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(More customer reviews)Now often overlooked, Blind Faith was guitar god Eric Clpaton's first move after Cream imploded at the end of 1968. Joining forces with the multi-talented Steve Winwood(vocals and keyboards), who has just left Traffic, seemed like an unbeatable idea, and the addition of drummer extraordinaire Ginger Baker and bassist Rick Grech made Blind Faith seem like a "can't miss" project. Six months later it was over. Rushed into the studio by greedy and insensitive managers and then sent on a long and chaotic tour, Blind Faith never had a chance to gel as a band. After one promising album, the original supergroup broke up.
Judged a disappointment at the time Blind Faith's one and only album has some very fine moments. Clapton had yet to develop the confidence needed to be a convincing lead vocalist, so he deferred to Winwood, who was at his peak as a singer. Clapton's guitar work is simply magnificent, as he is already maturing beyond his work with Cream and pointing towards his renaissance with Derek & the Dominoes that began a year later.
Polydor has remastered "Blind Faith" using state-of-the-art technology, and reissued it with outtakes and jam sessions from the original 1969 recording sessions. The original album is a revelation; the sound as crisp and full as is imaginable. The clarity is astounding, and even if you think you know every note of this album, you will be pleasantly surprised by what you hear on this new version. Songs like Winwood's "Can't Find My Way Home" and "Sea of Joy," and Clapton's "Presence of the Lord" have aged very well and sound better than ever.
The outtakes are a mixed lot. A couple have appeared on Clapton and Winwood's anthologies, and several others have circulated for years on bootlegs, albeit with inferior sound. These tracks are interesting but not essential.
The jams, alas, are largely a waste. Playing riffs for ten or fifteen minutes while waiting for a musical idea that's worth keeping is not my idea of fun for the listener. These tracks are not even built around a reliable and basic format like 12-bar blues. There are some fiery moments - how could there not be with these musicians - but, like the three CD "Layla" box a decade ago, most of the unreleased material is disappointing.
Still, fans of Clapton, Winwood and their various bands will probably want to own this set. The remastered "Blind Faith" is a gem, and stakes a viable claim for the album as one of the best of its era.
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