Great in places

There are, are undoubtedly, some great tracks on these discs that are truly indicative of Clapton's mastery of the blues. On the studio disc, however, there are some tracks that seem somewhat old and tired; like the acoustic 'Alberta', 'County Jail Blues' and 'To Make Somebody Happy'. It's nothing personal, I just found them to be a bit boring. Having said that, the songs I do like far outnumber the songs I don't so it still makes this CD listenable.



I much prefer the live segment of this package, it's jammed with so many great tracks that it would be worth my four-star-rating on its own. My favourite moment is undoubtedly 'Double Trouble'. It would be difficult to find a more delicate and beautifully crafted piece of blues out there. There hasn't been a song in a long time that has come so close to bringing a tear to my eye.



Even though this package has its weak moments, I would recommend picking it up anyway. Any excuse to hear Mr Clapton play the blues.

Scorching Blues- and the Best Band Eric's Ever Had

I've had this CD for five years now, but it wasn't until I put on during a recent road trip that I really appreciated the cohesion between each song. I own Crossroads II, I own almost all of the '70s albums, but "Blues" was still a breath of fresh air. In this album, Clapton's "honest-to-goodness" singing is far more suitable to the blues than his growling on "From The Cradle," which gives you the sense that Eric is relying on volume to mask his passion. Not so here- Eric's lazier (but more intense) singing is perfect...perhaps because he's drunk out of his mind?

Better than the "holy" "From The Cradle?" Oh yeah, no doubt. PS- What an amazing backup band Eric had in his '74-'78 band. The next group of people who played with him couldn't TOUCH Terry/Elliman/Radle/Sims/Levy/Oldaker...I don't think any band he's had since could capture the true grit of those guys.

Yes...blues

"Mid-level" Clapton fans should enjoy this collection of (more or less) pure blues tunes, most of them from his 70s solo albums. And a few previously unreleased numbers have been included as well, like the acoustic "Before You Accuse Me" (in two versions).



Highlights include the wonderful acoustic slide guitar duet "Mean Old World", just Clapton and Duane Allman and one of the catchiest slide riffs ever, a faithful (if v-e-r-y slow) "Floating Bridge", a pretty tough "Blow Wind Blow", and sizzling renditions of "Crossroads" and "Double Trouble". Clapton misses completely on a lethargic "The Sky Is Crying", and he inexplicably chooses to do "Meet Me Down In The Bottom" as a boring instrumental, but almost everything else is good or even great.

The live material on disc two is generally excellent...and almost all of it has been previously released, too, which is a bit of a shame. Hardcore Clapton fans will find very little here of interest, but more casual listeners should enjoy this fine collection of blues a la Eric.

Well, blues and one pop ballad ("Wonderful Tonight").



"From The Cradle" is better, though ;o)