Eric Clapton/Spain 1978

From the “Backless European Tour” in the fall of 1978, the performance in Barcelona, ​​Spain on November 6th was recorded with a well-balanced, wide stereo audience recording. In the past, the sound source of the Saarbrucken performance two days later was uploaded on the Internet. There, it was highly valued for playing Golden Ring and Walk Out in the Rain from the album “BACKLESS” as repertoires that could not be heard only in the early stages of the tour and later performances. However, the master of the heavyweight captured on this board was not only a genuine first appearance, but also an even more shocking content. Before explaining it, let’s first review the topic of this year and see how this European tour was positioned in Clapton’s activities.・February 1st to April 19th, 1978: US tour ・June 23rd, 1978: Appeared at a festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands with the Bob Dylan Band ・July 1st to 15th, 1978: Short European tour (including a festival appearance with Bob Dylan) <August to September 1978: Recording of the album “BACKLESS”> <November 1st, 1978: Release of the album “BACKLESS”> ・November 5th to December 7th, 1978: European tour ←★Here★ ・December 11th, 1978: Made a surprise appearance at a Muddy Waters concert in Dingwall, London You can see that this was a performance during the European tour promoting their new album “BACKLESS,” which was recorded with the same British producer, Glyn Johns, and released just two months after the album “SLOWHAND,” which was a huge hit, and that this performance was on the second day of the tour. This tour was an important one that ended the year and contributed greatly to the promotion of the album. For this tour, Clapton, who was tired of the usual airplane travel, came up with the idea of ​​a European style, and rented out the famous Orient Express train to visit all the performance locations. For Clapton, the opening act was Muddy Waters, a beloved bluesman, which was a happy situation. It shows that he was fresh and full of motivation. The highlight of this tour was that the band fired second guitarist George Terry, who was with them at the time of recording the album, and performed with a four-piece band, the same lineup as in Derek and the Dominos. The fact that Clapton was the only guitarist meant that the weight and importance of his performance increased. This tour attracted attention because he himself asked for the heavy responsibility despite his ongoing alcoholism. Another attraction of this tour was that, as we learned later, the set list was very different at the beginning of the tour and afterwards. As mentioned above, many numbers from the album “BACKLESS” were featured only in the very early performances. From the middle of the show onwards, the number of numbers from the album decreased drastically, and the repertoire of old blues and the previous tour became the main focus, making it look like a “regular tour”. The only fresh attempt was bringing Layla to the opening and setting up a cover of Stevie Wonder, Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever. In that sense, it can be said that the set list of this album is rare among Clapton’s live performances! First, take a look at the opening number. It’s Someone Like You. It is a number by Arthur Lewis, an unknown musician, recorded on the B-side of the single Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, which was released urgently in 1975. The A-side song was not set in, and the concert opened with this minor and maniac number that even fans seem to have forgotten. It seems that this is the only album in Clapton’s entire career, not just this tour, where you can hear the live version of this song. Next up is Blues Power, which doesn’t play the intro. This is also surprising. And not only Golden Ring and Walk Out in the Rain, but also four songs from “BACKLESS”, If I Don’t Be There By Morning and I’ll Make Love to You, are played. For fans of this album, which is highly regarded as a “hidden masterpiece”, this is an irresistible sound source. In the second half of Layla, they also play some rare songs in joint. It’s like an improvised jam. In this way, considering the final form of this tour that ended in late November, it is clear that the content was full of irregularities. Not only is it valuable, but the sound quality is also good. Although it is not as clear as Donpica’s, the sound balance is very good for an average cassette recording of this era, and the sound quality is easy to listen to. The pitch that was out of whack has been perfectly corrected by our engineer. The “Pensacola 1985” which will be released this week at the same time, contains the master provided by the heavyweight taper, and has seen the light of day for over 32 years, but this is the first time it has been released in 39 years. During the time when the “Tulsa Tops” were used, this tour was the only time they performed live with a four-piece band. I would like all Clapton fans to listen to this sound source. Live at Club Juventud de Barcelona, ​​Barcelona, ​​Spain 6th November 1978 TRULY AMAZING SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (44:39) 1. Someone Like You 2. Blues Power 3. Worried Life Blues 4. Badge 5. Golden Ring 6. If I Don’t Be There By Morning 7. Walk Out in the Rain Disc 2 (42:39) 1. Double Trouble 2. I’ll Make Love to You 3. Layla 4. Cocaine 5. Key to the Highway 6. Further On Up the Road Eric Clapton – Guitar, Vocals George Terry – Guitar Dick Sims – Keyboards Carl Radle – Bass Jamie Oldaker – Drums