Eric Clapton/MD,USA 1974 Upgrade

This week we will release the ultimate soundboard source from Eric Clapton’s comeback 1974 US tour! This album was produced from the New Low Generation Master, which boasts the highest sound quality ever, and was recorded in full with the finest stereo soundboard recording of the Capitol Center performance in Largo, Maryland, on July 14th, which took place exactly in the middle of the comeback US tour that lasted for a month and a half. Here, let’s review the activities before and after the comeback in chronological order to see how this US tour was positioned in Clapton’s activities.・March 1974: Participates in filming and recording of scenes for The Who’s rock opera film “TOMMY” ・April 10, 1974: Comeback announcement party held at a Chinese restaurant in Soho, London (old friends Pete Townshend and Elton John also in attendance) ・April 13, 1974?: Starts recording the album “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD” at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida ・June 20, 1974?: After a warm-up gig at Tivoli Gardens in Stockholm, begins a US stadium tour ←★HERE★ ・August 4, 1974: Ends the US tour with a performance in Palm Beach.・August 5, 1974: Participated in the recording of Freddie King’s album “BURGLAR” at Criteria Studios ≪August 5, 1976: Release of the album “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD”≫ This US tour was, of course, a promotional tour for his comeback album “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD”, but in fact the album was not released during this tour, and no one in the audience heard any new songs. Despite this, the stadium-class venues were packed every day. This is proof of how long rock fans had been waiting for Clapton’s comeback. This success continued until the end of the tour, and Clapton made a great comeback. During this tour, soundboard recordings were made every day, including both official and PA out, and currently, the recordings of 26 performances (San Francisco was a two-day performance) other than the Stockholm performance on the first day of the warm-up gig and the Chicago performance on July 3rd have been released as bootlegs. Among them, this Largo performance, although it contains some drawbacks due to PA out recording, has been known for its excellent quality from an early stage, and the set list has been released on CD many times by various labels as an attractive sound source. Why release it again now? This is because the master we obtained this time was a low generation that boasts the highest sound quality ever. I can’t tell you specifically, but the person who recorded this master on cassette and owned it was a famous engineer whose name would surprise any enthusiast. That person used equipment to mix the recording at the PA desk to 4 tracks and put the master on cassette tape directly to Mr. Taper, a veteran living in the UK, and he entrusted it to us for the first time this time. If you explain the circumstances up to this point, you will understand that no master from this day in the past can compete. Of course, it exceeds “LARGO 1974” released by our store. The whole picture of that Largo performance can be delivered with sound quality comparable to that of the official live album, or even better! Although the sound quality was good throughout the entire album, the missing parts of Blues Power and Little Queenie in the latter half were not recorded from the beginning (the PA out sound source is often cut off midway), and the momentary sound cut at 0:03 of Presence Of The Lord was a problem from the time of recording, so it is the same for this master, but the sound quality is clearly improved compared to the past releases, and the left and right channel phases that were reversed on Disc 2 in some of the previous releases have been correctly repositioned on this album. The reason why this performance has a reputation as a “standard” is that Clapton’s play quality was high and the set list was attractive. It is a well-known fact that he was drowning in alcohol on this comeback tour and relaxing the tension of the days, but depending on the performance, the “drunkenness” was different, and the play quality differed depending on the day. In this performance, “Good luck” is displayed, and from Can’t Find My Way Home to I Shot The Sheriff, the guitar is not changed, and the intro of Let It Grow is half a chorus longer, which is a part that can only be heard in this performance. Ramblin’ On My Mind, Badge and Little Queenie are very fast-playing phrases with a sharp edge, which is very thrilling. In the middle of Get Ready, there is also a heartwarming scene where Clapton and Yvonne Elliman laugh and play around. At this time, Layla was not considered to be a very important song, and it is interesting that it was played early on. Please add this board, which recorded the Largo performance, which can be said to be one of the best sound sources on the 1974 US tour, to your collection and enjoy it. Live at Capitol Center, Largo, Maryland, USA 14th July 1974 STEREO SBD(UPGRADE) Disc 1(61:14) 1. Intro. 2. Smile 3. Let It Grow 4. Can’t Find My Way Home 5. I Shot The Sheriff 6. Layla 7. Ramblin’ On My Mind / Have You Ever Loved A Woman 8. Willie And The Hand Jive 9. Get Ready 10. s Power Disc 2(46:21) 1. Little Wing 2. Badge 3. Presence Of The Lord 4. Tell The Truth 5. Crossroads 6. Little Queenie Eric Clapton : Guitar & Vocals Jamie Oldaker : Drums Dick Sims : Keyboards Carl Radle : Bass George Terry : Guitar Yvonne Elliman : Backing Vocals STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING