Away Team

CREAM

Live Royal Albert Hall 2005

Eagle Vision

10 out of 10

For four nights in May of 2005 Cream reunited. And the world took notice. It was the hottest ticket to be had on any side of the ocean. Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker were to grace the stage again for the first time in 38 years. Anyone who is anyone was there, or vying to be there. This was history in the making. This was the biggest reunion to hit in some time, this was the reunion that no one ever thought would happen, and here we had four nights of unprecedented shows!

Thankfully someone thought to record the events and put out a video for the less fortunate slobs who didn’t make it like me. So now I have the pleasure of sitting around my living room in my dirty skivvies eating Cheetos, burning some incense while turning the lights down, and blissing out to CREAM. I picked a bad week to quit smoking grass.

The first thing that struck me when the concert started is that other than a relatively small video wall behind the band, there is precious little production value to the show. Which is usually the best sign you can have that you are going to be schooled by some amazing musicians. The second thing that this beautiful Blu Ray DVD showed me is that concerts in HD are fucking amazing to view. But they make our musical heroes look way too old. As millions of guitar players out there have done over the years, I used to pour over videos watching the guitar greats play and wail on their solos trying to figure out how to play them myself. Today’s up and coming future guitar greats have it easy with huge TV screens and high definition Blu Ray DVDs to watch and learn from.

And this is most certainly one DVD that should be at the top of anyone’s lists of must haves to own and learn by. Sure it’s been a few years since you’ve seen CLAPTON IS GOD carved into a school desk anywhere, but the man hasn’t lost a lick yet, and you’d do well to sit, watch, absorb, learn, and appreciate the amazing skill the man who is now 66 still has. Clapton may very well still be god. And this Cream show goes a long way in proving that.

Considering Eric, Ginger, and Jack haven’t played together live since 1968 (minus the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction), LONG before any of you reading this were born I’m sure (hell it was even a year before I was born, and I’m fucking old!), it is a testament to their skills and talent that they are still so tight and amazing on stage.

The third thing that struck me watching the concert was that I found out that I knew precious little about Cream’s catalog. It’s seven songs in before I hear a song I recognize. This isn’t a bad thing, as I can’t think of a better way to be introduced and submersed into Cream‘s catalog than this almost 2.5 hour concert. While the band is nothing short of phenomenal on stage the mix pouring out of my speakers may be the best sounding DVD I’ve ever experienced. The drums and bass form this tight rhythm that Clapton’s guitar just flows over and the whole band fills the room while the vocals make it sound like you are surrounded by Clapton and Bruce. It isn’t until the end of the show that White Room, Toad, and Sunshine of your Love finally show up. But the journey to the end of the show is utterly amazing.

Cream put out 4 albums in their brief 3 years of recording. And while some more well known songs may not have made the cut here for these shows and this DVD, the selection can’t be criticized because each and every song shines here. Whether it be the bluesier slow numbers that allow Clapton’s guitar to masterfully weep and pull you close while wrenching out such mournful sounds, to the faster paced jams where Bruce can break out the harmonica and wail away as Clapton and Baker provide a tight backdrop for him. The interplay between Bruce and Clapton be it bass and guitar or harmonica and guitar, or even vocally as they exchange versus on White Room is great to watch, even if you know the storied past and the reasons why there was never a full fledged reunion tour.

Clapton’s guitar sound and playing on Stormy Monday is brilliant. The flawless bluesy tone soars through the hall and caused me to go back and watch it 4 or 5 times before moving on to the next song. That sound, his guitar tone and playing in Stormy Monday is what I attempted to learn/perform many years ago. It was when I realized that I would never make my guitar wail and cry like that so I put the guitar down. But Stormy Monday live, off this disc will forever be the pinnacle of blues guitar playing for me.

We’re Going Wrong left me speechless. It is powerful, amazing, beautiful, and the watching the band perform it is one of the reasons I contemplated flying to London to see the show. Not that I knew that it would be played, or that it would be so amazing, and have such an impact on me, but because the magic that is Cream on stage could ignite during a song like this, and lift the crowd, and transport them to another level of musical awareness. It is for moments like this that I love music. It is for moments like that I attend a hundred shows a year or more. It is that magical moment when the band hit this groove, and time stops, and the band and audience are transformed. That is the beauty of music. That is what is missing in most of today’s music. And that is what incredible musicians like Clapton can still bring out of us today.

If you’ve ever picked up a guitar, if you’ve ever been in a band, if you’ve ever sat at a desk or had a locker that had CLAPTON IS GOD carved into it, if you’ve ever appreciated any form of music… ever, go pick up CREAM: LIVE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 2005. Take a couple of hours and allow yourself to be enveloped by CREAM. If you don’t walk away from that show with a new found respect for music as a whole, then you’ve already died inside and there is no hope for you.

This is a must have disc for any fan of rock, blues, Cream, Clapton, and simply music.

You can purchase CREAM: Royal Albert Hall London 2005 Blu Ray right here.

Eagle Rock Entertainment is proud to announce the release of Cream: Royal Albert Hall London 2005 on Blu-Ray on October 11. These songs, recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS-HD Master Audio, taken from four nights’ worth, prove Cream’s unerring sense of timing and drama remained intact. It was so good, in fact, they did what nobody ever thought they’d do: reunite for a stateside tour. And it all started here.

This epic 19-song high-definition reunion concert of guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker—who hadn’t played together in nearly 40 years—comes complete with an additional three bonus tracks: alternate versions of “Sleepy Time Time,” “We’re Going Wrong” and “Sunshine Of Your Love.” Interviews with all three legends make up the remainder of this historic two-hour and 47-minute classic.

Cream’s four studio albums – Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Wheels Of Fire, and Goodbye – were all successful, and yielded numerous hit singles. Still, it was their incendiary and revolutionary approach to live performance that made them stand out head and shoulders above their peers. This very special chemistry can be felt on Cream: Royal Albert Hall London 2005.

Despite being together originally from only 1966 to 1968, these three not only set the standard for power trios but became god-like to their fans in their virtuosity and intricate bombastic jamming. The interplay between the three of them—all three soloing simultaneously!—was like nothing that had ever came before. To even the surprise and delight of the musicians themselves, that bond did not break through the decades.

Track Listing:
I’m So Glad
Spoonful
Outside Woman Blues
Pressed Rat And Warthog
Sleepy Time Time
N.S.U.
Badge
Politician
Sweet Wine
Rollin’ And Tumblin’
Stormy Monday
Deserted Cities Of The Heart
Born Under A Bad Sign
We’re Going Wrong
Crossroads
Sitting On Top Of The World
White Room
Toad
Sunshine Of Your Love









For more CREAM click here.

While few would argue that Eric Clapton is one of the finest guitarists of all time, it is sometimes forgotten just how pivotal, influential and downright startling this man was during the 1960s. And while, throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s, Clapton has remained a musician and songwriter of rare ability with moments of glory resplendent on album after album it was during the decade in which he emerged that his awesome skills were used most creatively. As an early member of the Yardbirds, a crucial part of the Bluesbreakers, a founder member of Cream and ‘the one who mattered most’ in the short lived Blind Faith, EC, to many, really was a deity.

In this extraordinary documentary, his life and career throughout these crucial ten years is put under the microscope, and with the help of archive interviews with the man himself, exclusive contributions from friends, band mates and colleagues, rare and classic performance footage, seldom seen photographs, location and period archive plus a host of other features, the story in question is told in a manner it never has been before.

Includes brand new interviews with musicians and performers; John Mayall, Paul Jones, Neil Innes, Tom McGuiness, Chris Dreja, Top Topham, Ben Palmer, Dave Kelly and Cream producer Bill Halverson, plus expert insight from Cream biographer Chris Welch, Yardbirds biographer Alan Clayson and Uncut Magazine’s contributing editor, Nigel Williamson.

To get your copy of this film click here.

Carlos Santana was initially intimidated by mentor Clive Davis‘ pitch for his next album — another “Supernatural“-style all-star collaboration, but this time on a collection of iconic rock songs by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and others.
“I was like, ‘No, I don’t know if I want to do this one, Clive. This one’s a little challenging,‘” the guitarist and bandleader told Billboard.com.
“And he would stay on the phone for at least 45 minutes to an hour, three times in one year, and I was like, ‘Oh, lord…’ But then I started realizing that someone with that intense passion of commitment couldn’t be wrong, so I had to trust him. And it was incredible.”

The album — Santana‘s first since “All That I Am” in 2005 — is due out in September and is not yet titled. The track list is being finalized as well, but during sessions Santana reunited with “Smooth” partner Rob Thomas on Cream‘s “Sunshine of Your Love” and worked with Joe Cocker on Jimi Hendrix‘s “Little Wing,” Scott Weiland on the Rolling Stones‘ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” Chris Daughtry on Def Leppard‘s “Photograph,” Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell on Led Zeppelin‘s “Whole Lotta Love,” Papa Roach‘s Jacoby Shaddix on Deep Purple‘s “Smoke on the Water” and rapper Nas, who lays down rhymes on AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”

Santana chose half of the songs while Davis, Sony Music‘s chief creative officer, picked the other half. Davis, who originally signed Santana in the 1960s, masterminded his 1999 comeback “Supernatural,” a worldwide smash that also garnered nine Grammys.
“What I brought to the table is my heart, knowing that I complement, I don’t compete,” Santana said of the recording sessions. “I brought my heart, trusting that there’s enough in me of purity and innocence and genuineness that I couldn’t possible, excuse the expression, fuck it up. I know Eric (Clapton). I know Jeff Beck. I know Jimmy Page. And they know me. I have supreme certainty and confidence that they’re going to say, ‘Hey man, I love what you did with my song.”
While he considers every song “incredible,” Santana said his very favorite is the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which he recorded with India Arie and cellist Yo Yo Ma.
“I sent the song to George Harrison‘s widow, Olivia, and I got back an email that says, ‘Carlos, I listened to the song and I started crying and jumping with joy at the same time. And I want you to know that George really loved you, because he understood your passion for compassion.’ And I was like, ‘Bam!’ that’s like George Harrison himself, through his beautiful wife, validating my existence and what I did with that song.”
Santana plans to preview some of the covers during his upcoming summer tour with Steve Winwood, which gets under way June 30 in Saint Paul, Minn. He also plans to have Winwood “join my band” for collaborations he hopes are “totally different” than what fans might expect.
“I would prefer not to do Steve Winwood or Santana songs with him,” Santana explained. “I would like to go to the Bob Marley repertoire or Marvin Gaye or African music by King Sunny Ade or really, really obscure other-side-of-the-tracks. So I’m crossing my fingers.”
After the summer tour with Winwood, Santana is returning to Las Vegas in August for his second residency at the Hard Rock Hotel. Santana is touring Europe in September and October, including a stop at London’s O2 Arena.
Santana has another album ready to go as well, an all-instrumental set called “Shape Shifter,” which he recorded with his band and he plans to release after the next album has run its course.

Current SANTANA dates:
5/25/2010 Tuesday Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon
5/28/2010 Friday Le festival MAWAZINE Rythmes du nde, Rabat, Morocco
6/30/2010 Wednesday Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN Steve Winwood
7/1/2010 Thursday Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI Steve Winwood
7/3/2010 Saturday Saturday in the Park Festival, Sioux City, IA Steve Winwood Free Festival
7/4/2010 Sunday Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO Steve Winwood
7/6/2010 Tuesday Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH Steve Winwood
7/7/2010 Wednesday Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Indianapolis, IN Steve Winwood
7/9/2010 Friday Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL Steve Winwood
7/10/2010 Saturday DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI Steve Winwood
7/11/2010 Sunday Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON Steve Winwood
7/13/2010 Tuesday Quebec City International Summer Festival, Quebec City, QC Steve Winwood
7/14/2010 Wednesday Lebreton Flats, Ottawa, ON Steve Winwood
7/15/2010 Thursday Bell Centre, Montreal, QC Steve Winwood
7/17/2010 Saturday Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY Steve Winwood
7/18/2010 Sunday Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY Steve Winwood
7/20/2010 Tuesday PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ Steve Winwood
7/21/2010 Wednesday Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT Steve Winwood
7/23/2010 Friday Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA Steve Winwood
7/24/2010 Saturday Trump Taj Mahal Casino/Hotel- Etess Arena, Atlantic City, NJ Steve Winwood
7/25/2010 Sunday Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA Steve Winwood
7/27/2010 Tuesday Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA Steve Winwood
7/28/2010 Wednesday Time Warner Cable Music Pavillion, Raleigh, North Carolina Steve Winwood
7/29/2010 Thursday Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA Steve Winwood
7/31/2010 Saturday 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL Steve Winwood
8/1/2010 Sunday Cruzan Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL Steve Winwood
8/25/2010 Wednesday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/27/2010 Friday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/28/2010 Saturday THe Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/29/2010 Sunday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/1/2010 Wednesday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/3/2010 Friday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/4/2010 Saturday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/5/2010 Sunday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/29/2010 Wednesday O2, Dublin, Ireland
10/1/2010 Friday O2 Arena, London,UK
10/2/2010 Saturday MEN Arena, Manchester,UK
10/3/2010 Sunday Newcastle Arena, Newcastle,UK
10/5/2010 Tuesday Gleredome, Arnhem, NL
10/6/2010 Wednesday Sportpaleis, Antwerp, BE
10/7/2010 Thursday König-Pilsener-Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
10/9/2010 Saturday Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
10/10/2010 Sunday Zenith, Dijon, FR
10/12/2010 Tuesday Bercy, Paris, France
10/13/2010 Wednesday SAP-Arena , Mannheim, Germany
10/15/2010 Friday O2 Arena, Prague, CZ
10/16/2010 Saturday O2 World, Berlin, Germany
10/17/2010 Sunday Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
10/19/2010 Tuesday Mediolanum Forum, Milan, Italy
10/20/2010 Wednesday Rothaus Halle , Friedrichshafen, Germany
10/23/2010 Saturday O2 World, Hamburg, Germany
10/25/2010 Monday Arena Fyn, Odense, DK
10/27/2010 Wednesday The Globe, Stockholm, SE
10/29/2010 Friday Vestlandshallen, Bergen, Norway
10/30/2010 Saturday Vikingaskeppen, Hamar, Norway

For more information visit Santana‘s website here.

Source: Reuters.com

During Clutch’s set at the Crocodile Rock in Allentown PA this past Saturday (June 19), vocalist Neil Fallon announced that the band would be recording an acoustic EP for release later in the year. The band had debuted an acoustic set the prior week at the Bonnaroo Festival, and encored with some of the material on Saturday. Neil Fallon told the sold-out crowd they’d be heading into the studio to record and thanked them for “letting them practice.”
The band will be going to J. Robbins Magpie Cage Studio in between July 4 and the beginning of their July 16 European tour to record approximately half a dozen songs. Some of the titles being considered for the EP include a song called “Fixin’ To Die” (which they played on Saturday), as well as stripped-down takes of “Abraham Lincoln,” “Electric Worry,” “Regulator” and “Tight Like That.”
In other Clutch news, Weathermaker Records will be re-releasing “Electric Worry” in conjunction with the July 20 re-release of 2007’s, From Beale Street To Oblivion. A modest hit upon its release, the song has since gained newfound popularity. It has been featured in previews for the upcoming TBS series “Memphis Beat,” which were heavily played during the NBA finals, as well as a commercial for the video game “Left 4 Dead 2.” Weathermaker Records’ Jon Nardachone told Metal Insider that if the acoustic version of “Electric Worry” makes the cut on the EP, it will be included as a b-side for the radio single.
The re-release of From Beale Street To Oblivion is the first of the band’s three DRT releases to be reissued. Each will come with an extra disc, as well as updated artwork and packaging. The 22-track deluxe version will include five songs recorded at London’s BBC studios as part of the “Maida Vale Session” in 2006, as well as four live tracks recorded in Australia in 2007. Among the previously unavailable tracks are covers of Cream’s “Politician” and Howling Wolf’s “You Gonna Wreck My Life.” After the seven-date European tour, the band will take to the road with Black Label Society, Children of Bodom and 2Cents for a tour starting on September 21.

Here are tour dates for Black Label Berzerkus 2010:
Sept. 21: Roseland (Portland, Ore.)
Sept. 22: PNE Forum (Vancouver)
Sept. 24: Edmonton EXPO Centre Hall D Arena (Edmonton, AB)
Sept. 25: Agribition Hall (Regina, SK)
Sept. 26: Big 4 (Calgary, AB)
Sept. 28: Winnipeg Convention Centre (Winnipeg, MB)
Sept. 30: Anchor Inn (Omaha, Neb.)
Oct. 1: 7 Flags (Clive, Iowa)
Oct. 2: Eagles Ballroom (Milwaukee)
Oct. 3: Roy Wilkins Auditorium (St. Paul, Minn.)
Oct. 5: Expo Five (Louisville, Ky.)
Oct. 8: Convention Hall (Asbury Park, N.J.)
Oct. 9: The Colisee (Lewiston, Maine)
Oct. 12: Cunard Centre (Halifax, NS)
Oct. 14: Metropolis (Montreal)
Oct. 15: Sound Academy (Toronto)
Oct. 16: Sound Academy (Toronto)
Oct. 20: Hammerstein Ballroom (New York)
Oct. 22: House of Blues (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Oct. 23: Masquerade Music Park (Atlanta)
Oct. 24: The Fillmore Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.)
Oct. 26: Hard Rock (Orlando, Fla.)
Oct. 28: Verizon Wireless Theater (Houston)
Oct. 29: Concrete St. Ampitheater (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Oct. 30: Verizon Theatre @ Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas)
Oct. 31: Lonestar Pavilion (Lubbock, Texas)
Nov. 2: Stubbs Waller Creek Ampitheater (Austin, Texas)
Nov. 3: Brady Center (Tusla, Okla.)
Nov. 5: DeltaPlex (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Nov. 7: The Fillmore Detroit (Detroit)
Nov. 9: Main Street Armory (Rochester, N.Y.)
Nov. 10: The LC Pavilion (Columbus, Ohio)
Nov. 12: Cotilion (Wichita, Kan.)
Nov. 13: Uptown Theater (Kansas City, Kan.)
Nov. 14: The Fillmore Auditorium (Denver)
Nov. 16: The Complex (Salt Lake City)
Nov. 18: Dodge Theatre (Phoenix)
Nov. 20: Warfield (San Francisco)

For more information on the tour and for tickets visit blsnation.com
For more information on releases and all things CLUTCH visit their website here.

Source: MetalInsider.net

In support of both Strange Cousins From the West and Live at the 9:30 Clutch are set for a stretch of US and European headline shows kicking off today in Huntington, WV. Clutch‘s instrumental jazz rock alter ego The Bakerton Group along with Never Got Caught and Lionize will serve as support on all headlining dates.

Clutch‘s dual DVD, Live At The 9:30 which features the “road movie” Fortune Tellers Make a Killing Nowadays debuted at #6 on the music DVD Soundscan chart. Just confirmed for release on June 15th, is the exclusive audio iTunes release of the entire 90 minute 9:30 Club show from December 28th, 2009.

Weathermaker also released details on this Summer’s re-issue of Clutch‘s From Beale Street to Oblivion album. Complete with digital enhancement of the band’s most popular video to date, “Electric Worry,” as well as updated artwork and packaging, this 22 track expanded edition will include 5 songs recorded at London’s legendary BBC studios / “Maida Vale Session” in December of 2006, and 4 live songs recorded in Melbourne, Australia in 2007. In addition to the Clutch classics “Electric Worry“, “One Eye Dollar” and “The Devil in Me“, are previously unavailable renditions of Cream‘s “Politician” and Howling Wolf’s “You Gonna Wreck My Life.” This double CD expanded edition will be available at retail on July 20th.