Genre Rock Writer(s) Bob Dylan | Length 3:39 | |
"Born in Time" is a rock song written by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who released the track on September 10, 1990 on his twenty-seventh studio album Under the Red Sky. It is a reworking of the original material recorded at the previous year's Oh Mercy sessions. The British recording artist Eric Clapton covered the song for his 1998 studio effort Pilgrim and released his take on the tune as a single.
Contents
Eric Clapton's version
The British rock musician Eric Clapton covered Dylan's original release, adding his Pilgrim-style arrangements to the track. Clapton plays the song in the key of E major. The British recording artists adds a Distortion effect while playing the rhythm guitar pattern with his signature Fender Stratocaster. In between some lyrical lines and for his guitar solo, Clapton uses a Dobro, playing with the slide guitar technique. The background vocals and synthesizers on the recording create a string orchestra sound and feel. The recording was produced by Clapton himself along with his long-time collaborator record producer Simon Climie.
Reception
Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne notes pop record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds humming the backing vocals to the tune on the Pilgrim studio album, giving it a R&B feel. Journalist David Wild from Rolling Stone likes Clapton's interpretation of this "overlooked Dylan tune". The compact disc single was not that successful in the charts, reaching only number 88 in Germany, where the single release stayed for eight weeks on the official German single charts. In Poland, the song peaked at position 12, staying also on the single charts for eight weeks. In the Czech Republic, the CD single was purchased more than one thousand times in the first week, making it Clapton's only single in the Republic, gaining a silver disc for outstanding sales figures.