To be honest, at first, I wasn’t even aware this was a proper album. When I saw it on a P2P site a couple of weeks ago, I figured it was a leaked soundboard recording from one of the shows I’d previously read about. When it finally downloaded, I found it came with cover art. Huh? Only then, did it occur that this was an official release. How come we hadn’t received an early copy of this one? Annoyingly, the download came at a variable bitrate, which I won’t want to keep but, nevertheless, it would have to suffice as my big introduction. Never mind, this was something I wanted to hear. Eric Clapton was playing at Madison Square Garden with his old comrade, Steve Winwood and reviving songs from their time together in Blind Faith.
The MSG concerts came off the back of Winwood’s appearance at Clapton’s now famous ‘Crossroads Guitar Festival’, in late 2007. Back then, Eric introduced his old bandmate as “..someone I’ve been dying to play with for last 25 years..”, before dipping into the less than extensive Blind Faith catalogue for, “Presence Of The Lord”. Winwood’s subsequent performance of the Traffic staple, “Dear Mr. Fantasy” at that festival was also amazing, a timely reminder that Dave Mason had not been the only guitar player in that band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYC61HzmtM
The shows at Madison Square Garden, just three months later, were an opportunity for the pair to flex a little more, on songs from their respective careers, along with a few thoughtfully chosen covers, including a dusting-off of the Buddy Miles song, “Them Changes”, most famously played by the Jimi Hendrix led, Band Of Gypsys, and a searing take on the Otis Rush song, “Double Trouble”. After hearing the album, I now can’t wait to see the performance on DVD.
As a teenager, I was a huge fan of Clapton’s guitar playing, but after that corporate period in the 80s when he was obliged to churn out product more acceptable to his record label than his fans, I wondered if I’d ever again hear him tearing it up onstage like he used to. Thankfully, the wheel has turned and Clapton seems to have regained his position as someone who can, once again, direct his own artistic path.
The Madison Square Garden album kicks off, almost predictably, with “Had To Cry Today”, the opening song from the Blind Faith disc, but the setlist soon enough, takes a sharp left, when a chugging, horn-driven version of “Them Changes” kicks in. Wow! I hadn’t heard that song in ages and, immediately thought of calling up the original Band Of Gypsys version for a comparison, but that would have to wait. This newer version, with Winwood handling the vocal, was suddenly demanding all my attention.
Indeed, Steve Winwood’s contributions do much to help these performances transcend the expectations of a normal Clapton concert, with Traffic songs like “Pearly Queen”, “Glad” and “No Face, No Name, No Number” all proving to be highlights.
Later in proceedings, the spirit of Hendrix again comes to the fore with the, by now, almost mandatory inclusion of “Little Wing”. Less predictable though, was it’s segue into the extended jam version of “Voodoo Chile” from Jimi’s ‘Electric Ladyland’ album, on which, of course, Winwood had also famously featured. The soloing here is refreshingly fierce but sounds more like classic Eric than Jimi.
Obviously, a show like this needs a big, lusty finish and, for me, “Voodoo Chile” could well have been just that, but there were still a few encore songs to get to, and the versions of Blind Faith’s, “Can’t Find My Way Home”, and the obligatory Winwood showcase of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” are perfect for this. Only the closing song (in spite of some avid audience vocal support) is surplus to requirement. Admit it, live or otherwise, do you really need another version of “Cocaine” on your hard drive?
Come to think of it, anyone under the age of forty-something won’t even need this album in their collection. For mine though, these performances leave the Cream reunion shows of 2005 in the shade, and in this current era of backing tapes, lip-synching and auto-tuned voices, it’s still nice to recall when songs were king, and people actually gave a shit about playing their instruments, with this much passion.
Clapton and Winwood are currently at it again, with further performances through the remainder of this month at various venues in the U.S.
