Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Four discs-79,58,47,66 minutes each approximately. The sound is very good-especially considering the era and live location of the recordings. The spatial qualities of each instrument is apparent from the beginning-the highs are crisp, and the lows are deep without being muddy. Each disc is snapped in, inside a fold-out cardboard holder, each in a different color (that matches each CD), and with graphics related to when/where the music was recorded on the front flap. Inside each holder is a different b & w photo of various band members. On the back is listed location and date of each concert, and song title and length. The booklet is a spiral flip-up style. The 46 pages contain an overview (in fairly difficult to read cursive handwriting) of Delaney and Bonnie (and an interesting asides on how the name THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS came into being and how George Harrison came to join the bnad), and how they became involved with Eric Clapton. There are three loose photographs (reproductions) of various band members-a nice touch. The CD holders and booklet slip into a cut foam insert, inside a heavy cardboard replica touring case, and the large lid slides up and off. Check the Rhino Records site for availability and a good price. I only wish this set was available at a lower price (without the fancy packaging), so many more people could hear this amazing music.
Personnel on these recordings are: Delaney Bramlett-rhythm guitar/vocals, Bonnie Bramlett-vocals, Eric Clapton-lead guitar (occasional vocals), Dave Mason-guitar, Carl Radle-bass, Jim Gordon-drums, Bobby Whitlock-organ/vocals, Jim Price-trumpet/trombone, Bobby Keys-saxophones, Tex Johnson-percussion, and Rita Coolidge-vocals. And while George Harrison's name isn't listed (he's mentioned in the accompanying booklet as playing guitar), it's well known that he did play guitar, along with his friend Eric Clapton on this tour.The original album, "Delaney and Bonnie & Friends On Tour with Eric Clapton", was released in 1970, from concerts recorded in 1969. It was immediately praised by critics and that portion of the public that had come to grips with the fact that CREAM and BLIND FAITH were dead. In addition, Clapton, after hearing the first album by THE BAND, wanted to both join an honest working band, and make some honest sounding music-like THE BAND. No more headlining superstar status again-just a guitar player in a rootsy, straight forward, ego-less, hard working band. In Delaney and Bonnie he found what he was looking for.
Originally a support group for the BLIND FAITH tour, Clapton found himself drawn to Delaney and Bonnie not only because of the music, but because of the bands camaraderie on and off the stage. Clapton is quoted as saying that playing after Delaney and Bonnie was really difficult for the simple reason he thought their band was miles better than BLIND FAITH. The bands Southern heritage and musical chops, plus the fact that Delaney and Bonnie were the first white act singed to Stax Records, Clapton felt, put them in a league of their own. So he started to hang around the band more and more, and basically gave up on BLIND FAITH. It's widely known that Delaney Bramlett encouraged Clapton to sing-not occasionally-but to eventually front his own band. After playing as part of THE PLASTIC ONO BAND, Clapton went on tour with Delaney and Bonnie. This was one of the major musical turning points in Clapton's life-playing music for the infectious thrill of it rather than to simply make wads of cash. The results of this musical merger has now (finally!) been released in a lavish box set. Infectious? Wow.
For listeners who liked the original album-multiply that feeling by four. This set has so many gems its difficult to list them all. For anyone who wants to know what all the fuss was about-give this a listen. From the "Opening Jam", to "Gimme Some Lovin'", to "Medley: Pour Your Love On Me/Just Plain Beautiful", to "Everybody Loves A Winner", to the "Little Richard Medley", the musicianship, the vocals of Delaney and Bonnie, and the generally free-wheeling, good-time sound the band pumps out is amazing. This is music that's a visceral mixture of gut-bucket soul/r&b/blues/country, seasoned with a healthy dose of rock 'n' roll. This band had an unpretentious yet very intense, alive sound that touched all the bases, that formed into something approaching "American" music-this band was simply on fire. And that's just on the first disc.
Several songs ("Gimme Some Lovin'", "I Don't Know Why", "Coming Home", "Little Richard Medley", among others) are played at each concert, so there is some repetition, but the electricity generated by the band makes this a small issue. This bands good-time outlook, both in life and music-making can be heard loud and clear on any track on any disc. This is honest, real-deal, soulful rock 'n' roll-the kind that once you hear it-it gets inside your body and doesn't let go. The gritty vocals, the pumping rhythm section, the soulful smoking horns, and Clapton's reinvigorated guitar playing-all add up to a heart-pumping experience. Listening to this music-can you imagine what it was like to be there in person? This set of concerts is the next best thing. Oh, yes-play loud.
P.S. For a good example of Delaney Bramlett's expertise in the studio-checkout the deluxe version of Clapton's first solo album-the 2nd disc is the album (plus additional tracks) mixed by Bramlett-what a difference!
Click Here to see more reviews about: On Tour With Eric Clapton: Deluxe Edition Box Set (4-Disc Set)
Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett assembled an all-star group of "friends" in 1969 for a weeklong tour of England, a legendary excursion that would produce On Tour With Eric Clapton, one of rock's most powerful and enduring live albums. Clocking in at a mere 40 minutes, the original left fans wanting more for decades. THE WAIT IS OVER - Rhino Handmade delivers with a four-disc deluxe reissue expanded with more than three hours of unreleased roof-raising, hickory-smoked rock 'n' soul.
The set, which comes packaged in a mock road case, contains Delaney & Bonnie & Friends' complete performance at London's Royal Albert Hall, plus a composite of the next night's performances at Colston Hall in Bristol, and both the early and late shows from the tour's final stop at Fairfield Halls in Croydon. Along with the Bramletts, the touring band showcased on these discs includes guitarists Eric Clapton and Dave Mason, bassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon, organist Bobby Whitlock, Jim Price and Bobby Keys on horns, percussionist Tex Johnson, and singer Rita Coolidge.
Along with unreleased versions of all the songs from the original, this reissue also contains several songs not featured on the 1970 album, including "I Don't Know Why" a track the Bramletts penned with Clapton; "My Baby Specializes" and "Everybody Loves A Winner" from the Bramlett's debut Home; "Get Ourselves Together" from the couple's 1969 follow-up Accept No Substitute; the traditional "Will The Circle Be Unbroken"; a cover of Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'"; and the instrumental "Pigmy."
Click here for more information about On Tour With Eric Clapton: Deluxe Edition Box Set (4-Disc Set)
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