Eric Clapton/NY,USA 2017 2Days Complete

In May 2015, Eric Clapton declared his retirement from touring, saying, “I swear, this is the last one.” However, his desire to perform live on stage never faded, and in April 2016, he performed in Japan, although only in Tokyo. This year, he performed in New York and LA in March, performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London in May, and additional performances in New York and LA in September were announced. In Kansai dialect, you might want to say, “What are you retiring from?”, but as a fan, I’m sure it would be nice to see him perform on stage as long as he can, just like his mentors B.B. King and Muddy Waters. And if he is willing, we have no choice but to deliver Clapton’s lively appearance in real time through sound. Here, we will quickly release good sources of both performances held at Madison Square Garden in New York on the 19th and 20th! Both sources are excellent stereo audience recordings uploaded on the Internet, but on the 19th, from the beginning to the encore, the sound balance was biased towards the high range, so our professional engineers performed a wonderful mastering, transforming it into a solid and stable sound quality. Also, on the 20th, the sound image gave the impression that the performance was somewhat deep, so we mastered it to make it clearer. As a result, even if you listen to it on both days, the quality is such that you can get the seal of approval from enthusiasts who listen to it and say, “This is good!” In addition, in the net master on the 20th, the recording was interrupted at 6:40 of Cocaine and at the beginning of Sunshine of Your Love from 0:00 to 0:21, so it was patched from another sound source on the same day and compensated for the discomfort with a wonderful cross-fade process. Enthusiasts will appreciate these fine mending aspects as well. Now, the Clapton band this time has changed again from the personnel at last year’s Japan performance. Second guitarist Andy Fairweather Low left the band, leaving Clapton alone on guitar, and Paul Carrack, who had been featured on keyboards and vocals, also left the band. Instead, Walt Richmond, a keyboardist who was a close friend of the late J.J. Cale, returned for the first time since 2010. Steve Gadd has also returned to the band on drums, so the band is extremely stable. Phil, who is like a storm and fuels Clapton, is still alive and well. What is noteworthy is that Charlotte Gibson has joined the band, replacing Michelle John, who has been a backing vocalist since 2004. Michelle John is currently appearing on the nationwide singer audition program “The Voice UK” in the UK, and has made it to the semi-finals. That is why she was unable to participate in this tour. The set lists for both shows were almost the same, except for the opening number and the swapping of Badge and Somebody’s Knocking. Since last year’s Japan tour, there have been no new songs from the new album “I Still Do”, but I’m sure many fans are happy to see Badge back on the set after a long time. Clapton’s “sharp slow-hand playing”, which was his forte in the past, has been overshadowed in recent years due to aging and poor health, and in both performances, you can hear his truly smoky silver playing, which is conscious of phrasing that allows you to listen carefully to the songs. On both days, Clapton was wearing a support on his right knee (he has been suffering from rheumatism for a long time). Covered in wounds, he still wants to stand on stage. In a sense, it can be said that Clapton has reached the same level as his senior bluesmen at this point. At the end of the encore on both days, Jimmie Vaughan and Gary Clark Jr., who were the opening acts, jumped in and performed guitar duets with Clapton. With many veteran musicians passing away one after another, it is more than anything for rock fans to see him retract his retirement and stand on stage in good health like this. Hopefully, this is a speedy release that you can listen to while looking forward to his return to Japan. The LA performance scheduled for the end of this month has been postponed to September due to Clapton’s acute bronchitis. This is the only album that allows you to experience Clapton at this time. First of all, please enjoy Clapton in real time with this album. Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. USA 19th & 20th March 2017 PERFECT SOUND Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. USA 19th March 2017 Disc 1 (43:36) 1. Intro 2. Key to the Highway 3. Badge 4. I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man 5. I Shot the Sheriff 6. Driftin’ Blues 7. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out 8. Tears in Heaven 9. Layla Disc 2 (48:02) 1. Somebody’s Knocking 2. Wonderful Tonight 3. Cross Road Blues 4. Little Queen of Spades 5. Cocaine 6. Sunshine of Your Love 7. Before You Accuse Me (with Gary Clark, Jr. & Jimmie Vaughan) Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. USA 20th March 2017 Disc 3 (46:11) 1. Intro 2. Somebody’s Knocking 3. Key to the Highway 4. I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man 5. I Shot the Sheriff 6. Driftin’ Blues (acoustic) 7. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out 8. Layla 9. Tears in Heaven Disc 4 (47:16) 1. Badge 2. Wonderful Tonight 3. Cross Road Blues 4. Little Queen of Spades 5. Cocaine 6. Sunshine of Your Love 7. Before You Accuse Me (with Gary Clark, Jr. & Jimmie Vaughan) Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals Chris Stainton – piano, keyboards Walt Richmond – organ, keyboards Nathan East – bass Steve Gadd – drums Charlotte Gibson – backing vocals Sharon White – backing vocals