Eric Clapton & Friends Live (DTS DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: B- Extras: D Film: B-
Eric
Clapton has been around for a long time, which makes it easy to look back and
see certain changes in his life, high times, low times, etc. We quickly can mark periods when he was in
transition from certain groups, such as Cream to going onto more solo
material. In the 1980’s Clapton seemed
in a tight spot. His previous successes
were falling far behind him, while the future remained bleak for many virtuoso
guitarists, especially an aging one.
Some people revere Clapton as one of the greatest guitarists ever, which
I have my gripes about. He is certainly
a legendary player, influential, and imbedded into the history of rock
music. He is also one of the few
hallmark white blues players, up there with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmy
Page. Clapton’s history goes back around
the time of Jimi Hendrix and the psychedelic era that was prominent in the late
60’s. Now comes the DVD Eric Clapton & Friends.
Throughout
the 70’s Clapton became more of a one-man show and his album Slowhand stands as a classic. The 80’s would see a different side of
Clapton though. The death of his son,
his battle with drug addiction, and his decline in the music spotlight would darken
the decade. However, in 1986 came Eric
Clapton & Friends Live, which teamed his together with Phil Collins on
drums, along with Nathan East and Greg Phillinganes. It would be a remarkable night with some new
material along with older material as well as Collins new hit song In the Air Tonight.
Track
List (Approx. 60 min.)
- Crossroads
- White Room
- Run
- Miss You
- Tearing Us Apart
- Holy Mother
- In the Air Tonight
- Layla (Full Version)
- Sunshine of Your Love
The
overall program is good, yet short. The
performances quite nice and this DVD is decent considering it offers a DTS 5.1
mix. The sound has a dated feel to it,
which would still sound great if it were not for the 2002 release of Eric
Clapton’s One More Car, One More Rider DVD, which was the original design for
the 1986 tour. That DVD shows the same
musicians with exception of Phil Collins, but the concert was shot in 2001 with
better equipment. The video on Eric Clapton & Friends shows its
age and the 1.33 X 1 full frame image looks muddy, drab, and washed out. This only takes away from the performance a
tad.
It is
probably fair to say that this might be a DVD for only true Eric Clapton
fans. Die hards that never tire of his
material regardless of who is performing it or where it is located. Since the program runs so short, it never
fully covers the material that it could have.
There are no extras, but this DVD retails for a relatively low price
making it an easy investment to make.
- Nate Goss
