Rating: 4/5
Review:
Mixed but well worthwhile
This 3-CD set is of mixed quality, but well worth having for Clapton
fans (like me). It’s worth saying at the start that the sound
quality is pretty good, which isn’t the case with some releases of
“lost” live recordings.
Disc 1 is Cream
recorded live in October 1968. It’s good; the band is on fine form
and the material is what you’d expect from this time. To be
honest, I don’t think it adds much to what we’ve had for decades
on Wheels Of Fire and Goodbye Cream, but it’s always good to hear
them playing and it ends with a fine, epic, 17-minute Spoonful.
(Although as someone who played Sides 1-3 of Wheels Of Fire a lot and
Side 4 almost never, I’m unlikely to listen to another version of
Toad more than once.)
Disc 2 is, frankly,
weak. It’s from late 1978, a time when Eric wasn’t in good
shape, and it shows. Some of the material isn’t his best and he
just seems to be going through the motions. For example, the live
version of Can’t Find My Way Home on E.C Was Here is among my
favourite Clapton tracks; here it’s a tedious dirge which should
have been put out of its misery long before the final chord. It’s
a sad reminder of a sad period, really.
Disc 3, from
September 1998 is far better. The material (a lot of it from
Pilgrim) is much stronger and more importantly, the Eric we know and
love is back. He sings like he really means it and his guitar work
has all the old soul and wonderful touch. He’s quite brilliant in
places and on tracks like River Of Tears his guitar is utterly
beautiful.
So...not
consistently great by any means, but a worthwhile addition to the
Clapton discography and worth getting for Disc 3 certainly and
probably Disc 1 as well, so recommended.
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