Eric Clapton,Santana/CA,USA 1975 Upgrade

The original master of Eric Clapton’s LA Forum performance on August 14, 1975, recorded by legendary LA-based taper Mike Millard, has been published online by JEMS as “The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Series”. It has been uploaded to! This is a genuine first generation master tape recorded and owned by Mr. Millard. The master cassettes of Mr. Millard, who passed away in 1994, were copied and given to friends who were tapers during his lifetime, and further copy masters leaked from there, making the sound source of this day a famous sound source that has been released many times in the past. has been born. Even after copying, the sound was so good and the musical tones were so close that some were released as “soundboard recordings,” but all of them were originally cassettes recorded by Mr. Millard. There were rumors that he destroyed all the master cassettes of all the artists he had recorded when he realized he was dying, or that his mother, who did not understand their value, threw them away after his death. However, Mr. Millard’s friend Rob S., who was the only person who knew his mother, visited the Millard house in the early 2000s, made repairs to the house, gained the trust of Mr. Millard’s mother, and moved into Mr. Millard’s room. What I discovered after being allowed to do so was the first generation cassettes of this series. The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Series”. In the recording of this performance, Rob S. himself wrote that he accompanied Mr. Millard. It seems that the seat was in the middle of the second row from the front row of the arena, where Mr. Millard fixed his wheelchair and recorded with a stereo microphone attached to the hat he was wearing. According to Rob, among Millard’s many tapes, this one of Clapton’s LA performances is one of his favorites, as it achieves a high-quality recording that can be called his essence. While the sound image of the performance is very well-balanced, the sense of presence and freshness is also excellent, which is an outstanding quality that can only be expected from Millard. In fact, it is not only a high-quality audience recording, but also excellent stability. Therefore, no equalization was necessary for this release. This is a master who only adjusted the pitch, which was a little over 10% of a semitone higher. Rather, it can be said that this adjustment gave us the value of being able to appreciate the true appearance of this live sound source rather than the state of the internet. And this time too, the high quality of the first generation master tape stands out. To explain Clapton’s trends in 1975, Clapton, who had made a dramatic comeback from a three-year retirement the previous year, toured the United States, Europe, and Japan with the album “461 OCEAN BOULEVARD.” Fans all over the world enthusiastically welcomed his comeback, but despite his attractive setlist, on some days he appeared to be intoxicated, leading to a number of poor performances during the tour. there was. Perhaps as a result of that, their next album, “THERE’S ONE IN EVERY CROWD,” ended up being a hit, as if the hit of “461” was a lie. In a last resort, Polydor Records released “E.C. WAS HERE,” a live album centered on blues covers that captured performances on a good day. In order to gain momentum for its release, Clapton conducted a large-scale North American tour this year as well. Moreover, although he has not gotten over his alcoholism, he has never played while drunk. Her energetic stage performance, in which she danced around Layla from the top, was very popular. The setlist changed every day, just like the previous year’s tour. Moreover, many numbers from the era of Derek and the Dominos are included, as well as Eyesight To The Blind, which Clapton sang in The Who’s movie “TOMMY” released in 1974, and the new single Dylan number Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door. His aggressive attitude was also evident, as he started playing right away. In other words, the 1975 tour was Clapton’s “return of the previous year’s stigma, a true comeback.” Let’s look back at the schedule here. 1975, April 7th – April 28th: ​​Hawaii & Oceania (15 performances), June 14th – July 12th: North America #1 (24 performances) *Clapton took a short break here, Participated in the recording session for Bob Dylan’s album “DESIRE” in late July [Live album “E.C. WAS HERE” to be released on August 1st] August 3rd – August 30th: North America #2 (21 performances)← ★Coco★・October 22nd – November 2nd: Japan (7 performances) This was the entire tour. Although Europe would go on to the next year, this year they achieved a return to the stigma in the United States and Japan. This LA performance was at the end of the North American tour. On this North American tour, friend musician Carlos Santana was appointed as the opening act by Clapton’s appointment, so there was a topic that Santana jumped in and participated in Clapton’s stage encore almost every performance. As expected, that did not happen in the Japanese performance, but the American fans were probably surprised and delighted by this surprise. And the set list suddenly starts with Layla, a powerful stage with an all-electric set. Moreover, just like the 1974 tour, the set list changes every night, making it a varied composition. If you want to listen closely, there’s a number called Carnival. At this point, this song had not been officially released and had to wait until the following year’s recording of “NO REASON TO CRY”, but the take heard here is a better version than the studio version, including Clapton’s guitar solo in the middle. It is also much longer and has a “hot” finish. This is also where the real pleasure of this tour is overflowing. And the passionate play of the Dominos number Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad is irresistible. What’s more, the encore that day was a special performance in which Keith Moon of The Who, who was living in LA at the time, and Joe Cocker, who was said to be the most soulful of all white singers, flew in. is. Keith Moon was drinking buddies with musicians such as John Lennon, Nilsson, Alice Cooper, Jesse Davis, and Clapton, who were in LA for the Lost Weekend (Cocker was also a big drinker, of course). . I feel like I went on stage with that same momentum this day. It seems that Moon and Cocker’s participation was not announced in advance, and the two only participated in the performance with percussion instruments such as cowbell and tambourine, but Moon’s voice was captured in the MC of Disc 2-1, It’s definitely a precious day. If you pay attention to this MC, Clapton first announces, “I would like to solicit requests from the audience. If anyone has a request, please stand up.” It is unprecedented for Clapton to solicit requests at a concert. The audience is excited, but for some reason things get out of control and the matter ends up being a mystery. There, Keith Moon appears after being introduced to Clapton. Is Moon rare? I’m going to seriously introduce Clapton, but the introduction phrase is “King of surf guitar!” (Moon was a huge surf music fan). In response to this, Clapton performs a passage of Pipeline with a guitar like the Ventures, a very unusual scene. In addition to these humorous listening points unique to this era, the quality of Clapton’s play on this day is incredible! The flowing phrasing in the blues cover and the burst of sharp slow hand playing in his own numbers, including Layla, make it possible to appreciate the entire performance all at once. Especially on this day, the dynamic solo that made full use of the wah pedal was outstanding. At the end, there’s a fiery guitar battle with Santana. Among the 75-year tour, this LA performance can be said to be etched in history as a particularly wonderful day. The original mirrored master tape that appeared after 45 years. If you have the previously released version, you will be able to understand the difference if you listen to the main version of Millard’s master direct & pitch adjustment = the highest peak. On this day, Clapton was on fire in LA. (Remastered Memo) Corrected pitch that was a little over 10% higher than a semitone. The Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA 14th August 1975 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(UPGRADE) Disc 1 (58:56) 1. Intro 2. Layla 3. Further On Up the Road 4. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door 5. Carnival 6. Can ‘t Find My Way Home 7. Tell the Truth 8. Stormy Monday Disc 2 (53:10) 1. MC 2. Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad 3. Teach Me to Be Your Woman 4. Badge 5. Eyesight to the Blind (with Joe Cocker, Keith Moon, Carlos Santana) Eric Clapton – Guitar, Vocals George Terry – Guitar Dicks Sims – Keyboards Carl Radle – Bass Jamie Oldaker – Drums Sergio Pastora Rodriguez – Percussion Yvonne Elliman – Backing Vocals Marcy Levy – Backing Vocals