overboard" (Eric Clapton) SIDE 2 "Pretty Girl" (Eric Clapton) "Man In Love" (Eric Clapton) "Crosscut Saw" (R.G. Ford) "Slow Down Linda" (Eric Clapton) "Crazy Country Hop" (Johnny Otis) Eric Clapton - guitar, slide guitar & vocals Ry Cooder - guitar Albert Lee - guitar, keyboards & vocals Donald "Duck" Dunn - bass Roger Hawkins - drums Chuck Kirkpatrick - background vocals John Sambataro - background vocals Recorded At Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, late 1982. Produced By Tom Dowd & Eric Clapton Right from 1970, Eric Clapton's solo albums contain some of the finest music ever recorded, which ever decade they originated in, they all have that stamp of Clapton genius, not just for his magical guitar because Eric's choice of material was second to none. Regardless of which decade they were released in, I only sell them in Mint condition and this is only the fourth time I'm able to list "Money & Cigarettes" on ebay in 17 years, although I did sell a 12" "I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart" signed by Eric Clapton and record producer Tom Dowd, a successful single in America only. The album reached No.13 in the UK charts, not quite a big selling album, which does does not increase the availability today of a top condition first pressing, due to the greatness of the album, it was played excessively on vinyl and cassettes and of course a few years later, on CD's. The album artwork has a real feel of surrealism Eric Clapton with a cigarette, is standing next to a melting Fender Stratocaster on an ironing board,it was a genuinely symbolic cover. Eric was referring to to managing to kick an addiction to alcohol and how all he had left was a guitar, money and a cigarette. The inner sleeve takes the artwork one step further, the stained wall is empty except for a framed picture of Eric, possibly inspired by the cover and inner sleeve of the 1982 Richard & Linda Thompson album "Shoot Out The Lights." The same stark room used a picture on the wall to signify the emotionally draining end of a marriage and a musical partnership everyone though would last forever. The lyrics above also reflected the despair found in traditional blues, Eric Clapton of all musicians, knew how to express that and both albums contain the genius of the respective artists. A relatively small group of musicians recorded the album, naturally the tracks were mostly blues oriented, out the ten tracks, Eric was in tremedous songwriting form, contributing six of them himself. The key track was that composition referring to his alcohol problems, "Ain't Going Down," which I'm sure inspired the album's title and the strange symbolic artwork on the album cover, the emphatic chorus refused to hit rock bottom ever again, something he has indeed steered clear of to this very day. On the bass he had the great Stax Records' Donald 'Duck' Dunn of Booker T fame, along with Steve Cropper on lead guitar, Dunn played live and in the studio with Otis Redding...enough said! The other main part of the rhythm section was Roger Hawkins, the drummer from the legendary Muscle Shoal, add in the guitar of Ry Cooder and the guitar,keyboards and backing vocals of Albert Lee and you had a formidable band. With Eric re-asserting himself, no wonder "Money & Cigarettes" was such a remarkable album. There was room for a beautiful acoustic track, Eric was always capable of writing something as exquisite as "Pretty Girl," but as a statement of intent, the purest biting blues of Sleepy John Estes' "Everybody Oughta Make a Change", was placed as the album;s opening track, the band really did perform that! I always get concerned about acting as a 'salesman' when discussing tracks I cannot play and describe, I would like to think an album as inspired as "Money & Cigarettes" is above and beyond needing my input. I am delighted to offer this superb cover, an unused & unsplit soft paper lyric inner sleeve and a unplayed Mint first pressing. {Roy} R & M RECORDS. My lifetime's love of music and records began at a very young age, the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960's decade in general had a very profound effect. It was only natural to bring all my first hand experience of collecting vinyl into becoming a professional record seller. Nearly thirty years ago we entered into the wonderful atmosphere of record fairs with the highest possible standards set. When the Internet became the world's new market place for vinyl, in 2001 it was time to join ebay. Those standards were rigidly adhered to as they will always continue to be, the basics of honesty and integrity were very much part of the era the music I love originated in, so here is our friendly and very efficient service we are proud to provide; EVERY RECORD IS FULLY PLAYED AND COMES WITH A 'NO ARGUMENT' MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. I USE GOOD OLD COMMON SENSE AS WELL AS A GLOBALLY ACCEPTED GRADING TERMINOLOGY FROM THE U.K. "RECORD COLLECTOR PRICE GUIDE" BOOK. THERE IT CLEARLY STATES "Sound Quality" AFFECTS EVERY GRADING LEVEL AND THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO ACCURATELY GRADE RECORDS. i.e. COMBINING A STRICT VISUAL INSPECTION WITH VERY CLOSELY LISTENING TO EVERY SECOND, UNLESS PERHAPS IN THE CASE OF GENUINELY UNPLAYED VINYL. EVEN THEN WE STILL TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR A RECORD WHEN A CUSTOMER RECEIVES EITHER A SEALED OR AN UNPLAYED RECORD. We take 100% responsibility after an item has been posted and offer our fullest support in the event of any problems. "There Are No Problems, Only Solutions" (John Lennon) MY DESCRIPTIONS WILL ALWAYS BE 100% HONEST AND TOTALLY ACCURATE ON ALL GRADINGS FROM 'V.G.' ( VERY GOOD), TO THE ULTIMATE 'MINT' CONDITION. ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ITEMS ARE WELCOMED AND WILL BE PROMPTLY REPLIED TO. WE ARE FULLY EXPERIENCED AT SHIPPING WORLDWIDE AND NO EFFORT IS SPARED TO PROTECT RECORDS AND COVERS ETC. WE WELCOME BIDDERS FROM ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. ALL RECORDS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR SLEEVES AND PLACED INTO NEW PROTECTIVE CARD SLEEVES AND THEN PLACED INTO NEW, HEAVYWEIGHT PLASTIC OUTER SLEEVES. THE GREATEST ATTENTION IS PAID TO MAKING THE PACKAGING EXTREMELY STRONG & SECURE. EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE A SAFE DELIVERY AND WE ONLY USE THE VERY BEST QUALITY PACKAGING MATERIALS, THE COST OF THE ITEM IS IMMATERIAL, EVERY RECORD IS TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME. WE DO NOT TREAT POSTAGE AS A MONEY MAKING PROJECT, POSTAGE IS LESS THAN COST, USING ONLY PROFESSIONALLY PACKED BOXES WITH SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTIVE PACKAGING THAT DOES WEIGH A LITTLE EXTRA. UNDER PAYPAL & EBAY'S GUIDELINES, ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA A FULLY INSURED TRACKABLE SERVICE. For LP's valued above £50, the cost will be £9, we are unhappy about either increase but our high standard of packaging has meant in 16 years of ebay trading, there has not been one record damaged, we are determined to maintain that in the present and future. IN THE UK RECORDS UP TO THE VALUE OF £50 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, OVER £50 WILL BE SENT SPECIAL DELIVERY. FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ALL RECORDS WILL BE SENT VIA 'INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR.' POSTAGE COST FOR LP's UK: UP TO VALUE OF £50, FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY £5.00 UK: OVER VALUE OF £50, FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £9.00 EUROPE: FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £15.00 USA,JAPAN & REST OF THE WORLD FULLY INSURED VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £20.00 POSTAGE COST FOR EP's & 7" SINGLES UK: UP TO THE VALUE OF £50 FIRST CLASS RECORDED DELIVERY £3.00 UK: OVER THE VALUE OF £50 FULLY INSURED SPECIAL DELIVERY £6.00 EUROPE: AIR MAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £10.00 USA, JAPAN ETC. AIRMAIL VIA INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR £12.00 PAYMENT DETAILS. WE WILL SEND ALL WINNING BIDDERS AN INVOICE WITH THE FULL PAYMENT AND POSTAL DETAILS, AS NEAR TO THE AUCTION ENDING AS POSSIBLE. OUR AIM IS TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SMOOTH AND TROUBLE FREE. FOR UK BUYERS; WE ACCEPT: PAYPAL, CHEQUES, POSTAL ORDERS & BANK WIRES. FOR OVERSEAS BUYERS; WE ACCEPT PAYPAL, INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS IN POUNDS STERLING ONLY. OR BANK TO BANK WIRE TRANSFERS. WE WILL NOT MAKE FALSE STATEMENTS ON CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORMS AND WILL ALWAYS CONDUCT ALL OF OUR BUSINESS WITH TOTAL HONESTY. AS MUCH AS WE SYMPATHISE WITH THE WAY SOME COUNTRIES CHARGE SUCH HEAVY IMPORT DUTIES, WE WILL NOT LIE.