Description
An upgraded version of the finest sound source of the “Nothin’ But The Blues Club Tour”, one of the peaks of Clapton’s entire career! This time, the heavyweight Taper, who lives in the UK, provided us with a low-generation DAT master that completely recorded the first day of the Irving Plaza performance in New York City on November 26, 1994 with a superb stereo audience recording from the “Nothin’ But The Blues Tour” from 1994 to 1995, which can be said to be the most played in Clapton’s entire career, and the only “club tour” where he went around small clubs for a short period of time! There are already existing versions of this sound source, but since the original sound source that was distributed until now was a cassette master, this time it will be released as an upgraded version because it is a DAT master that was digitally copied with the freshness of the original master intact. Recently, we offered a free gift of the audience shot footage recorded at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California on November 11th of the same year as “House Of Blues 1994 1st Night” from this club tour, but as you can see from those who have seen it, it was a performance held in the form of a meal and appreciation in a really small club. It was unthinkable even at the time for a big-name Clapton to play in such an environment (like appearing on Billboard Tokyo in Japan), but it was a tour that Clapton, who aimed to return to his roots, dared to book. This work captures the tremendous power of the musical sounds and vocals that are sure to have been recorded in the front row (because there is no audience noise from the front direction, and they can only be heard from the upper back and the left and right). The official release of the film capturing this club tour and its soundtrack CD “Nothin’ But the Blues” were recorded in a different way from the actual song order due to the director Martin Scorsese’s wishes, and considering that it was not a complete recording of the concert, the appeal of this work, which allows you to enjoy the entire club gig with the best sound quality, can be said to be immeasurable. Furthermore, the previously released version containing this sound source was released in a box format that recorded the concerts at this venue, which were consecutive performances, at a high price according to the volume, so some people may not have purchased it. This time, we will release one work for each performance, so you can easily enjoy it. The “Nothin’ But the Blues Tour” held from 1994 to 1995 was described as the tour in Clapton’s career where he sang and played like a god. There was no cutting corners at all in every performance of this tour, which took two years, and he played and sang at every performance. It was a stage where he took on a challenge to the blues while being relaxed and relaxed. It can be said that this tour showed his “determination” to find his answer to what “blues” is. Why did Clapton return to the blues? To answer this, we have to trace his sad life. In March 1991, Clapton lost his young son in an accident and fell into the depths of despair. However, encouraged by his staff and fellow musicians, Clapton transformed his feelings for his son and his own life reflections into songwriting, which turned into catharsis. And at the first performance on MTV “Unplugged”, he also played the blues that he had admired since childhood. Clapton, who had once again come into contact with the essence of blues, returned to his regular tours, but in the following year of 1993, he decided to hold a concert with a set list of only blues at the Royal Albert Hall’s consecutive performances at the beginning of the year, which had become a tradition, and he carried it out. And he went ahead and recorded his long-awaited blues-only album, “From the Cradle,” which he had not been able to do when he was younger. Clapton had approached Warner, his contracted label, about making a blues album, but had been turned down, saying, “There’s no way that would sell.” However, the album “Unplugged” was an unprecedented big hit, and Warner softened their stance and approved the production of a blues album as a bonus for Clapton, which also gave him a boost. And “From the Cradle” became a hit, following “Unplugged” and reaching number one on the US album charts. American listeners also wanted Clapton’s blues. With the realization of the album “From the Cradle,” he must have decided that he wanted to master the blues on the live stage. With this momentum, Clapton planned the “Nothin’ But the Blues Tour,” in which he would only play blues at live performances. At the lowest point of his life after losing his young son, Clapton realized that it was the blues that guided him so that he would not lose sight of himself. The “Nothin’ But The Blues Tour” was a return to the blues, in order to remember his childhood when he was fascinated by the blues and to express his gratitude to the blues and his predecessors who performed it. Among them, the club environment that he experienced during his early years in the Yardbirds and Bluesbreakers eras was a spot that Clapton could not miss in terms of “returning to his roots”. That is why it can be said that Clapton’s spirit in this club tour was extraordinary. The entire show is high-tension and a stage composition with highlights Here is a summary of the schedule for the “Nothin’ But The Blues Tour”: <1994> <September 13th “FROM THE CRADLE” released> September 28th: Tour rehearsals were filmed at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. This was later broadcast in the United States, Europe, and Japan. October 3rd to November 4th: US Arena Tour November 7th to November 28th: US Club Tour ← [Here] <1995> February 15th to March 7th: UK Tour April 5th to May 5th: European Tour August 28th to September 24th: US Arena Tour October 1st to October 13th: Japan Tour In the first half, the performance is played on acoustic or standard riff numbers, so it feels like a solid patterned performance, but from the middle to the end, when the guitar solo is featured prominently, Clapton shows his true essence as a live artist by playing a series of completely improvised, sharp and unwavering phrases. Especially the playing at the end of Early In The Morning is indescribable. It’s amazing how his fingers can move so well. The characteristics of Clapton’s playing can be summed up simply as “the ingenuity of phrase composition and the elegance of playing.” He plays fast, but it’s thrilling, not monotonous. And he doesn’t stumble or stagnate during his solos, and there are no mistones. He has acoustic and electric. He has major and minor blues. He has slow blues and shuffles. He sets in various types of blues, and his playing characteristics create a very varied “blues exhibition,” which never gets old. Not only Clapton fans, but anyone who listens to this album will understand the essence of Eric Clapton as a blues musician. At the end of the album, he plays a fiery and passionate performance, and in the encore, he plays Ain’t Nobody’s Business, a solo with only the piano in the background. This song was written in 1922 and has been covered by various singers, but Clapton’s version is based on the version sung by pre-war female blues singer Bessie Smith in 1923. Clapton sings the song, lamenting his unfortunate life, “I don’t care if I’m penniless or if I jump into the ocean and kill myself, but leave me alone.” But at the end, the whole band explodes with emotion. Is it a cry of desperation, or is Clapton encouraging the protagonist by saying, “Don’t give up. Take care of yourself.” The performance here is amazing, even if it can be interpreted that way. On this tour, we played many blues songs that had never been recorded in a studio, but this song is particularly memorable. Considering that he brought it to the encore, Clapton must have had some intention. This is a song that you should definitely listen to. From start to finish, including this number, everything is captured in a superb stereo audience recording with excellent sound balance and clear sound. It is also worth noting that on this tour, Clapton used as many as 10 guitars, the most number of guitars used on one stage in his career. This was because he respected the original blues artists and recordings and tried to produce the same sound. To summarize my preferences, I have: ?Martin 12-string – Motherless Child ?Martin 000-42 – Malted Milk ?Dobro (resonator) – How Long Blues ?Gibson L5 – Kidman Blues, County Jail ?Gibson Birdland (brown sunburst) – Forty Four ?Fender Stratocaster (blonde finish) – Blues All Day Long, Going Away, Can’t Judge Nobody, Early In the Morning, Five Long Years, Crossroads, Groaning The Blues, Sweet Home Chicago, Ain’t Nobody’s Business ?Fender Stratocaster (black finish) – Standin’ Around Cryin’ ?Gibson Birdland (blonde finish) – It Hurts Me Too, Blues Before Sunrise ?Gibson ES-335 (brown sunburst) – Reconsider Baby, Sinner’s Prayer, Every Day I Have The Blues ?Gibson ES-335 (Cherry Red) – Someday After A While, Tore Down, Have You Ever Loved A Woman, Crosscut Saw With the superb sound quality of this work, the tone of each guitar is accurately captured. We hope you enjoy Clapton’s attention to detail, even to his guitar tone, in each song. This is the definitive version that captures the club tour that was the highlight of the “Nothin’ But the Blues Tour”! Live at Irving Plaza, New York City, NY, USA 26th November 1994 ULTIMATE SOUND (from Original Masters) * UPGRADE Disc: 1 (60:21) 1. Intro. 2. Motherless Child 3. Malted Milk 4. How Long Blues 5. Kidman Blues 6. County Jail 7. Forty Four 8. Blues All Da
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