Description
A masterpiece from the final chapter of the Slowhand tour, comparable to the legendary “Black Bush”! Another previously unreleased live recording of Eric Clapton has surfaced. This release features a master provided by an overseas taper who has recently provided us with astonishingly unreleased masters. It completely captures the second night of the July 8th performance in Dublin, Ireland, from the “Slowhand European Tour” in the summer of 1978, in a spacious, high-quality mono audience recording. Newly digitally transferred from the original master tape, the sound quality is remarkably fresh, clear, and well-balanced for its time. Even the bass drum is captured clearly, and the band’s sound is full of power and impact. Pitch adjustment and remastering have been performed to achieve the highest sound quality to date, surpassing the CDR title that was only distributed overseas. This day marked the end of the European tour, which was the final chapter of the promotional tour for the hit album “SLOWHAND,” released the previous year and reaching number two on the US album charts. This performance also served as a culmination of the “Slowhand Tour,” which began with a Japan tour in September 1977 and continued through a US tour in February 1978 (during which time the tour was also broadcast on the FM radio program “King’s Biscuit Flower Hour”). From this tour, we have our release “BLACKBUSHE 1978 REVISITED,” which contains a powerful, high-quality stereo audience recording of their performance at “The Picnic Festival” held at Blackbush Aerodrome in Hampshire, England on July 15th, after this album was released. This album was from a performance preceding that one. This performance, which was played with almost the same full set as the “Blackbush” performance, is a new representative work of this tour and is definitely worth listening to. The culmination of the Slowhand Tour is here. First, let’s review the significance of this European tour in Clapton’s career and the topics of this year.・February 1st to April 19th, 1978: US tour ・April 19th, 1978: Participated in Alexis Korner’s 50th birthday party session held at Pinewood Studios in London ・June 23rd, 1978: Performed with Bob Dylan’s band at a festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands ・July 1st, 1978: Performed at a concert at Zeppelinfield in Nuremberg as a support for Bob Dylan ・July 7th and 8th, 1978: Solo performance at National Stadium in Dublin, Ireland (Warm-up for Blackbush) ←★HERE★ ・July 15th, 1978: Performed at the “Picnic Festival” held in Blackbush, a suburb of London. He also made a surprise appearance during Dylan’s encore set. ≪August-September 1978: Recording of the album “BACKLESS”≫ ≪November 1, 1978: Release of the album “BACKLESS”≫ ・November 5 – December 7, 1978: European tour ・December 11, 1978: Surprise appearance at Muddy Waters’ concert in Dingwall, London. Looking at this, we can see that while promoting his masterpiece “SLOWHAND,” released the previous year, he also accompanied his beloved Bob Dylan on several shows as support. In particular, his appearance at festivals in his native England, although Dylan was the main act, was an excellent opportunity to show local fans that he was still in good shape and to promote the songs from “SLOWHAND.” It is said that this Dublin performance was a warm-up for that. In other words, from the set structure and playing quality of this day, it can be said that Clapton rearranged his set for Blackbush. The Blackbush performance is fully captured in “BLACKBUSHE 1978 REVISITED” with a fantastic audience recording, and the setlist, excluding the encore, was almost identical to that day’s. In other words, Clapton was very satisfied with the Dublin performance and performed almost the same setlist at Blackbush. Clapton started this show with “The Core” from “SLOWHAND,” just like he did at his Japanese performance the previous year. It’s a thrilling number with a solo in the middle where he stomps his wah pedal. In terms of stage structure, the first half featured a series of songs from “SLOWHAND,” interspersed with blues, the middle section featured two country music songs that influenced him at the time, and the second half built momentum with “Cocaine,” which has become a staple today, and he raced through to “Layla.” The solo in “Cocaine” is longer than usual and full of energy. By this time, the audience had grown familiar with the song, and they all sang along to “Cocaine!” at the end of the chorus. The performance of “Double Trouble,” inserted in the middle of the set, is also tremendous. At the beginning, Clapton announces, “I dedicate this song to two women. Ann and Lucy,” but the reason is unknown (perhaps they met before the show and she requested this song?). “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” features the sole female member, Marcy Levy, before moving on to “Badge.” Her solo on this song is also brilliant. The regular set ends with the familiar “Layla.” George Terry takes on the outro solo for quite some time, so one might have a bad feeling that it will end with him leaving it all to him, like the Santa Monica performance in February of that year, but rest assured. Clapton jumps in partway through and delivers a wonderful solo. This sharpness is definitely unique to him. As is typical of arrangements of that era, the piano coda is cut before the song ends. Nevertheless, the audience seems very satisfied. The only difference from the next performance at Blackbush was the encore. On this day, he performed the blues song “Early In The Morning” (which was planned to be included on his next album, “BACKLESS”), but at Blackbush, he changed it to his uptempo original composition “Bottle Of Red Wine,” which he had included in his setlists for the previous year’s Japan tour and the spring American tour. “Early In The Morning” is thought to have been first performed on this short European tour, but interestingly, he plays it with the exact same rhythm pattern as when he covered it 16 years later on the “Nothing But the Blues Tour.” Moreover, Clapton’s playing here is so phenomenal that it rivals the frenzied performance he gave on the “Nothing But the Blues Tour.” The audience was thrilled. It makes you wonder if this song would have been a better encore at Blackbush. However, this is the only place you can hear this song’s earliest performance! And because of this spectacular frenzy, it’s worth listening to this album just for this song alone. Of all the performances on the Slowhand Tour held from 1977 to 1978, this was undoubtedly a must-see stage. This album showcases a mature and refined sound, while also featuring the flamboyant vocals of the sole female member, Marcy Levy. Set against the backdrop of the album’s massive success, this is a valuable master recording that reveals the peak of the six-piece Clapton band’s popularity during this period. National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 8th July 1978 PERFECT SOUND UPGRADE!!! Disc:1 (41:16) 1. Intro 2. The Core 3. Worried Life Blues 4. Wonderful Tonight 5. Lay Down Sally 6. Rodeo Man 7. Fool’s Paradise 8. Cocaine Disc:2 (48:44) 1. Double Trouble 2. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out 3. Badge 4. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door 5. Key To The Highway 6. Layla 7. Early In The Morning Eric Clapton – Guitar / VocalsGeorge Terry – Guitar Dick Sims – Keyboards Carl Radle – Bass Jamie Oldaker – Drums Marcy Levy – Backing Vocals
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