Eric Clapton/France 1974

Introducing Eric Clapton’s completely unreleased master for the first time in a while, provided by a heavyweight taper living in the UK! This is a complete recording monaural audience source of the Paris performance on December 2, 1974, which is sure to surprise enthusiasts and say, “Huh? Is there still a sound source of a day like this?!” Fans may know that immediately after this, they made a triumphant return to London, England, and completed the “461 Ocean Boulevard Comeback Tour” of the year with consecutive performances at the Hammersmith Odeon on December 4th and 5th. I think, what is included in this edition is the sound source of the Paris performance on December 2nd, which was previously thought to not exist at all, and was in possession of the heavyweight taper. Since it was recorded on a cassette in 1974, the sound quality cannot be said to be of the same quality as Don Pika, and is at a “medium” level for an audience recording, but the vocals, guitar, drums, and bass are surprisingly clearly recorded. I think you will find it easy to listen to. The set list for this edition is different from the set list for this day listed in the tour archive of Eric Clapton’s official fan site WHERE’S ERIC!, so there is still a possibility that it was the Antwerp performance the day before. The master taper’s master date is “Paris 2nd December 1974”, so we believe that and will release it as a Paris performance. In any case, it is definitely the first sound source to see the light of day for the first time in 44 years, so please take a look. Now, let’s take a look at how this day’s performance was positioned in Clapton’s comeback year.・June 19th and 20th, 1974: Warm-up gig in Northern Europe for US comeback tour ・June 28th, 1974 to August 4th: US tour ≪August 5th, 1974: Album “461” OCEAN BOULEVARD” released≫・August-September 1974: Recorded the album “THERE’S ONE IN EVERY CROWD” in Miami・September 28, 1974-October 6: 2nd US tour・October 1974 31st to November 6th: First Japan tour ・November 27th to December 5th, 1974: Short-term European tour November 26th: Performance in Hamburg, Germany November 27th: Performance in Munich, Germany November 28th: ​​Radigshafen, Germany performance November 29th: Essen, Germany performance November 30th: Rotterdam, Netherlands performance December 1st: Antwerp, Belgium performance December 2nd: Paris, France performance [This work] 12 April 4th and 5th: Performances in London, England Refreshed by the success of his comeback U.S. tour that began in June, Clapton was confident in starting his career over again, and was eager to make his next album. It turns out that the recording has been completed and they will be going on tour again soon. They probably wanted their fans to hear the new song as soon as possible. This performance features four songs: Little Rachel, The Sky Is Crying, Singing The Blues and Better Make It Through Today. In particular, in contrast to the first US tour with Martin and Blackie, on this European tour, after performing acoustic numbers, the electric set featured a rare vintage guitar, a newly acquired 1957 Gibson Explorer tail cut model. was used completely. This guitar was also unveiled on the subsequent Japan tour, so I’m sure many old fans remember it. It is characterized by the stickiness and glossy tone unique to this guitar. What is interesting is that Clapton was quite drunk on this day, and it can be seen that the body work of the infamous US tour was repeated here as well. He was laughing out loud in a good mood, but perhaps he didn’t like how noisy the audience was that day, and even though he was playing the intro to Let It Grow, he yelled “Sharap!” “Sharap!”, “Sharap!” is also shouted during the Little Wing song. At the beginning of I Shot The Sheriff, he goes out of his way to announce, “Please, please stop making such a fuss. Can everyone please be quiet?” Although it can only be described as a drunken whim, I can understand the feeling of the Parisian audience who wanted to make a fuss. After all, Clapton’s previous performance in Paris was at the Palais des Sport on June 1, 1967, as Cream. Since then, he has had an eventful band history, and since this was his first performance as a solo artist in seven years, it was no wonder that French Clapton fans were excited. It can be said that Clapton’s dismissal of this, saying, “It’s noisy!” was a “judgment of youthful energy” that would be unimaginable from now on. However, despite being treated with such salt, the French audience demands a roaring encore after the regular set ends. How tear-jerking! Were they looking forward to Clapton that much? And speaking of whether the quality of the performance was terrible in this drunken state, that is also typical of Clapton, and he plays properly without falling. In the blues medley, he performs a tasteful solo while shouting out the changing keys to the band, and in Little Wing, he uses relaxed phrases to perfectly create the twin lead composition with George Terry. And in Singin’ The Blues and Layla, Clapton’s killer solo explodes. It would be better to think that Clapton on this tour “plays differently”. The set list is unique to this period, and as mentioned earlier, it incorporates many numbers from “THERE’S ONE IN EVERY CROWD”, and the rest includes numbers from the album “461” in a nice way, as well as Tell The Truth, Blues Power, Little Wing, and Layla make this a heartwarming set that reminds you of the days of Derek and the Dominos. Layla is accompanied by the Everly Brothers’ standard number “All I Have To Do Is Dream”, which became a regular part of subsequent performances in Japan, and is played in place of the piano coda. Clapton’s look on this day was unusual, wearing a plain black turtle shirt and jeans. The brown color of Explorer Korina wood stands out there. One word is cool. At this point, female vocalist Marcy Levy was included in the backing band. After this, she supported Clapton for many years, and after Yvonne Elliman left, this tour was her earliest stage. Treasured master of heavyweight taper suddenly released. We will correct the pitch that has become low due to aging, and further improve the sound quality by mastering. Live at Park des Expositions, Paris, France 2nd December 1974 Disc 1 (63:05) 1. Introduction 2. Smile 3. Let It Grow 4. Can’t Find My Way Home 5. Tell The Truth 6. Willie And The Hand Jive 7. Get Ready 8. Little Rachel 9. The Sky Is Crying / Crossroads / Have You Ever Loved A Woman Disc 2 (68:10) 1. Blues Power 2. Little Wing 3. I Shot The Sheriff 4. Singin’ The Blues 5. Layla 6. All I Have To Do Is Dream 7. Better Make It Through Today 8. Little Queenie Eric Clapton – Guitar, Vocals George Terry – Guitar Dicks Sims – Keyboards Carl Radle – Bass Jamie Oldaker – Drums Yvonne Elliman – Backing Vocals Marcy Levy – Backing Vocals