This live cd is has somewhat of a backstory to it. When Derek and the Dominos split in 1971, Clapton went into retreat for 2 years, and was highly addicted to heroin. He rarely left his house, and never performed live. He emerged once to take place in George Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh", but collapsed onstage after taking a huge dose of heroin before his set. He was revived, fortunatly, and the show continued. Clapton spent his days at his home, making tapes and wondering what he was going to do in the future.
In 1972, Pete Townshend, like a true friend, went to Clapton's house and arranged a concert for him to help him get off the dangerous substance. Clapton agreed to play, and they began rehearsals. Rehersals lasted for 10 days at Ronnie Wood's house. On the night of January 13th, 1973, history was made...
The Band
Eric Clapton - Lead Guitar and Vocals
Pete Townshend (The Who) - Guitar and Vocals
Ron Wood (The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, future guitarist of the Rolling Stones - Guitar and Vocals
Steve Winwood (Blind Faith, Traffic) - Keyboards and Vocals
Rick Grech (Blind Faith, Traffic - Bass
Jim Capaldi (Blind Faith, Traffic - Drums
Jimmy Karstein (?) - Drums
Rebop (Traffic) - Percussion
Note: This CD is not the original record released in 1973. The original record's tracklist is much shorter. Stars by the names of the tracks indicate that they were not in the original tracklist of the 1973 album.
(Fun fact: This is the concert where Eric Clapton's famous "Blackie" made it's first appearance)
"Ladies and gentlemen, I've been asked especially to announce - Eric Clapton and the Palpitations!"
Layla* - After the brief announcement above, the band kicks right into Eric Clapton's classic Layla. Clapton takes lead vocals and guitar here and his guitar rings out like a bell in the church courtyard (corny comparision, but it's true.) His voice sounds a little strained and rusty (but give the guy a break, he probably hasn't performed the song in 2 years aside from rehearsals) but it's an overall excellent version and has a place in my heart because of Clapton, Townshend and Wood all on a track.
4.5/5
Badge - I'm not quite sure, but I think Steve Winwood sings this one. Overall, this is another great song performed live and made better because of the quality of the musicians who played. This is also the intro track to the 1973 version of this album, because Layla was left out (for some reason) but is an overall great track with a wonderful solo from Clapton.
4/5
Blues Power* - "Betcha didn't I knew how to rock 'n' roll..." The first 30 seconds of this track is Clapton soloing and it's great. Then the intro line kicks in and the band goes in full gear. I was never a huge fan of this song, but there is a lot of emotion, especially the chorus line of "'Cause now I'm living on blues power!
3/5
Roll It Over - A basic blues song. I'm not too fond of it, but it's catchy. It's got a great solo in the middle of the song too, and I think that's what really saves the song.
3/5
Little Wing - Oh, baby. This song is PURE emotion. Clapton basically worshipped the ground Hendrix walked on and his cover really shows it. The cruchy guitars and the raw vocals of this beautiful ballad really make it a treat to the ears, and makes it one of my personal favorites on this disc.
5/5
Bottle of Red Wine* - This song is EXTREMELY catchy. I am not lying to you. This song can make you dance sing and is just a great song overall. I think Clapton sings on this, but I'm not quite sure. Some of the solo licks thrown around here and there are really great, too.
4/5
After Midnight - The cover of J.J Cales classic. This song is slower than the Clapton's album version, but it's alright. It still sounds great and, do I even have to say it, has an excellent solo.
4/5
Bell Bottom Blues* - "Bell Bottom Blues, you make me cry..." Derek and the Dominos' classic blues song. The emotion is piled up on this song with the backup vocals on the chorus, with I believe all 4 vocalists contributing. GS. I'm gettting tired of typing out how good the solo is so, GS will do. An overall beautiful track, near perfect.
4.5/5
Presence of the Lord - This is a Blind Faith song and Clapton takes vocals on this one. (Fun fact: If Ginger Baker decided to perform instead of Jim Capaldi, it would have been a Blind Faith reunion). This song is played up to the standards of every Blind Faith fan, IMO. The wah-ridden solo is back, and Eric plays it possibly better than the studio version.
4.5/5
Tell the Truth* - Clapton keeps on rolling out the hits in this last section of the concert, and Tell the Truth is no exception. A great bluesy solo from Clapton, great vocals, and bam! Another great live song.
4/5
Pearly Queen - Ah, a Traffic song. Turns into a bluesy jam in the middle of the song, and the jam and the song is excellent. There's some realy great drum work in the jam section of this track, too.
4/5
Key to the Highway* - This track has a great solo. That's about it. I'm not too keen on this track, it's not one of my personal favorites, but hey, different strokes for different folks.
3/5
Let It Rain* - One of my personal favorite tracks on this album. Let It Rain is a great song, and is made better. (Fun fact: In the middle of this song, one of Clapton's strings breaks, but he keeps on trudging on through the whole song) Excellent solo, excellent vocals, excellent musicianship, hell excellent everything!
5/5
Crossroads* - I bet you just wet your pants reading that. Cream's live version of Crossroads is considered a classic, and this one keeps that same reputation. Slowed down from the Cream version, but still kicks overall "ace". (Too lazy to get past the swear filter right now.) Clapton delivers and excellent solo and an excellent closing track to an excellent album. (I should cut down on the excellents. Yeah.)
This concert was a life changing experience for Clapton and he couldn't thank Townshend enough for organizing it. "He really took a lot of time to help me out.. beause he thought I was worth it... and I didn't think I was at the time. He gave me faith in myself"
With his renewed faith, Clapton broke his addiction to heroin and went into the studio to record his comeback album... (461 Ocean Blvd. just in case you didn't know.)
...Phew, that's a lot of writing. This is my first review on Sputnik, so I hope I did good. Comments, concerns, a good pat on the back... all is appreciated. :)
