Eric Clapton/Italy 1985 Jewel Version

The first appearance of precious footage from the end of the “Behind the Sun Tour”! Released in October 2013, the excellent “MILANO 1985 1ST NIGHT” is a complete recording of the first day of the Milan performance in Italy on October 27th at the end of the 1985 “Behind the Sun World Tour” with the best audience recording. What a video of this day exists! Until now, the existence of this was only known among a very small number of overseas Clapton enthusiasts, but this is a very valuable and high-quality video that perfectly synchronizes the good stereo audience source of the 1st generation, and for the songs that were not recorded (could not be filmed), inserts still images of the stage on the day and creates a full-length version of the concert. In the close-up shot, you can clearly see Clapton with his knees up. Of course, since it is from the VHS era, it does not reach the digital quality of today, but the image quality, composition, and sound are all of high quality, and you can realistically experience Clapton overcoming his alcoholism and playing in a fearless manner. Who would have thought that such a video could be seen now, almost 40 years later! If you are a Clapton fan, this is a must-have collection for your media. The charm of the second half of the tour, when the set list was changed This performance was at the end of the world tour. Here, let’s clarify the position of this performance in this year in chronological order.・February 28th to March 15th, 1985: European tour including the UK During this period, <March 1st, 1985: Album “Behind the Sun” released> ・April 9th ​​to May 3rd, 1985: US tour, first leg ・May 8th, 1985: Appeared on the US live music program Late Night With David Letterman ・June 21st to July 27th, 1985: US tour, second leg ・October 5th to October 11th, 1985: Sixth Japan tour ・October 14th to November 6th, 1985: Short European tour after touring Alaska and London ←★Here★ ・December 3rd to 23rd, 1985: A break, but during this time, he appeared on stage at concerts by Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Sting, Gary Brooker, Dire Straits, and others The year was spent touring to promote the album “BEHIND THE SUN” which was recorded the previous year and released on March 1st, and this performance was the final leg after the end of the Japan tour in October. In terms of the schedule, it could be said that it was the time to show off the culmination of the tour. From the Japan tour, there was a member change, with Laura Creamer replacing backing vocalist Marcie Levy, but the band’s dynamism did not change (Marcie went on to form Shakespeare’s Sister to advance her career. Also, Sean Murphy built his career as the lead singer of Little Feat after this tour). The stage followed the set list that changed from the second leg of the American tour, and featured Cream’s famous song White Room for the first time in 17 years, an arrangement in which Badge and Let It Rain were played in a medley format, and the encore featured the single hit number Forever Man. The opportunity to play the White Room came from an appearance on the American TV show “David Letterman Show” on May 8th, as shown in the schedule above. In response to the desire of Paul Shaffer, who was the musical director of this show, they played the White Room with the show’s house band for the first time in 17 years (the house band included Steve Jordan, who supported Clapton from 2006 to 2007 and is currently a support member of the Stones, as a drummer). Clapton was satisfied with the result and included this song in the set from the second leg of the tour. Four new songs from the album were performed (Same Old Blues, Tangled In Love, She’s Waiting, Forever Man). They were all wonderful performances, and even among their representative songs, they were not inferior to the songs they were performing. Since these songs require a lot of energy, it is no longer possible to expect any of them to be set up, so I hope you can feel Clapton’s enthusiasm at the time when he was burning with the desire to perform new songs. However, even in a showy, varied set consisting of new songs and representative songs, the minor blues Double Trouble and the major blues Further On Up The Road are Clapton’s, and it can be said that the set list was well-balanced and conveyed the charm of Clapton to the fullest, with representative songs, new songs, and blues. Speaking of Italy, the Serie A soccer league is very popular, but in this version, you can see the phenomenon that the venue has turned into a soccer stadium. The cheers as soon as the intro to Wonderful Tonight, which Clapton introduces as “a romantic number,” is played are just like those of a soccer goal scene. And a considerable number of the audience are happily singing this song. Also, in Cocaine, a tremendous scene appears in which the entire audience sings the familiar phrase along with the performance. This is also a scene of great enthusiasm, like when you are cheering on your favorite soccer team. As exemplified by these things, you can relive the reality of the Italian performance. Clapton’s singing and aggressive guitar solos are a wave attack. On this tour, Clapton’s recovery in health was clearly reflected in his playing. It felt like his singing had improved dramatically. His confident and imposing singing style also exuded masculinity. This is what Clapton looks like in this video. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and a black jacket. His sleeves are rolled up. He looks so young that it’s hard to believe he was 40 years old at the time (although he takes off his jacket halfway through the concert). And the guitar solos that Clapton plays are more aggressive than ever, with a pattern of fast passages and his own slow-hand playing style appearing everywhere. This is very thrilling! Following the two songs that opened with sharp slide play, he is already in his prime with the solo in the backstory of I Shot The Sheriff, and the tension rises all at once with the following Same Old Blues. In the postlude of White Room, he plays a thrilling long solo using a wah pedal comparable to his Cream days. Clapton’s wah playing is great after all. Tangled In Love, Badge, and Let It Rain are bursting with high-speed slow-hand playing. In the midst of all that, the guitar is crying out loud in the blues song Double Trouble. Listening to this performance, I really feel that Clapton is a blues guitarist. That’s right, this tour was the last tour where he played his beloved Blackie, which he debuted in 1973. You can hear the nostalgic tone that is unique to Blackie, which is sharp even in its witheredness, everywhere. However! From Double Trouble to Layla, he plays a two-tone sunburst strat! (There is also a scene where he puts a cigarette in the head). The image quality is not that precise, so I’m not sure, but I think it’s probably not a “Brownie” but a different brown sunburst strat for slides. However, on this day when I thought he was playing Blackie, there was a guitar change like this… You can’t understand this unless you watch the video. The tone of the signature custom strat that came after this was also powerful, but the tone of the vintage strat that you hear here makes you realize that these guitars have a unique appeal. The powerful solo in the closing of the masterpiece Layla is also passionate and passionate. There were two encores. From Forever Man, which can only be described as cool, to Further On Up The Road, where all the members take turns playing solos, you will feel refreshed by the sight of Clapton running at full throttle. Top-class backing men only available during this period The backing men included Donald Duck Dunn, the famous bassist of Stax, and Jamie Oldaker of the Tulsa Tops, who could be said to be the strongest rhythm section in Clapton’s history, from the 1983 tour. Please enjoy the bouncy bass playing of the late Donald Duck Dunn, who supported Clapton only during this period, and the dynamic drumming of the late Jamie Oldaker, as well as Duck Dunn’s unique comments introducing Clapton during the band introduction (Clapton seemed to get along well with Duck Dunn, so well that when he started his own label in 1983, he named it “Duck Records”). This is also the only tour where you can hear the play of Tim Renwick, a veteran British guitarist who later supported “Gilmore Pink Floyd”. His solid playing without any mistakes is also a highlight. His unique playing can be heard in the obbligatos in I Shot The Sheriff and White Room, the second solos in Badge and Cocaine, and the closing solo in Forever Man. And let’s not forget Chris Stinton, who still supports Clapton today. From the synth and piano prologue at the beginning, he plays piano, organ, and synthesizer in each song. It is no exaggeration to say that it was because of him that the songs from “Behind the Sun” could be reproduced live. The bond between these two was strong 39 years ago. This is a wonderful stage where you should watch their support along with the resounding tone of Blackie Strat. This is a rare video of their first appearance at the end of the “Behind the Sun Tour”. Teatro Tenda Lampugnano, Milan, Italy 27th October 1985 1. Intro 2. Tulsa Time 3. Motherless Children 4. I Shot The Sheriff 5. Same Old Blues (no footage) 6. Tangled In Love (incomplete footage) 7. White Room (incomplete footage) 8. You Got Me Hummin’ (incomplete footage) 9. Wonderful Tonight 10. She’s Waiting (no footage) 11. Down Sally (no footage) 12. Badge (incomplete footage) 13. Let It Rain (incomplete footage) 14. Double Trouble 15. Cocaine 16. Layla (incomplete footage) 17. Forever Man 18. Further On Up The Road COLOR NTSC Approx.101min. Eric Clapton –