Customer Reviews

Blues

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was really excited when I heard this was being released. However I was somewhat disappointed. It is a 2cd anthology of Clapton's Polydor material from 1970-80. The first disk is a studio disk while the second disk is a live disk. The set contains 5 unissued recordings. This compilation contains some fine blues playing by Clapton. Some of the highlights include Little Walter's "Mean Old World" with Duane Allman from the Layla sessions, Muddy Water's "Blow Wind Blow", and live versions of "Drifting Blues", "Further On Up The Road" (unreleased w/Freddie King), and "Crossroads". My quibble with the set is the track selections. I can understand having two versions of "Before You Accuse Me" because both takes are unreleased and quite different. However, did we really need takes of "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" and "Early In The Morning" on both disks? I also would have omitted "Wonderful Tonight" (not really blues but included to sell the set to casual fans), "Cryin'" and "To Make Somebody Happy". Better selections would have been a versions (perhaps live unissued) of "Key To The Highway", "Mean Old Frisco", and an unissued live version of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" from the Rainbow concert not issued on the remaster of this concert. Other possible inclusions are studio or live versions of "Steady Rollin' Man", "Last Night" the cd only studio bonus track from the "No Reason to Cry" cd, an unissed studio take of Albert King's "Drowning On Dry Land", or a live version of "Rambling On My Mind". Clapton also has performed such tunes as "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Milk Cow Blues" during the seventies. I do not know if usable versions of these songs exist in the vaults. Although this 2 cd set is good, a missed opportunity prevents it from being essential!

Blues consists of recordings made between 1970 and1980, when Clapton's contract with Polydor ranout. It is a fairly shameless reissue ofpreviously issued material, therefore cheap tomake and pure profit for the record company. Thereis a detailed but nothing-new booklet accompanyingthe CDs. The first disc consists of studiorecordings, with four unreleased cuts. Two addnothing to the Clapton legacy; two have someappeal. The selection of the previously-issuedrecordings is hit-or-miss; the progression of cutsis not very well thought out. The second disc is areally decent anthology of live recordings, mostlyfrom the outstanding Crossroads 2 four-disc liveslow-blues concerts. Two cuts are from Just OneNight, and the final cut was originally releasedon an obscure Freddie King tribute album issued inthe Seventies. All of disc two is smokin', powerful, improvisational electric blues thatClapton does so well. It's well worth having justfor the second disc, especially if you don't already have Crossroads 2.

I've had this CD for five years now, but it wasn't until I put on during a recent road trip that I really appreciated the cohesion between each song. I own Crossroads II, I own almost all of the '70s albums, but "Blues" was still a breath of fresh air. In this album, Clapton's "honest-to-goodness" singing is far more suitable to the blues than his growling on "From The Cradle," which gives you the sense that Eric is relying on volume to mask his passion. Not so here- Eric's lazier (but more intense) singing is perfect...perhaps because he's drunk out of his mind?
Better than the "holy" "From The Cradle?" Oh yeah, no doubt. PS- What an amazing backup band Eric had in his '74-'78 band. The next group of people who played with him couldn't TOUCH Terry/Elliman/Radle/Sims/Levy/Oldaker...I don't think any band he's had since could capture the true grit of those guys.

...but nothing burns me more than when a record company promotes a "new release" by an artist that has 2 new songs and 25 songs that have been previously released. This is very unfair to the fan. I have to spend $30.00 to get a few "previously unreleased performances". It's just picking the fan's pocket.

At any rate, disc 1 is a compilation of blues from Clapton's studio albums with Polydor, and disc 2 is live stuff from the same period (74-82). Most of the live stuff has already been released on Crossroads 2 (which itself was a poorly named and poorly compiled box set). You know there is a ample live stuff in the vault that hasn't yet been released. They could at least throw in some live stuff we don't already have.

I don't understand who this release is aimed at. The casual fan? Doubt if they'll bite on this. The more recent, younger Clapton fan? Will they be interested in recycled stuff from the '70s? Doubt it. Well, that leaves us - the long-time Clapton fans - to buy it because we have to have the few previously unreleased performances.

Well, I've done my duty, but I don't like it.

Don't buy it if your not a huge EC fan and you already have 'Crossroads 2', 'Another Ticket', other and assorted studio. Most of these are already on his other efforts. HOWEVER, for big EC fans there is four new previously unreleased studio songs: 1) A great chompin' version of 'Before You Accuse Me' 2) 'Alberta' by Leadbelly (his knickname given to him in prison because he was a such a tough man), which is an acousic 12 string black folk song about a cheating woman recorded after he was out of the Louisianna State Penitentiary. 3) Willie Dixon (He is the blues, and that's a fact) song Meet Me, done instrumentally where your in that Clapton grove 4)Another version of Before You Cuse Me, kind of like the Revolution Number 9 version (I thing that's the slower version)of this song. But overall, it's a good selection to just sit back and listen to so it's a good Clapton CD for someone who has no Clapton but wants a variety of studio and live stuff.

There are, are undoubtedly, some great tracks on these discs that are truly indicative of Clapton's mastery of the blues. On the studio disc, however, there are some tracks that seem somewhat old and tired; like the acoustic 'Alberta', 'County Jail Blues' and 'To Make Somebody Happy'. It's nothing personal, I just found them to be a bit boring. Having said that, the songs I do like far outnumber the songs I don't so it still makes this CD listenable.

I much prefer the live segment of this package, it's jammed with so many great tracks that it would be worth my four-star-rating on its own. My favourite moment is undoubtedly 'Double Trouble'. It would be difficult to find a more delicate and beautifully crafted piece of blues out there. There hasn't been a song in a long time that has come so close to bringing a tear to my eye.

Even though this package has its weak moments, I would recommend picking it up anyway. Any excuse to hear Mr Clapton play the blues.

Wow- what a cool 2 cd set this is. I became a Clapton fan because of his Unplugged- after which i bought the albums he released later on. The cd "From the Cradel" I really didn't like that much- since it was in my opinion too harsh. So I thought Clapton's blues are not for me. But after hearing this 2 cd set, I can tell I was wrong.

This set is really excellent. At first i liked the studio version of "To make somebody happy", and didn't make much of the live cd. Later on i got hooked on "Give me strength", which is just awesome. After that I got hooked on "County Jail Blues", "Floating Bridge", "The sky is crying" and the rest of the cd. I didn't like that much "Early in the Morning", but then i heard the live version of the song on the second cd, and it rocks!

From that on I got hooked on the live cd- with songs like "Double Trouble" (because of this version i bought the live 2 cd set from which it was taken for this set-"Just one night"), "Stormy Monday" (12:50 great minutes of a cool song!), "Worried Blues", "Have you ever loved a woman" and of course "Early in the Morning".

This set has been in my cd player the last 2 months, which can only mean one thing- I like it- I really like it!

If you're an EC fan you'll definitely dig it. The playing is always first rate with Clapton, and to these ears EC's voice has always been great; this set does show what Clapton's greatest weakness was in the 70's: it's all fairly directionless and vague. Clapton himself once confirmed it in an interview, saying that through the 70's it was like he was on a holiday and being a musician was his way of making the money to be on holiday. In any case, the live CD is the keeper here, the live settings allowing EC the chance to really strech out instrumentally and vocally. That being said, I'm still waiting for Clapton to stop being "afraid" of his instrument, to play with some real fire in his belly, not just his head, as he's been doing of late. We need an EC that rocks out, that shows us that the "Clapton is God" phenomenon from the psychedelic 60's is just as valid in the sober 90's, and that his blues comes not from a childhood devotion or an urge to avoid the risk that stretching out implies for a guitarrist, but from the wellspring that originally supercharged the hotrod that the delta built!

For the newly-minted Eric Clapton fan who wants to hear him play the blues, I would reccommend "From the Cradle" first because it's well-recorded, crisp, sober and 100% authentic. If you want "live in concert" blues, I would pick up the "Just One Night" cd which has a 1/2 dozen live blues classics including "Ramblin' On My Mind", "Further On Up the Road", "Early In the Morning", "Double Trouble" and "Worried Life Blues" along with a few hits from the period.

If you're still hungry for more at this point, try out "Me and Mr. Johnson" for a nice introduction to the work of blues partiarch Robert Johnson (one of Eric's main musical influences). But be advised that Eric's playing is somewhat buried in the mix with no extended riffing (it seems that he wants to draw attention to the strength of the songs rather than himself).

If you want to hear a more blues-rock oriented sound with some really great singing (as opposed to pretty good or competent singing) check out Eric's duet with B.B. King "Riding With the King".

For some truly incendiary electric blues playing (with some 60's psychedelia sprinkled in) try to find a Cream compilation that includes "Lawdy Mama", "Crossroads (Live)", "Spoonful", "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Strange Brew".

There were a few Clapton solo albums from the mid-to-late seventies that were truly uninspired. However, I often considered buying them just to get the few blues tracks that were available. Why?? Because the only time he seemed somewhat centered as an artist, and truly in his element, was when he was riffing on some old blues tunes...When he's playing the blues, especially live, he seems to have his own voice. He's also adept at playing contemporary pop songs written by other artists (Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, J.J. Cale, Babyface, etc.), but if you want HIS voice as an artist, live blues is where you'll most likely hear it.

I think Eric was going through a prolonged personal crisis in the 70's because he went from being an international superstar on the cutting edge of a blues revival to being a somewhat meandering retro act(occasionally descending into self-parody as Elvis did in Las Vegas). He had brief flashes of brilliance (not to mention mainstream success) with his interpretations of "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Cocaine", but he also had long stretches of mediocrity and seemed plagued with self-doubt. His well-documented alcohol problems and difficulty in finding his identity as a person were reflected in his work. The original title of "There's One In Every Crowd" was something like "Guitar Hero-There's One In Every Crowd". Obviously, Polydor was anxious to cash in on Eric's past accomplishments and insisted that he change the original title to something less deflating.

Essentially, you can get all of Eric's 70's hits on the "Time Pieces" cd, and then use the "Eric Clapton-Blues" cd as a supplement because it will give you some deep, blues-oriented album cuts from the same time period. To that end it's a much better compilation than "Time Pieces Volume 2". If you put it all together you have a pretty good summation of what he accomplished from 1970-80.

So, where does "Eric Clapton-Blues" go wrong? Well, the "Unplugged" cd has a much better version of "Alberta". The "Journeyman" cd contains a much better version of "Before You Accuse Me". Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of "The Sky is Crying" is twice as good as what you find here. The Cream version of "Crossroads" is much better than what you find here. Little Milton's version of "Stormy Monday" is probably the best ever recorded, so Clapton's version here sounds a little flaccid by comparison.

What am I really saying? Let's say you were introduced to Clapton from listening to a "Best Of" compilation like "Clapton Chronicles" and then you went back in time and discovered "Time Pieces". Now you're curious to see what else he did during the 70's but you're not ready to break down and spend $50.00 on the "Crossroads 2" boxed set. Eric's "Blues" cd is a nice alternative because it has one live disc and one disc of deep album cuts from the period, along with a couple of previously unreleased tracks for good measure. A nice collection.

Most of this music was taken from Clapton's 1970s-1980s albums such as BACKLESS, OCEAN BLVD, and one take from the LAYLA sessions.

More produced than a blues fan is used to, but these are fine tunes. Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying," Bo Diddley's "Before You Accuse Me," as well as "Alberta," and "Early In The Morning" are very enjoyable.

The reason for aquiring this set, though, is the second Live disk. Taken mainly from mid 70s performances, these takes smoke throughout. The standouts include "Driftin' And Drifin'" "Stormy Monday," "Kindhearted Woman" and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman." The whole second disk alone is worth the purchase price.

Recommended, but the bulk of this music is available on other albums.