Eric Clapton / TX, USA 04.24.1990 Complete

The pinnacle of audience recordings from the 1990 “Journeyman Tour”! The first release in “Eric Clapton Week” comes from an overseas taper who has recently been providing us with amazing unreleased masters. This release is a complete, ultra-high-quality stereo audience recording of the concert held in Houston, Texas, on April 24, 1990, from the “Journeyman World Tour,” which could be said to be when Clapton was at his most “rock-oriented.” While there have been previous releases of this audio, the original cassette master provided by the overseas taper is completely different from the previous releases, with a longer Layla Orchestra intro at the beginning and outstanding stereo breadth. Of course, this is the highest sound quality release to date. If you listen carefully, you will notice that tape changes occurred just before Bad Love, Old Love, and Wonderful Tonight, but the recording was completed with almost no damage to the songs. There is a gap due to a tape change at 8:32 in Sunshine Of Your Love, but it is the drum solo section and has been cleverly spliced ​​in. Furthermore, we have performed pitch adjustment and remastering at our store, so you can enjoy it with a crystal-clear and powerful sound that can be said to be the best for 1990. As it is America, you can hear chatter from the surrounding audience, but the excitement at key moments is truly moving. For better or for worse, this can be said to be an audio recording that realistically captures the “American Tour”. This tour was performed by a large band of 9 pieces including Clapton, so the sound was thick and there were many instruments, making it difficult to faithfully capture the sound output of the PA system at the venue at the time, but it seems that the recording seat was in a very good position in the arena, and this work brilliantly captures the dazzling and glittering sound unique to this tour. A hit parade of non-stop playing in the electric set only! Now let’s look at the timing of this concert in Clapton’s career and the progression of this year in chronological order. Clapton’s activities were active from the very beginning of 1990. ≪November 7, 1989: Album “JOURNEYMAN” released≫・January 14 – March 5, 1990: UK, Scandinavia, and European tour including 18 consecutive performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London・March 24 – May 5, 1990: US tour first leg ←★HERE★・June 6, 1990: Attended the “Elvis Awards” ceremony at the Lexington Harmonie in New York.・June 30, 1990: Performed at the “Silver Clef Award Winners Concert” in Knebworth, England.・July 21st – September 2nd, 1990: Second leg of the US tour ・September 29th – October 21st, 1990: South American tour ・November 7th – November 29th, 1990: Oceania & Southeast Asia tour ・December 4th – 13th, 1990: Japan tour You can see that 1990 was a year dedicated to promoting the album “JOURNEYMAN,” which was released at the end of the previous year. Incorporating programmed beats and synthesizers, while also covering old blues, the album featured a diverse range of approaches, from melting ballads to edgy, intense numbers, creating a “modern, active artist, Eric Clapton.” It seems he wanted to showcase its appeal to fans through a world-scale tour. The tour was ambitious, featuring six tracks from the album: Pretending, No Alibis, Bad Love, Running On Faith, Before You Accuse Me, and Old Love. This particular performance, which is being released now, took place midway through the first leg of the US tour. In other words, having received positive feedback in Europe and the US, Clapton stood on stage full of confidence, his mind, body, and spirit at its peak. Later, towards the end of the second leg of the US tour, he would experience the devastating loss of his collaborator Stevie Ray Vaughan in an unfortunate accident, plunging him into the depths of despair. However, at this point, he delivered a majestic and confident performance, radiating an unclouded, confident sound. Clapton’s playing at this performance is simply phenomenal! From the opening, his guitar playing is incredibly sharp and cutting. Listeners will be completely knocked out by his fluid playing on the legendary I Shot the Sheriff, White Room, and Bad Love. In the blues piece “Before You Accuse Me,” Clapton displays his versatile and masterful playing, and in “Old Love,” he delivers a deeply moving and emotional performance; Clapton’s momentum is unstoppable. “Wonderful Tonight” is slowed down in tempo, and towards the end, it becomes the most magnificent version ever, including scat singing by Katie Kissoon. The band introductions, set to the tune of “Thank You” from Graham Central Station, are also enjoyable, and Clapton’s solo in “Cocaine,” which follows from there, is tremendous. “A Remark You Made,” which was set as the prologue to “Layla,” has become a major instrumental number, even being given its own track. “Layla,” which follows, is also flawlessly executed. In the outro solo, he unleashes a variety of phrases, making full use of the low to high positions on the fretboard. For the encore, his solo in “Sunshine Of Your Love” begins with a phrase from Frank Sinatra’s “Strengers In The Night,” which he was fond of quoting at the time. This song is a massive 18-minute performance, featuring a drum solo by Steve Ferrone, a percussion solo by Ray Cooper, and the familiar call-and-response with the audience. By this time, the structure of the show no longer included an acoustic set in the middle. The way he creates dynamic shifts in tempo and builds a solid, powerful stage presence using only electric instruments demonstrates that Clapton was at his peak during this period. This intense and passionate performance, which never loses momentum from beginning to end, is a must-listen. This is the perfect recording for anyone who wants to hear Clapton at his most energetic. The Summit, Houston, TX, USA 24th April 1990 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc:1 (73:41) 1. Intro. 2. Pretending 3. No Alibis 4. Running On Faith 5. I Shot The Sheriff 6. White Room 7. Can’t Find My Way Home 8. Bad Love 9. Before You Accuse Me 10. Old Love Disc:2 (70:58) 1. Tearing Us Apart 2. Wonderful Tonight 3. Band Introductions 4. Cocaine 5. A Remark You Made 6. Layla 7. Crossroads 8. Sunshine Of Your Love Eric Clapton Guitar, Vocals Phil Palmer Guitar Nathan East Bass Steve Ferrone Drums Greg Phillinganes Keyboards Alan Clark Keyboards Ray Cooper Percussion Katie Kissoon Backing Vocals Tessa Niles Backing Vocals