Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood Are Back
Live from Madison Square Garden Album Showcases British Rock Royalty
Jul 6, 2009
Music like this isn't made anymore.
Fortunately for British rock gods Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, they're reminding fans everywhere that their music does stand the test of time.
Sandwiched unassumingly between a Linkin Park concert and an exhibition tennis match between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, Madison Square Garden played host to a reunion long overdue in February 2008. Clapton and Winwood, along with Cream drummer Ginger Baker and Ric Grech, formed the ill-fated group Blind Faith in the late 1960s. In a flash, they were gone. After the first album, they disbanded.
But the two icons remained friends and shared an affinity for each other's work. Both drew upon similar influences, chief among them an infusion of blues within a rock context. Clapton and Winwood played together sporadically for a few engagements after their group folded, but they never had a concert to themselves. That is, until those three nights at the Garden, 40 years after they formed Blind Faith.
The boisterous crowds that awaited them filled the famous venue each night and ate up every second. And it wasn't because this was some ceremonial run-through. Simply this: Clapton and Winwood were undeniably in top form.
The Music: Blues and Rock Collide
The two-disc set, Live at Madison Square Garden, is a captivating musical travelogue through their careers as solo artists and in their respective bands from the 1960s and 1970s. As a bonus, they skillfully intersperse some additional unanticipated covers.
The first four songs are a case in point. "Had to Cry Today" from the Blind Faith album -- and its monstrous guitar riff -- raise the curtain. Clapton and Winwood then launch into a generous serving of J.J. Cale up-tempo blues with "Low Down." It's the first time both voices harmonize, and a smooth blend it is.
But it's Winwood's bravura performance of Buddy Miles' "Them Changes" that hints at something special happening on stage. By this third song, Winwood makes it abundantly clear he has lost nothing vocally. When some groups of this era get back together and tour, familiar songs face the inevitable reality of being played a half step or even a full step lower to accommodate a singing voice advancing in age. Nothing of the sort is happening here. Winwood is bringing it.
So too is Clapton when he follows up "Them Changes" with "Forever Man," the most successful cut from his 1985 album, Behind the Sun. He even resurrects the original guitar solo, almost to the note. In some respects, the song sounds even better than it did 24 years ago.
Paying homage: Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Robert Johnson
Jewels continue to reveal themselves throughout the two hours. Clapton and Winwood turn an acoustic Buddy Holly song, "Well All Right," into a lively rocker. "Dear Mr. Fantasy" is a masterpiece in itself from the days of Traffic, but when both men engage in dueling guitars at the double-time conclusion, it whips the crowd into a frenzy.
And worth the price of admission alone is the Jimi Hendrix slow jam "Voodoo Chile," which first appeared on the Jimi Hendrix Experience's album, Electric Ladyland. Winwood, just short of turning 20 years old at the time, played organ in that recording session. The slow burn of the verses, combined with the explosive chorus, make for an intoxicating 16 minutes in this latest incarnation.
Clapton and Winwood give each other one song unaccompanied. The two tunes are knockouts. Clapton's is first, choosing Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' On My Mind." It may as well have been the thick summer air and the country roads of Mississippi, not winter in New York City, because that's where Clapton carries the listener. The intricate blues guitar work is typically sensational.
The biggest revelation is Winwood singing "Georgia On My Mind" by himself. His soulful voice fits the song, his B3 organ playing is peerless and the whole thing is strikingly magnificent.
Hitting the road: After Madison Square Garden
PBS recently devoted an episode of its long-running Great Performances to footage of the Madison Square Garden concerts, along with artist interviews. The DVD of those shows, along with the CD, dropped in May. And on June 30 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood finished an all-too-brief, 14-city U.S. tour.
Although Clapton is 64 and Winwood is 61, this better not be the end of it. The way these guys are rocking, it's as if those 40 years in between never happened.
