Description
The multi-track master of the famous 1974 soundboard sound source is here! Eric Clapton made his comeback after a three-year retirement with the 461 OCEAN BOULEVARD TOUR in 1974, which was held worldwide from all over North America to Japan and Europe. The final leg of the tour, the London performances on December 4th and 5th, were famous for the leaked stereo soundboard sound source, which was quickly bootlegged, and the live takes from both days were edited and officially recorded in the 461 OCEAN BOULEVARD RARITIES EDITION, which was officially released in 2010. Carl Radle, a bassist at the time, said that the London performance was the best performance of the tour, and the sound quality and performance were highly praised, which is still firmly established. Meanwhile, the familiar British heavyweight Taper has delivered the multi-track soundboard master of both days! This work contains the complete recording of the first day, the Hammersmith Odeon performance on December 4th. Speaking of the 1974 live recording, it was probably 16 tracks at the time (the 1973 “Rainbow Concert” was 8 tracks for the recording with a mobile unit), but this is a digital copy of the original master that was meticulously mixed by the engineers at the time and mixed down to 2-track stereo. (The master direct digital transfer was carried out just the other day.) The master that was once bootlegged was a cassette copy that reflected the analog era, so you can see the difference in the freshness of this master. In other words, it is the master that was the origin of all the masters used in past bootlegs. The phase is centered on the drums, bass and Clapton’s vocals, George Terry’s guitar slightly left of center, the organ on the left, Clapton’s guitar slightly right of center, Marcy Levy’s vocals slightly right of center, Yvonne Elliman’s vocals slightly left of center, and the audience’s cheers (recorded with an ambient microphone) on the right, and each stands out clearly. The ultra-clear, superb sound quality of the best stereo soundboard recording is revived along with the atmosphere of the famous venue, Hammersmith Odeon. A wonderful performance with the best sound quality ever! Now let’s take a look at what position this London performance was in Clapton’s activities this year.・June 19th and 20th, 1974: Warm-up gigs in Northern Europe for the US comeback tour ・June 28th to August 4th, 1974: US tour <August 5th, 1974: Release of the album “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD”> ・August to September, 1974: Recording of the album “THERE’S ONE IN EVERY CROWD” in Miami ・September 28th to October 6th, 1974: Second US tour ・October 31st to November 6th, 1974: First visit to Japan, Japan tour ・November 27th to December 5th, 1974: European tour ←★Here★ This was the final leg of the tour. The value of this day is that, even though the tour was completed while completely drunk to escape the tension and pressure, there was no effect of alcohol at all. That’s why Carl Radle must have appreciated it so much. Here we see Clapton performing with genuine sincerity for his hometown fans who had been waiting for him even after his first performance in three years – or, to be more precise, after he had disappointed them with his Rainbow concert the previous year, raising their hopes. The set list was also attractive, with numbers such as Let It Grow, I Shot the Sheriff, Willie and the Hand Jive, Get Ready, and Steady Rollin’ Man from the album “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD,” which had already been released and was a big topic at this point, set in, and numbers from the next album “There’s One in Every Crowd,” which was full of creative enthusiasm and had already been recorded, Opposites (a very rare song to be performed live) and Singin’ the Blues (the solo is outstandingly sharp!). In addition, Badge from the Cream era, Can’t Find My Way Home from the Blind Faith era (it’s interesting that Marcy Levy forgot to play the harmonica in the middle, and Clapton urges her “Harp…Mercy’s harp!” She finally decides on it), and Blues Power from the American rock era (it’s amazing how the band’s sync is perfect even in the intro play), Tell the Truth, Little It was a great set list, starting with Wing (a very majestic performance), Layla (the first regular tour, so it was a great performance), Let It Rain, and my favorite blues Ramblin’ On My Mind / Have You Ever Loved a Woman, and then opening with a surprise Chaplin’s Smile (included in the latest album). Among them, the Everly Brothers’ standard number All I Have to Do Is Dream, which was joined in the medley instead of Layla’s piano coda on this tour, was changed to a medley from Badge on this day. However, when listening to “Hammersmith Odeon 1974 1st Night: Original Audience Master (2CD)”, which we released from the original master recorded completely with the high-quality stereo audience source of that day, the same song is played again as an instrumental after Layla. In this official recording, that part overlaps with the postlude of Badge, so it was probably cut and edited (it was an unexpected discovery). And in fact, enthusiasts will know that this soundboard sound source contained a small flaw. In Tell the Truth, there was a cut during the song (a jump from the middle of the jam in the postlude to the ending) due to a problem during recording. In most past bootlegs, this flaw was left unaddressed. However, this time, the heavyweight taper cut out the missing parts from the multi-track master on the second day, which had the same superb sound quality, and provided a perfect complete version that could be listened to by patching it into the same song on the first day. Even if you listen to it for a moment, you won’t know where it was connected. This treatment made this work a more perfect sound source for the first day of Hammersmith Odeon. It can be said that the value of collecting it has increased even more (if you want to listen to Tell The Truth on this day, and if you want to listen to All I Have to Do Is Dream after Layla, please check out the aforementioned “Hammersmith Odeon 1974 1st Night: Original Audience Master (2CD)”). The guitar that Clapton used in this performance was a Martin D-45 until Can’t Find My Way Home, and from then on he used an original 1957 Gibson Explorer (tail cut model) that he acquired before the Japan tour. The latter in particular is an extremely rare guitar, with only 17 of them being made at the time, and you can hear its unique fat and sticky tone. This work, which allows you to hear the sound of this guitar, can be said to be a very valuable recording in his guitar history (only from the Japan performance and the subsequent European tour. After this, Clapton gave this guitar to Junior Marvin, guitarist of Bob Marley & The Wailers). In addition, the set list was different from the equally famous performance at the same venue the following day, and it can be said that this recording speaks of the high potential of Clapton’s band, the Tulsa Tops, at that time. According to band member Yvonne Elliman, four members of Led Zeppelin, who were recording an album in London, visited on this day and watched the concert from the wings of the stage. They were probably also concerned about Clapton’s comeback. Please enjoy the superb sound quality of the multi-track soundboard master brought to you by the heavyweight taper. Hammersmith Odeon, London, England 4th December 1974 STEREO SBD(from Original Masters) 2024 TRANSFER & UPGRADE!!! Disc:1 (60:16) 1. Intro. 2. Smile 3. Let It Grow 4. Can’t Find My Way Home 5. I Shot the Sheriff 6. Tell the Truth 7. Ramblin’ On My Mind / Have You Ever Loved a Woman 8. Willie and the Hand Jive 9. Get Ready 10. Opposites Disc:2 (61:47) 1. Blues Power 2. Little Wing 3. Singin’ the Blues 4. Badge 5. All I Have to Do Is Dream 6. Steady Rollin’ Man 7. Layla 8. Let it Rain STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING Eric Clapton – Guitar / Vocals George Terry – Guitar Dicks Sims – Keyboards Carl Radle – Bass Jamie Oldaker – Drums Yvonne Elliman – Backing Vocals Marcy Levy – Backing Vocals
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