Eric Clapton/London,UK 02.20.1993 Complete

The first high-quality master of the first day of the 1993 Royal Albert Hall performance! Eric Clapton's unreleased original master sound source is in the lineup! The master is an overseas taper that provides high-quality original masters, and the first day of the 12-day consecutive performance at the Royal Albert Hall, where Clapton performed only blues covers for the first time on stage on February 20, 1993, was recorded completely with a good stereo audience recording. This sound source itself is the same as the title introduced as "RAH 1993 First Performance" (sound quality rating 4: good) on the bootleg evaluation site "Geetarz", but the sound quality has been further improved for what is thought to be the original master (we have made pitch corrections and mastering to make it even easier to listen to). However, since the original master was a cassette tape (there are tape twists and tape change points due to the aging process), the release title "ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1993 Final Night" was released from the best master on the final day, March 1st, as the title, and in addition to the high sound quality approaching that, the set list is different from the final day, so I hope you will enjoy it. This series of performances was the first solo live performance of the year, following Cream's "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" award commemorative performance in January of the same year. At that first live performance, Clapton came up with a groundbreaking plan that had never been seen before. It was to make the entire set up of old blues. After the previous year's "Unplugged", Clapton had done an introspective job of looking back on his career and life, and came to the conclusion that he would return to his roots. This performance was very valuable and important in the sense that it was the trigger for the recording of the subsequent album "From The Cradle". During this series of performances, Clapton was thinking about deciding on candidates for blues numbers to be included in "From The Cradle". Therefore, the songs you can hear here are not only ones he had always wanted to cover, but also ones he wanted to play with his band to see if they sounded right. For this reason, the set includes rare blues songs that were not featured on the later "Nothin' But The Blues Tour." Alabama Women, Chicago Breakdown, Long Distance Call, Blow Wind Blow, Blues With A Feeling, Key To The Highway, Tell Me Mama, Juke, Comin' Home, Meet Me In The Bottom, It's My Life, All Your Love, and Further On Up The Road were not included in the set on the "Nothin' But The Blues" tour from 1994 to 1995, so these are blues covers that can only be heard here. The songs that were not played on "ROYAL ALBERT HALL 1993 Final Night" are Blues With A Feeling and Further On Up The Road. The former is Little Walter's number, so it features Jerry Portnoy's harmonica, and Clapton here is dedicated to playing in support of Portnoy. The latter was a familiar number in the 70s and 80s, but the key it is usually played in is "G", but here it is played in "E", which is unusual, and the song structure and arrangement are very different from the previous versions. Please pay attention to the arrangement that slows the tempo to medium and changes the rhythm to syncopation in the intro and at the end, which is a one-time arrangement. Furthermore, Hear Me Calling was an original blues song written by Clapton. This song has not been recorded in a studio since then, so it is a very valuable live version. What is interesting is that it was already structured like the later "Nothin' But The Blues" tour, starting with an acoustic number in a sitting position, moving to an electric number in a standing position, gradually heating up and piling up a tremendous performance at the end. The tension in the performance from around It's My Life is intense, and the performance of Let Me Love You Baby is especially amazing. It's the essence of Clapton. For this reason, this series of performances may have been in Clapton's mind not only for the selection of songs for the album "FROM THE CRADLE" but also for the subsequent tour. It is valuable in that sense, but the band personnel was also only for this time, and the Little Feat drummer Richie Hayward was used, just like the performance in Japan at the end of the year, but Donald Duck Dunn was called from Memphis for the first time in eight years since 1985 for the bass, just for this series of performances. And Jerry Portnoy, a white but deep harpist, was also used from this time. It can be said that the stage with this lineup was interesting, containing various spot meanings. The intention of solidifying the rhythm section with Americans must have been related to the blues that Clapton was aiming for. Also note that Ain't Nobody's Business was already set as the finale of the regular set at this point. There is no studio version of this song, but considering that he made it the last number, Clapton must have had a special attachment to it. The play quality is also excellent, just like the later "Nothin' But The Blues" tour. Please enjoy Clapton's blues with this first release of the original master recording. It has a different flavor from the "Nothin' But The Blues Tour". The only tour featuring dynamic drummer Richie Hayward The drummer for this series of performances was the late Richie Hayward of Little Feat (who died in 2010). In Clapton's career, the only times he served as a support drummer on the tour were this RAH performance and the Japan tour. It is believed that Clapton scouted him because he had a track record of performing with Little Feat twice, in 1988 and 1992. He must have been attracted to him after hearing his dynamic drumming. In this work, you can hear the powerful playing, especially in electric blues. The awesome playing in Hear Me Calling is especially irresistible. I hope you will mourn this great drummer while enjoying his playing, which can only be heard here. There are acoustic blues, electric blues, major blues, and minor blues. In other words, this stage is filled with all the charm of the blues that Clapton wanted to play at this point. Please enjoy the variety of the stage with this high-quality work, which will be the first to appear. Pay attention to the arrangement of Further On Up The Road on this day! The key is usually "G", but it is played in "E". The tempo is lowered to medium, and the rhythm is changed to syncopation in the intro and at the end, making it an arrangement that is only available at this time. Super rare! This is the first time I've heard this arrangement. Royal Albert Hall, London, UK 20th February 1993 PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc:1 (62:38) 1. Intro 2. How Long 3. Alabama Woman 4. Terraplane Blues 5. From Four Until Late 6. Kidman Blues 7. County Jail 8. 32-20 9. Chicago Breakdown 10. Hey Hey Hey 11. Walking Blues 12. Long Distance Call 13. Blow Wind Blow 14. Blues With A Feeling 15. Tell Me Mama 16. Key To The Highway 17. Juke 18. Goin' Away 19. Blues Leave Me Alone Disc:2 (57:28) 1. Coming Home 2. Meet Me In The Bottom 3. Forty Four 4. It's My Life 5. Love Her With Feeling 6. Tore Down 7. Born Under A Bad Sigh 8. Let Me Love You Baby 9. All Your Love 10. Groaning The Blues 11. Hear Me Calling 12. Ain't Nobody's Business 13. Further On Up The Road Eric Clapton: Guitar, Vocals Andy Fairweather Low: Rhythm Guitar Jerry Portnoy: Harmonica Chris Stainton: Keyboards Donald Duck Dunn: Bass Richie Hayward: Drums Roddy Lorimer: Trumpet Tim Sanders: Tenor Sax