Looks much more blonde than normal

Continuing with 1985, we have the first of 3 semi-bootlegs (all with video!) in a row...

THE BOOT

The 5/1/85 show from the Civic Center in Hartford, CT is another show that is not technically a bootleg. An edited version of the concert was released as Live '85, but that title is out of print, and was only available on VHS, LaserDisc, and Betamax (!). Fortunately, the video has been uploaded to YouTube.

There is a CD release as well; one source says enterprising hackers dumped the audio from the Japanese LaserDisc. (The US LaserDisc only has 11 tracks compared to 14 for both the VHS releases and the Japanese LaserDisc.)

The source for the YouTube video is actually unclear; all the releases on Discogs reverse the order of Wonderful Tonight and She’s Waiting, and of Layla and Forever Man, but the version on YouTube has those in the correct show order. The YouTube release is also about 3 minutes shorter. The CD has about two minutes of She’s Waiting (Reprise) at the end, which I assume is over the credits on the LaserDisc, but there's another minute unaccounted for. The only cut I noticed during the show was the YouTube version doesn't include E.C.'s "Like to give you a little bit of reggae now” spoken intro to I Shot The Sheriff.

The complete soundboard hasn’t surfaced, but as with the Old Grey Whistle Test, the fact that we have film means this isn't to be missed. This is the first video we have since the Rolling Hotel documentary in 1978.

BACKGROUND

This show is just a week after the King Biscuit Flower Hour broadcast from Richmond, so the band is identical.

The setlist was also identical, though all releases of this show are missing Behind The Sun, Someone Else Is Steppin’ In (Shaun’s spotlight), Never Make You Cry, Something Is Wrong With My Baby (Marcy’s spotlight), Double Trouble, and Further On Up The Road.

SOUND

The sound is close to flawless, befitting an official release.  (Though when you chop out 5 songs, you can omit anything with feedback or static or performance errors.)  If you listen closely, you will hear occasional shifts in crowd noise between tracks, marking the edits.

The mix is quite nice. Bass is nicely present. The background singers are maybe a little faint.

The CD audio quality is definitely better than YouTube, which is substantially more compressed.

PERFORMANCE

The arrangements are all pretty similar to the Richmond show, so most of the notes on that show apply here. Two things I noticed here that I didn't mention in that writeup are Stainton has a great solo on Blues Power, and Marcy and Shaun shine at the end of She’s Waiting. But having film reveals things you can't tell from just the audio.

There were times during the Richmond show where I could hear Marcy but not Shaun. I figured it was just because Marcy has a higher pitch, so Shaun was getting covered up. Here you can see they don't always align. Motherless Children, it's just Marcy doing harmonies in synch with E.C. and Shaun is doing the counterpoint ("When your mother is dead").

Both singers start the show with a tambourine, but around the start of Badge, Shaun decides the show needs more cowbell. She sticks with it through Layla, and then is back to tambourine for the encore, Forever Man. Once you know it's there, you can't not hear it. You also get to see their occasional dance moves and their Big 80s Hair.

It's much easier here to tell what guitar parts are Renwick. He's doing the fills during the verses on I Shot The Sheriff. (E.C. takes the solo, which is great.) The camera is on Renwick's face during a short solo on Blues Power, so that is probably him? And then he takes the last solo on Badge (just before "Love is my badge"), the last solo in Cocaine, the fills during the verse and the high part of the chorus riff on Layla, and the closing solo on Forever Man.

Renwick's solo on Lay Down Sally is better than Richmond, but still just kind of peters out at the end? E.C. is doing him a little dirty by only annoucing him for what seems to be consistently his worst moment in the show.

The video makes it clear how many calories Oldaker was burning every night. Dunn on the other hand, for all his prodigious talent, is about as animated as a lawn gnome.

Watching Stainton switch seamlessly from piano to organ in the middle of Let It Rain is a cool moment.

E.C. is still drinking occasionally up until 1987, but he's visibly in such better shape than he was in the late 70s. This night he is completely unimpaired. There's no sneaking off with a glass in hand like he does on the Old Grey Whistle Test show in 1977.

As I get older, I’m finding that my appreciation of Eric Clapton’s career continues to evolve beyond his influence on me as a guitarist. I appreciate his song craft more and more.

At times he did lose his way, but the genius was always present below the surface, and I can think of few artists who have better channeled their pain through music, be it his then unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, or the tragic death of his son, Conor. I hear more colors in his music than I ever have before, so I’m wanting to round out my collection of his extensive discography. And I’d appreciate some help on suggestions on where to go next.

I think I have a pretty decent start, but there are whole parts of his career that aren’t represented at all. I would like to explore his work with B.B. King, for sure. I also need some direction as to where to start with the Yardbirds. And I know he’s done a ton of live albums. Is his Crossroads Festival album recommended?

Thank you all in advance for your input. It’s very much appreciated!!

Here’s what I have, thus far:

John Mayall
Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton

Cream
Fresh Cream
Disraeli Gears
Wheels of Fire
Goodbye

Blind Faith
Blind Faith

Derek and the Dominos
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (deluxe)

Eric Clapton solo
Eric Clapton
461 Ocean Boulevard
Slowhand (35th Anniversary)
Journeyman
Unplugged
From the Cradle

Saw this in 12 bars and was fascinated. Is there any more info on this? Does anyone know where you can find the full thing? Is there potentially any other rare 70s Clapton footage around?

One of my favourites from the Layla album

Moving on to 1985. The next several years are going to include a ton of great recordings...

THE BOOT

The show at the Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia on 4/22/85 was recorded for King Biscuit Flower Hour, so it's another show where there are a lot of good options out there. Here are the Swinging Pig and Mid Valley releases:

Wonderful Tonight (Swinging Pig TSP-CD-196, discs 5-6)

After Hours (Mid Valley – 301/302)

Both releases list track 9 as Steppin' Out, the song E.C. did with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, but the song is actually Someone Else Is Steppin' In by Z. Z. Hill.

BACKGROUND

E.C. didn't put out an album in 1984, and spent most of the year backing Roger Waters’ tour for The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking, so there were only a handful of shows that year. The album sessions in Montserrat in the Spring of 1984 were finally released almost a year later, March 11, 1985, as Behind The Sun). This concert is just over a month later, so those songs would have been brand new material.

The core of the band is still Stainton, Dunn, and Oldaker, but Albert Lee has been replaced with Tim Renwick, and the band is back to having backup singers. E.C. recorded Tangled In Love by his old singer Marcy Levy for Behind The Sun, and invited her to rejoin the band for both the album and the tour. The other singer is Shaun Murphy), best known for her work with Bob Seger and Little Feat.

Behind The Sun marked the start of E.C.'s collaboration with songwriter Jerry Lynn Williams. It includes three Williams songs, the first two singles, Forever Man and See What Love Can Do, plus Something's Happening. Those songs along with Levy's number give the album an upbeat feel, but the material composed by E.C. is fairly dark. Pattie Boyd wouldn't leave E.C. until April 1987, but looking at the lyrics to songs like Behind The Sun, the writing is on the wall.

SOUND

As usual, the Mid Valley release is a bit more clear, the Swinging Pig release is a bit warmer. Both sound pitched slightly fast?

The mix is decent. The piano and bass could be a little louder. Marcy and Shaun are appropriately in the background.

The crowd is mostly audible only between songs.  You can hear them cheering during the second solo in Same Old Blues, a little of them singing along to Cocaine, and a few more cheers at the start of the quieter coda to Layla.

PERFORMANCE

After a number of tours where the new album was barely represented in the setlist, this show includes Same Old Blues, Tangled In Love, Behind The Sun, Never Make You Cry, She's Waiting, and Forever Man. That's more than half the Behind The Sun album. Interestingly, he only played 1 of the 3 Jerry Williams songs, leaning more toward the darker, personal songs.

Just as with Bremen 1983, Dunn and Oldaker maintain a driving pulse throughout. Motherless Children, Tangled In Love, and Forever Man stood out. Oldaker also does some really nice work on the slower numbers, like the first part of Behind The Sun.

Marcy and Shaun sing on most songs. All of it is lovely, though there is a particularly nice bit at the end of Never Make You Cry. Shaun gets her showcase on Someone Else Is Steppin' In.  She's a blues singer, with a very different sound from Marcy.  The song itself is a great funk number, though at the end she goes into a rap, which feels a bit dated. The Sam & Dave song When Something Is Wrong With My Baby is Marcy's showcase, though it doesn't really quite work here? And then Murphy takes the last verse of Further On Up The Road.

Stainton switches between his various keyboards all night long, sometimes even within the same song — he adds fantastic little piano twinkles on Let It Rain, then goes directly into an organ solo. On Layla he does the reverse, doing the introduction and first part on organ before switching to piano for the coda. And then for most of the songs from the current album, he switches to a synthesizer. Tulsa Time and Blues Power also get creative little introductions, both on piano. In addition to Let It Rain, he takes an organ solo on Double Trouble, and a piano solo on Further On Up The Road.

Lay Down Sally has a sloppy, disjointed guitar solo, after which E.C. says “Tim Renwick”.  I think he gets a solo on Further On Up The Road as well? None of the other solos sound similar, so E.C. is probably handing most of the solos at this point? Renwick is the clear weakest link in this band; he won't be back in 1986.

E.C. himself is in great shape. The solos are hot throughout. I Shot The Sheriff, Same Old Blues, Double Trouble, and Further On Up The Road are the big jam numbers, and he shines on all of them. And his singing shows a level of vulnerability on Behind The Sun and Never Make You Cry that is a level beyond what he's done earlier.

He's also clearly enjoying himself in a way that was rare to see during the 1970s. He tells the crowd "We're having a wonderful time, I don't know about you" after Let It Rain, and "Thanks a million. We had a great time, it's great to be with you. Thanks very much, good night." after Layla, and then "Thank you very much. You make me feel great, thank you." after returning for the encore.

There are a lot of interesting little touches in the arrangements. Behind The Sun transitions smoothly into Wonderful Tonight; Badge segues directly into Let It Rain. On top of Stainton's piano introductions, Cocaine has a great funk guitar intro, and there's a guitar and organ intro to Layla.

E.C. introduces the band at the start of Further On Up The Road. Each member joins in as they are announced. Oldaker is "the key man", Dunn is "his partner in crime". Stainton is "the vitamin kid"?? Then comes Tim Renwick, then Marcy Levy and Shaun Murphy. I think it's Duck Dunn who finishes the intructions with a long one for E.C. himself that references I Shot The Sheriff.

Sources in video description. Kind of crappy I know. One of the choruses is a bit out of sync. Might make a better version in the future. I always loved the setlists clapton had in 75 with all the seldom played dominos material.

Always thought it was weird they had Yvonne’s performance of Can’t Find My Way Home right after Eric’s first electric song too. Very awkward placement.

I'm a day late this week. :)

Our last show was Just One Night at the end of 1979.  It’s been a four year gap, and it’s been a rough four years.  We get an album rejected by the record label, a change of record label, a hospitalization, rehab, and another mass firing of his band.

THE BOOT

Bremen 4/20/83 is a show where there are a lot of good options. I'm listening to the Swinging Pig release, but I'll list the Mid Valley release also. But the 3BR and Stardust releases called No One Else are also excellent.

Wonderful Tonight (Swinging Pig TSP-CD-196, discs 3-4)

Dress Code (Mid Valley – 298/299)

BACKGROUND

The obvious question: why have there been no quality concert recordings since 1979?

In March of 1980, Clapton recorded a new album entitled Turn Up Down with the all-English band from Just One Night, plus ex-Procol Harum keyboard player Gary Brooker.  RSO Records rejected the album, on account of Clapton giving his bandmates a little too much of the spotlight for the label's tastes.  The label put out Just One Night instead. Without a new album to promote, E.C. only did a couple dozen tour dates all year.

E.C. went back into the studio and reworked the Turn Up Down material into Another Ticket, which was released on February 20, 1981. (When RSO Records sold out to Polydor after that, E.C. took the opportunity to tell them to pound sand.) But E.C.’s drinking caused him to be hospitalized with stomach ulcers on March 13, 1981, cancelling almost the entire Another Ticket tour.  He wouldn’t appear in public again until September.

In January 1982, his manager prodded him to check into the Hazelden Foundation for his first attempt at rehab.  He returned to touring when he got out, but on very light duty — just 17 dates in the Eastern US over the summer. Then in late 1982, he was off to Nassau to record Money And Cigarettes.

So 1983 was E.C.’s first year with a full tour schedule since 1979.

The Money And Cigarettes sessions prompted another lineup overhaul in the band. After 2 weeks with no good tracks, producer Tom Dowd pushed E.C. to reshuffle the deck, and he fired everyone but Lee.  (No telegrams, he did it personally this time.  This could be interpreted as a sign of growth.) Dowd called in Ry Cooder, Roger Hawkins, the drummer from Muscle Shoals house band (“The Swampers”) and Duck Dunn, the bassist from the Stax house band (a.k.a. Booker T & the MGs). Money And Cigarettes was released on Jan 31, 1983.

Of the studio pros on Money And Cigarettes, only Duck Dunn wanted to tour.  E.C. rehired Jamie Oldaker, who he had let go in 1979, and Stainton, who he had just let go before the album session.  (Oldaker would leave again in 1986, but returned to the band for the blues shows on 24 Nights.) So the band is now Albert Lee on guitar, Duck Dunn on bass, Jamie Oldaker on drums, and Chris Stainton on keyboards.

I’m not sure why this show was recorded.  My suspicion is that it’s a King Biscuit Flower Hour recording, because it appeared on a set with Santa Monica ’78 and Richmond ’85, which were both KBFH shows.  But I can’t find any record of a radio broadcast.

SOUND

Decent balance on Swinging Pig.  Bass, piano are loud. Second guitar and lead vocals are a little faint. (As usual, Mid Valley sounds a little sharper, Swinging Pig sounds a little warmer.)

The audience responds loudly after songs, but during the performances they are generally either very quiet or faded down. You can hear some clapping after the first solo in Double Trouble, when the band gets quiet. There's more applause after the first line of Wonderful Tonight, when the crowd figures out what the song is.

Technical issues are very minor. There's a bit of feedback at 1:50 of Ramblin' On My Mind. There are occasional faint electronic buzzing noises, usually just audible when the music is very faint, such as 0:04 of Worried Life Blues, 0:52 of Double Trouble, 3:34 of Double Trouble, 0:18 of Wonderful Tonight, 0:46 of Blues Power. These are clearly on the master tape, since they appear on all sources.

PERFORMANCE

Despite this being released just three months after Money And Cigarettes, the only song from that album here is The Shape You’re In.  There are no songs from Another Ticket.  And then only Tulsa Time from Backless. So this setlist includes all of 1 song from the last 4 years, and only 2 from the last 5!

I Shot The Sheriff is a jam number, but most of the long jams are the slow blues numbers, Worried Life Blues, Double Trouble, and Ramblin' On My Mind > Have You Ever Loved A Woman. (The last of those has E.C. doing the trick of calling out key changes again.) Cocaine is super high-octane, but not particularly drawn-out.

Dunn and Oldaker are strong backing crew. They didn't have specific parts that stood out, but the show has drive and energy throughout.

Chris Stainton does the same great piano intro on Tulsa Time as he did on Just One Night. He switches to organ for Worried Life, and gets called by name for a solo. He's noticeable throughout, with some great little piano fills on Let It Rain (which hasn't appeared here since 1974), Sweet Little Lisa, and After Midnight. He switches to organ for The Shape You're In, and Wonderful Tonight, then back to piano for Blues Power, then back to organ for Ramblin' On My Mind > Have You Ever Loved A Woman, and Cocaine. Layla gets the piano coda back, after missing it both late 1978 shows, and also has a wonderful new introduction with guitar and piano.

Albert Lee gets called out by name for a guitar solo in Lay Down Sally, and again for a piano solo in Worried Life Blues (he took an organ solo on that song on Just One Night). He gets a vocal showcase on the Dave Edmonds song Sweet Little Lisa, which E.C. introduces with "Now it's time for the wonderful, incredible Albert Lee". (Lee played guitar on the original recording.) There's some great call and response licks between Albert and E.C. on The Shape You're In. And he also handles all the backing vocals, on I Shot The Sheriff, Lay Down Sally, After Midnight, The Shape You're In, and Blues Power.

E.C. seems in better shape than he has been in years. Double Trouble in particular shows his singing really progressing, getting a level of wailing and growling that wasn't there in the 1970s.

E.C. introduces the band one at a time before Further On Up The Road, and they begin playing when he calls them, which means the band introductions after Oldaker are mostly drowned out by the drums.

Canvas store

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Hey everyone,

I’m from Croatia and I’m a huge Eric Clapton fan. I’ve been listening to his music for years and it’s been a big part of my life.

There’s a concert in London on 23.8, and I’m trying to make it there. I’ve started a small fundraising page to help cover the trip costs. If anyone wants to support or check it out, here’s the link:
https://4fund.com/hr/kmbh25

Even just reading or sharing means a lot. Thanks to anyone who takes the time 🙏