Description
We’ve unearthed a superb master recording of a charity concert with Joe Cocker in 1993! This title features a complete recording of the second day of Eric Clapton’s Birmingham performance on October 2nd, from a series of benefit concerts held in the UK before his 1993 Japan tour, in superb stereo audience recording quality. As you’ll see from the activity schedule below, this concert was actually one of three consecutive benefit concerts held in Birmingham and Sheffield. In 2004, we released “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp,” which was supposedly a complete recording of the final day’s Sheffield performance on October 3rd in superb stereo audience recording quality. However, after verification, it has been discovered that this was actually the second day of the Birmingham performance on October 2nd, the middle day of the series. In short, the “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” recording, which had been believed to be from the third day’s Sheffield performance, was actually from the second day’s performance in Birmingham. The simultaneously released, completely new recording of the 10/3 Sheffield concert features Clapton repeatedly mentioning “Sheffield” in his MCs, so it’s definitely 10/3. This master is the original master recording of this concert, which has never seen the light of day before. It uses a DAT master provided by an overseas taper who has recently been providing us with amazing unreleased masters. While “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp (Beano-006)” also has excellent sound quality, it sounds excessively equalized now. In contrast, the new “BIRMINGHAM 1993 2ND NIGHT: DAT MASTER” uses the same source but boasts a more natural and superior master sound. The entire recording is captured in superb, natural sound quality with wonderful clarity, excellent sound balance, and a great sense of presence. I am confident you will absolutely love it. The advantages of this release are that the cheers before the encore are about 1 minute and 40 seconds longer, and there is no noise reduction/equalization applied that is unrelated to the performance, resulting in a natural sound quality. The weaknesses of this release are that the intro is about 13 seconds shorter (this has nothing to do with Clapton’s playing) and the outro is about a minute shorter (this also has nothing to do with the playing). The previously released “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” has boosted the mid-range frequencies, resulting in many distorted parts. It seems that the harmonica frequency range has been boosted, and the muddy sound of “Sweet Home Chicago” is a typical example. (This is a matter of sound quality, not a delay in the double drum performance.) My guess is that a master DAT exists, and both the previously released and this release branch off from it. During the dubbing process, this release was dubbed with the original sound quality. The previously released version was dubbed with equalization/noise reduction applied, or had equalization/noise reduction applied afterward. Therefore, this historically significant performance, which had been sold out for a long time and was unavailable, is now available again with the most natural sound quality. The discovery of the actual 10/3 performance has confirmed the correct performance date. Titles from the early 2000s often feature excessive equalization, and the previously released “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp” is no exception. However, there are parts that can only be heard here, so please don’t let go of it. A transitional stage filled with Clapton’s challenges. Now, let’s look at when and how this performance took place, and Clapton’s activity history for that year. – January 12, 1993: Attended the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles as a member of Cream, and performed a celebratory concert. – February 20 – March 7, 1993: Performed their customary 12-show series at the Royal Albert Hall in London. – February 24, 1993: Attended the 35th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, where they won six awards. – June 15, 1993: Participated in a concert celebrating B.B. King at the Apollo Theater in New York. This was broadcast on ABC television in the US. September 18, 1993: Participated with Joe Cocker in a charity concert to raise funds for Edward VII Hospital held at Cordley Park in Midhurst, England, performing alongside members of Queen and Genesis. October 1-3, 1993: Participated with Joe Cocker in a three-day consecutive benefit concert held in Birmingham and Sheffield. ←★HERE★ October 9-10, 1993: Started the Far East tour, performing two concerts in Hong Kong. October 12-31, 1993: Japan tour. December 31, 1993: Held the “New Year’s Eve Dance” in Woking, Surrey, England. You can see that this performance took place just before the Japan tour, and that it was a performance with Joe Cocker, with whom he had become particularly close during this period. The band had grown into a large ensemble, including a horn section, and in addition to the members who would go on the subsequent Japan tour, there was a segment featuring Joe Cocker, making for a very appealing setlist unique to this occasion. The first half featured his old and new hits, as well as the rare live performances of “Stone Free” and “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp,” which he had covered on the Jimi Hendrix tribute album he participated in and recorded at the time. The latter was not performed on the Japan tour, so this album (and “Burning Of The Midnight Lamp”) is the only place to hear a live take of this song. It’s also noteworthy that they performed “Circus Left Town” (later retitled “Circus”), which was unreleased at the time. The second half featured Joe Cocker. You can hear plenty of his weathered, soulful vocals, as well as Clapton’s superb, well-spoken playing that supports and enhances them. Towards the end, like a prelude to the “Nothing But the Blues Tour” that would begin the following year, they unleashed a barrage of quintessential old blues. This setlist was uniquely captivating for this occasion. It can be seen as Clapton’s own challenge, packing in everything he wanted to do at that point. That’s why he added harmonica player Jerry Portnoy (formerly of Muddy Waters’ band) and a horn section to the band. He didn’t play Layla, which is unusual, but that was probably unavoidable given Clapton’s intention to solidify the end of the show with blues. As it was a special benefit concert, it was a varied set that featured his old friend Joe Cocker, interspersed his signature songs, and ended with blues. In other words, it was a transitional period from the “Unplugged Tour” to the “Nothing But the Blues Tour.” The first-ever release of the October 2nd master recording with superb sound! Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top made a surprise appearance during the encore! Incredibly, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons made a surprise appearance during the encore, due to his role as a support musician for this concert! A collaboration between Clapton and Gibbons was extremely rare (it later happened again at the Crossroads Guitar Festival). We hope you will be captivated by their playing, which can only be heard here. With blues, acoustic pieces, signature songs, and a collaboration with soulful singer Joe Cocker, this stage can be said to contain all of Clapton’s charm. Please enjoy this diverse performance in this first-ever release of superb master sound quality. Live at National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England 2nd October 1993 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters)Disc:1 (39:09) 1. Intro. 2. White Room 3. Badge 4. Wonderful Tonight 5. Stone Free 6. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp 7. Circus Left Town 8. Tears In Heaven Disc:2 (51:27) 1. Feelin’ Alright * 2. Lonely Avenue * 3. You Can Leave Your Hat On * 4. Hard Times * 5. Unchain My Heart * 6. Groaning The Blues 7. Crossroads 8. Ain’t Nobody’s Business 9. Sweet Home Chicago * ** Eric Clapton guitar / vocals Andy Fairweather Low guitar Chris Stainton keyboards Jerry Portnoy harmonica Nathan East bass Richie Hayward drums Katie Kissoon backing vocals Maggie Ryder backing vocals The Kick Horns (Simon Clarke baritone saxophone, Roddy Lorimer trumpet, Tim Sanders tenor saxophone) Joe Cocker * Billy Gibbons/ZZ Top**
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