MUSIC REVIEWS

ERIC CLAPTON & STEVE WINWOOD LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
By R. A. Pearson

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live at Madison Square Garden was released on May 19, 2009. It is a two CD set with 21 songs performed over three nights in 2008. Clapton and Winwood were in Blind Faith in 1969 after the break up of Cream and many of the songs on the CD come from the one album the band produced.

The CD contains the standard Clapton songs the listener would expect and there are no surprises in the style and scope of these songs, another live version of “Tell the Truth,” “Cocaine,” and “After Midnight” really do very little to distinguish this live CD from any other live Clapton CD; however, it is really the songs from Blind Faith, Winwood’s early band Traffic, and even Jimi Hendrix which set this CD apart.

The Blind Faith songs on the CD, “Had To Cry Today,” “Well All Right,” “Presence Of The Lord,” and the fairly popular “Can’t Find My Way Home” really add luster to this collection and were the backbone of the reunion of these two artists after almost 40 years. The Hendrix song “Little Wing” would bring back memories from the 1970 album “Layla And Assorted Love Songs” by Derrick and the Dominos while Winwood played on the original Hendrix version of “Voodoo Chile” on Electric Ladyland in 1968. Winwood’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” is a great live rendition of this classic tune.

There is little doubt Clapton’s guitar is a hard hitting force on this live performance and Winwood’s organ and keyboard performance is also exceptional. Other performers on Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Live at Madison Square Garden include Willie Weeks on bass, Ian Thomas on drums, and Chris Stanton on keyboards.

This is a great CD. There is also a DVD of the performance and it appeared on public TV and will probably be rebroadcast at a later date.

July 15, 2008, the Portland, Oregon, indie folk/pop band Blind Pilot released a CD called 3 Rounds And A Sound. The band consists of Ryan Dobrowski on guitar and Israel Nebeker on drums but adds members for tours and performances. The band uses acoustic guitars, dulcimers, violins, soft drumming and unique yet sentimental lyrics to cast a very mellow mood to the listeners of their music. Interesting songs on this CD include “One Red Thread,” “Go On Say It,” a heavily downloaded song on iTunes, “I Buried A Bone,” and the title cut, “3 Rounds And A Sound.”

You may want to give 3 Rounds And A Sound this a listen and downloads are available.

Don Henely fans will be glad to know a new collection of hits was released in June, The Very Best Of Don Henley. The CD contains 14 cuts; however, some songs may coincide with an earlier hits released in 1995 Actual Miles: Henley’s Greatest Hits. Songs on The Very Best Of Don Henley include “Dirty Laundry,” “The Boys Of Summer,” “The End Of The Innocence” and “The Heart Of The Matter.” If you are a Don Henley fan you may want to check the new CD out, but if you have Actual Miles, you may want to check the song list against the new CD before you buy.

Michael Jackson dies at age 50. The music world was shocked on June 25 to hear of the death of Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop,” who died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles while rehearsing for a big comeback tour in London. Jackson rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a group formed with his four older brothers. Their hits included “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” and “I’ll Be There.” His solo carrier included the 1982 album Thriller, the best-selling album of all time with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide, which included the blockbuster hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and the title cut “Thriller.” He will be missed by his family, friends, and his many fans from around the world.