- Unreleased...: Eric Clapton - Turn Up Down -1980-

Then the drums kicked in. Not his usual laid-back, behind-the-beat shuffle. This was a pummeling, almost punkish slam from a drummer who sounded like he was trying to break through his own kit. The bass followed, not melodic, but a thick, distorted root-note pulse.

The middle eight collapsed into a solo. But this wasn't the fluid, lyrical, "Woman Tone" Clapton. This was fractured, jagged, dissonant. He bent notes until they screamed. He used a fuzz pedal like a weapon, not a tool. For forty-five seconds, he played like he was trying to claw the frets off the neck. It was the most honest thing he ever recorded. Eric Clapton - Turn Up Down -1980- - Unreleased...

“So I’ll turn up down, and turn down up. And drink the silence from a broken cup.” Then the drums kicked in

The archivist sat in the dark of the vault, her heart hammering. She knew why it was unreleased. It wasn't because it was bad. It was because it was true . In 1980, Eric Clapton was trying to be a survivor, a hitmaker, a respectable elder statesman in waiting. This tape was the sound of the man he was trying to kill. The bass followed, not melodic, but a thick,

She rewound the tape, popped it out of the player, and placed it back in its box. She marked the folder: Do Not Digitize. Archival Only.