Trotting out the same set he was been playing for the past year, last night at Madison Square Garden, in celebration of his 70th birthday, when playing God Clapton still had godlike tendencies, but when going rural on our ass he sure wasn’t
Them Changes – Eric Clapton And Stevie Winwood – Buddy Miles monster riff is given an electric run through by Stevie on keyboards and soul slamming vocal and when there is a whole, Clapton throws in gorgeous blues licks so everything is covered at all time, and the horns handle the riff – A-
So Eric Clapton has been talking about retirement for a year now and these two nights celebrating his 70th birthday sure has the feel of a sirens call. Clapton is one of the blues greats and when I saw him maybe two years ago, he hadn’t lost anything. Indeed, he was better than the well dressed popstar of the 1990s. The only thing stopping me buying one of these shows, Friday and Saturday at MSG, is I am worried the Rangers, who just made it to the second round, are gonna force Eric to move the dates. So I am waiting. If they don’t, I’m there.
this guy has recorded with about everybody in the music business, from The Rolling Stones to the Who, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, The Beatles, the Kinks, the Clash,… basically there is a great chance that the classic song stuck in your head right now, was recorded by Glyn.
Seven days is the sort of figure that sounds like someone is making sure everybody gets one last chance to see him and if he plays at MSG and does, three maybe four nights, you can kinda count him out and more is the pity. What a great guitarist, what an incredible career.
Kisses For Breakfast – Melissa Steel – Already a hit in the UK, this is a huge summersmash in some alternative world, in this world it is a pop reggae move, a sort of warm Caribbean caress of a track that missed its window of opportunity, with dance Hall great Popcaan toasting – A
It is not every day a live performance changes instantaneously from a non believer to a fan, and it is not that I think Hurray For The Riff Raff were actually that great, they weren’t bad but not that great, but the songs revealed their stickiness and suddenly you could hear just how strong the riffs in the riff raff were. Blake Shelton was a blast
This is a real rarity, a better album than a single chart. From Coldplay to Clapton to Petty to,,, Guetta? The album is two years old!!! Still there isn’t one, well maybe “X” but no more than one, bad album in the lot, and Ed is more disappointing than lousy.
This is the price of music overload: I know in theory both Hurray For The Riff Raff and Wreckless Eric are among the best albums of the year, I just can’t find the time to give them the attention they deserve, so they are relegated and filed away.
Shimmy Shimmy Ya – Ol’ Dirty Bastard – this has the addictive kick of the Sugarhill Gang, and which nobody would claim ODB was Wu Tang’s greatest rapper, nobody came close to his mix of aggression and self-deprecation, and let this be exhibit A – Grade: A
Eric Clapton And Friends – The Breeze (An Appreciation Of JJ Cale) After the dire Old Socks, this coulda have been a disaster, but it isn’t, what it does is place Cale out of the “Cocaine” one hit wonder category and into the basic blues canon with some of Clapton’s greatest acoustic warm glow performances since Ocean boulevard rising to the occasion – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A
Sure, you think it is either Petty or Lewis for album of the week but I’ve heard em both and they both are, not terrible, but certainly not great. So I’m gonna put my money on Eric Clapton and his JJ Cale covers album. Is that a mistake? I will have to live with it.
A new Sia is always good news, a new Manic Street Preachers we’ve been waiting for all year, Clapton taking on the late JJ Cale, Tom Petty hopefully in Southern accents style, Van Dyke Parks (not on Spotify no doubt),. The second week in September is killer: Robert Plant, Loudon Wainwright III, Ryan Adams and Karen O.
The surprise release of Beyonce couldn’t have been better timed, new albums have slowed to a crawl and the only knock out punch last week was Claptons ’74 – ’75. The new Beyonce may be as great as 4, certainly it is the best r&b album of the year.
Over the 17 tracks on CD One, it doesn’t deviate, it is a gorgeous, melodic, warm summer evening of an album, too hot to bother fussin’, Clapton lays back and plays the blues . The ten tracks that make up the original album are not better played than the additional 7, but they are better songs.
God Rest You Metal Gentlemen – Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi – Not only is this a timely reminder that, yes, in fact, Dio was in a league all his own, but it is a crackerjack classic brought to a ridiculously mature and powerful testament to Christmas – B+
From Morrissey to Mel theres always a guy willing to croon. But when you add Childish Gambino and A$AP Rocky there could well be a knife fight and my money is on them.
Give Me Strength Sessions ’74-’75 – Eric Clapton – The sessions from one of the great albums of the 1970s, a height of spirituality and passion Clapton has never come close to before and since and anything that adds to the story including a 1974 concert, is more than welcome – A
Where is BB and Robert Cray playing “Sweet Little Sixteen”. Indeed, where is Albert King, Cray and Clapton performing “Everyday I Have The Blues” or Buddy Guy’s showstopping “Don’t Let The Doorknob Hit You… not here that’s for sure.
