Description
Official master recording of the legendary debut concert of a legendary supergroup! Fans of Eric Clapton or British rock music will be familiar with Blind Faith, the supergroup he formed in 1969. Following the breakup of Cream, Clapton brought in Ginger Baker and bassist Rick Grech, who had also formed Traffic around the same time. The band boasted three stars, but was coddled and exploited by management and the media. Clapton lost interest, and the band disintegrated after just seven months, releasing only one album. The only way to see their live performance, despite their short career, is through the official European release of the complete color DVD of their debut concert in London’s Hyde Park on June 7, 1969. This time, however, we received a digital copy of the original master, recorded live on an 8-track and then mixed down to stereo (the sound image is almost mono, but it has a wide spread). While it was long known that this concert was officially filmed, the footage never made it to the public except for a few snippets shown on newsreels. Thirty-six years later, in 2005, a miraculous official DVD was released in Europe, and here in Japan, it was finally available via satellite broadcasting three years later in 2008. Now, we can deliver the original, perfect stereo soundboard master! Here’s a quick recap of Blind Faith’s history from its formation to its disintegration: February–May 1969: Recording of Blind Faith’s debut album in London; June 7, 1969: Blind Faith’s debut concert in London’s Hyde Park. ←★here★; June 12–19, 1969: Scandinavian tour; July 11–August 24, 1969: US tour. (During this period, August 1, 1969: Release of the album “BLIND FAITH”) *After the US tour, the band disintegrated. The members never met again. This concert, held before an album had even been released, marked a turning point in their history. Even though the concert took place before anyone knew their music (new songs), word of mouth spread about their supergroup status, drawing an audience of 100,000 people to Hyde Park. The release video captures the entirety of that legendary debut stage. Those who have seen the footage will have noticed that Clapton is not smiling at all in this performance. This is not due to nervousness; in a later interview, Clapton revealed that he was annoyed and disillusioned when Ginger came to him with heroin, saying, “It’s the same mess as Cream’s late days.” He also said he was not satisfied with his own playing. On the album, Had To Cry Today featured an innovative twin lead guitar arrangement with Winwood, but for some reason, Winwood plays it while seated at the organ. The band’s new studio recordings likely weren’t fully developed enough for live performance (a different arrangement of “Can’t Find My Way Home” was later released as an outtake, “Electric Version”). The inclusion of the Stones’ “Under My Thumb” and Traffic’s “Means to an End” in the set also hints at the band’s incompleteness. This is a valuable historical recording, capturing the precarious debut moment of this supergroup in every sense. However, “Do What You Like,” which actually lasted 13 minutes, was edited down to just over five minutes, with Ginger’s drum solo deemed redundant. A bit of trivia: on top of Winwood’s electric piano is a model of the spaceship held by the nude girl on the cover of their only album (Winwood likely had high hopes for this band). PYE Mobile 8 Track To 2 Track Reel & Video Soundboard Master Hyde Park, London, England 7th June 1969 STEREO SBD UPGRADE (55:15) 1. Intro 2. Well All Right 3. Sea of Joy 4. Sleeping in the Ground 5. Under My Thumb 6. Can’t Find My Way Home 7. Do What You Like 8. Presence of the Lord 9. Means to an End 10. Had to Cry Today 11. Outro. STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING Eric Clapton – Guitar, Vocals Steve Winwood – Keyboards, Vocals Rick Grech – Bass, Electric Violin Ginger Baker – Drums
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