In the sprawling, often bootlegged, and fiercely debated catalog of Eric Clapton, few recordings carry the mystique of the sessions from late 1979 and early 1980. Sandwiched between the commercial behemoth of Slowhand (1977) and the polarizing, quasi-disco experimentation of Another Ticket (1981), lies a spectral period of transition. It was a moment when Clapton was shaking off the lingering haze of heroin and alcohol, wrestling with the ghost of Duane Allman, and trying to navigate the icy waters of post-punk and new wave.
: Clapton was forced back into the studio, eventually working with producer Tom Dowd to create the 1981 album Another Ticket . Eric Clapton - Turn Up Down -1980- - Unreleased...
However, some collectors theorize that "Turn Up Down" refers to a specific studio jam—a raw, unpolished take where Clapton and Albert Lee trade licks, experimenting with volume and tone (perhaps the origin of the title, referencing the guitar knobs). The instruction to "turn up" or "turn down" is a common studio phrase, and in his inebriated state, Clapton was known to bark orders that could easily be interpreted as song titles by bootleggers. In the sprawling, often bootlegged, and fiercely debated
In the pantheon of unreleased rock music, we have The Beach Boys' Smile , Prince’s The Black Album , and Bruce Springsteen’s Electric Nebraska . Eric Clapton’s belongs on that shelf. Not because it is a perfect song—it isn't. The lyrics are slightly nonsensical. The production is claustrophobic. The guitar solo is a fragment. : Clapton was forced back into the studio,
"Turn it up / Turn it down / You can spin the whole world round / But you can't find a sound / When the love's underground."
"Turn Up" was the Clapton of the stage, the guitar god, the blues purist who could still summon the fire of John Mayall. "Turn Down" was the recluse in his Surrey mansion, drowning in the silence, wondering if the music had ever meant anything at all.