I have yet to write any reviews for Amazon although I am an avid shopper here. However, after seeing the earlier two reviews, I felt compelled to part with precedent. Although this album is not bad, it CERTAINLY is not "Clapton's best live album." I am a HUGE Clapton fan, and I own every recording he has ever released with every band he has been with, live and otherwise. Clapton's orginal songs sound weak here, with often weak vocals and shaky improvisation on the guitar. The blues covers he plays sound manufactured and "pop," a clear indication of the unfortunate turn his music would take througout the eighties. However, this album is not without its high points, those mostly being the Disc 1 closer "After Midnight," which is an interesting blend of Clapton's infamous cover of the song, with his energetic vocals, and JJ Cale's original with the soft beat and gentle guitar. The other high point of the album is the unique and novel medley of Ramblin' on My Mind and Have You Every Loved a Woman. Taken on their own, neither of these songs are outstanding, with Clapton's (at times) annoying eighties pop rhytum section pounding away in the background, but the unique mixture of the songs, from Ramblin' into Have You Ever than back into Ramblin', makes it at least a worthwhile listen. However, if you are looking for a great live Clapton album, I reccomend "Derek and the Dominoes Live at the Fillmore," as that is his best, or "Goodbye Cream" which is also up there, although an earlier recording.
I have yet to write any reviews for Amazon although I am an avid shopper here. However, after seeing the earlier two reviews, I felt compelled to part with precedent. Although this album is not bad, it CERTAINLY is not "Clapton's best live album. " I am a HUGE Clapton fan, and I own every recording he has ever released with every band he has been with, live and otherwise. Clapton's orginal songs sound weak here, with often weak vocals and shaky improvisation on the guitar. The blues covers he plays sound manufactured and "pop," a clear indication of the unfortunate turn his music would take througout the eighties. However, this album is not without its high points, those mostly being the Disc 1 closer "After Midnight," which is an interesting blend of Clapton's infamous cover of the song, with his energetic vocals, and JJ Cale's original with the soft beat and gentle guitar. The other high point of the album is the unique and novel medley of Ramblin' on My Mind and Have You Every Loved a Woman. Taken on their own, neither of these songs are outstanding, with Clapton's (at times) annoying eighties pop rhytum section pounding away in the background, but the unique mixture of the songs, from Ramblin' into Have You Ever than back into Ramblin', makes it at least a worthwhile listen. However, if you are looking for a great live Clapton album, I reccomend "Derek and the Dominoes Live at the Fillmore," as that is his best, or "Goodbye Cream" which is also up there, although an earlier recording.