Eric
Clapton and Steve Winwood -
Live From Madison Square Garden
Performance
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Eric
Clapton and Steve Winwood -
Performance
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I want to start out by thanking Eric Clapton for all of the wonderful collaborations he has been a part of this last decade. First he founds the incredible Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004, which spawned two of the best concert DVDs of the decade, and then in 2005 he reunites one of the most renowned power-trios of all time, Cream, for an amazing run of concerts at the famous The Royal Albert Hall. After the second, and even better, Crossroads Festival in 2007, he joined the legendary Jeff Beck on stage a few months later at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club for the filming of his first ever concert DVD. As if that wasn't enough for the devoted Slowhand disciples, he then joins my current, favorite, blues-rock guitarist, Joe Bonamassa, onstage earlier this year during his first ever appearance at the sold-out Royal Albert Hall. I can't wait for that DVD. And I nearly forgot. Forty years ago, Clapton was also part of this short-lived "super-group" called Blind Faith, whose members also included Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Gretch. The band was only together long enough to release one, self-titled, album in 1969, and then quickly dissolved later that same year after a brief tour. Winwood and Clapton's musical paths would not cross again until the two performed a blistering set of Blind Faith classics at the 2007 Crossroads Festival. It was so well received, and they enjoyed playing together again so much, that they decided to do a run of concerts together last February, at New York's Madison Square Garden. This excellent new concert DVD is the result of that magnificent collaboration. Live From Madison Square Garden features a nostalgic 20-song set that includes all of the essential Blind Faith material, several classic cover songs, and a few songs each from Clapton and Winwood's vast catalogs. They said that Eric picked the Winwood songs, and Steve picked the Clapton songs to play, which is why you might be surprised to see such 80's gems as "Forever Man" and "Split Decision" as two of the set highlights. After the arena lights are extinguished to signal the start of the show, the camera follows Clapton as he walks out on stage with his Fender Stratocaster already hanging from his shoulders. Moments later, Winwood emerges from the shadows and is handed his own light-green colored Strat from a roadie. They kick off the proceedings with the lead Blind Faith album track, "Had To Cry Today," and I could think of no better way to commence this momentous reunion. They would play the entire first side of that legendary Blind Faith album, as well as a song that would later appear on the 2001 expanded, deluxe edition, "Sleeping In The Ground." Frustratingly, there is interview footage interspersed between each and every song performance, and it is here where we learn how Eric and Steve had already decided to cover a Buddy Miles song, "Them Changes," two days before they heard of his death, and without even knowing he had been seriously ill. It ends up being a more timely tribute than they had ever imagined. Clapton's oft-maligned '80s hit "Forever Man" was a real treat here, with Clapton laying down some of the most passionate singing and guitar work he has done in a long while, and Winwood contributing some marvelous organ and background vocals to the mix. Clapton would return the favor on Winwood's "Split Decision," by tackling all of the fuzzed out guitar parts that Joe Walsh had performed so brilliantly on this mid-80's pop-rock gem. There are no less than four Traffic songs performed, and they provided a few of the concert highlights. The absolute showstopper of the night, as it was on the Crossroads DVD, was the epic Traffic number, "Dear Mr. Fantasy." Winwood comes out from behind the keyboards again to duel with Clapton on guitar, and they trade some monster guitar licks back and forth. Winwood may not quite be considered Clapton's peer on the guitar, but he comes pretty damn close here. The best part of the show for me, though, were the two Jimi Hendrix covers that led up to the "Fantasy" closer. After a beautifully soulful rendition of "Little Wing," they tear into a 17 minute, tour-de-force, rendition of "Voodoo Chile," that features some of the best guitar work Clapton has turned in since the Cream reunion. Winwood's extraordinary Hammond organ playing, on these two songs alone, show why he is considered one of the best keyboardists in the business. In the interview segment just before the song, Clapton admitted he had never performed "Voodoo Chile" and said it felt like "stepping off a cliff" to tackle that one. Wait until you see the results. The film was directed by Martyn Atkins, the same guy who did the Cream and Crossroads 2007 DVDs, so you know this one is going to look fantastic. The picture and camera work were about as good as it gets. Your two audio options are DTS 5.1 surround and PCM stereo and I'll challenge you to find a complaint about either of these two powerhouse tracks. Besides the main concert DVD, a second
disk full of the
following special features is also included: During the concert Clapton told the crowd, "I'm enjoying it, I hope you are, so maybe we'll do a bit more I think." And indeed they did, with 2009 a world tour that I was fortunate enough to catch when they stopped in Washingon, DC this June. Their enthusiasm seemed to be waning somewhat by this point in the tour, as neither guy hardly said a word to the crowd the whole night, all I remember are a couple of quick "thank you's" from Eric, and the performances were more "phoned in" than what you will find here. The Crossroads performance is still my favorite - get that one too. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - July 2009 |
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Running Time: 139 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - May 2009 |