| August | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Eric Clapton |
| Cover: | Eric_Clapton_August.jpg |
| Released: | 24 November 1986[1] |
| Recorded: | April–May 1986 |
| Length: | 55:53 (CD) 49:31 (vinyl) |
| Label: | Duck / Warner Bros. |
| Producer: | Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Tom Dowd |
| Prev Title: | Edge of Darkness |
| Prev Year: | 1985 |
| Next Title: | The Cream of Eric Clapton |
| Next Year: | 1987 |
August is the tenth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released in 1986 by Duck Records/Warner Bros. Records. Described as a "hard R&B" album, it was primarily produced by Phil Collins, in association with longtime Clapton associate Tom Dowd.
The album opens with the Dowd-Clapton produced "It's in the Way That You Use It", co-written with Robbie Robertson, late of The Band. It featured in the Paul Newman-Tom Cruise film The Color of Money in October 1986, a month before the album's release, subsequently reaching No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for one week. Two tracks, "Run" and "Hung Up On Your Love", were written by veteran Motown composer Lamont Dozier while "Tearing Us Apart" was a duet with Tina Turner and "Bad Influence" was a cover of a number by blues musician Robert Cray. "Holy Mother", co-written with Stephen Bishop, was dedicated to the memory of another member of The Band, Richard Manuel, who had taken his own life earlier that year.
The album's only UK top 20 hit, "Behind the Mask", was recorded at the suggestion of Greg Phillinganes. Legend has it that upon hearing Yellow Magic Orchestra's original track, around 1980–82, producer Quincy Jones fell in love with the track, and he and Michael Jackson recorded their own version with new lyrics by Jackson during his Thriller sessions. The track never made the Thriller album but Phillinganes, at the time keyboard player for Jackson, later released his own version of the song on his 1984 Pulse album, which resembles the Clapton version that became Augusts lead single in the UK. Jackson's version was finally released in 2010 on the posthumous album Michael.
Clapton's studio band for the album included Collins on drums and backing vocals, bassist Nathan East and keyboard player Greg Phillinganes; saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeters Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis, and trombone player Dave Bargeron. Collins, East and Phillinganes would recreate their studio roles for Clapton's acclaimed live appearances over the next two years.
Veering between Collins soul/pop and Clapton blues/rock, August cemented Clapton's comeback.
Some tracks were recorded for the album, but not included:
| Chart (1986–1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[2] | 34 |
| European Albums (IFPI)[3] | 10 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[4] | 15 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[5] | 19 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6] | 28 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "It's in the Way That You Use It" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1986 | "Tearing Us Apart" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5 |
| 1987 | "Miss You" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 |
| 1987 | "Run" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 21 |