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    clayv
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    "Cause it's always like that with the Dead, you know - it's always the whole thing." - News Journal

    As we close out the 2019 Dave Pick's series, we deliver on our promise to give you the "whole thing" with the complete performance from The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 3/24/73 and what a show it was! An upstanding "musical eulogy" to the recently departed Pigpen, the Grateful Dead conducted a potent study in contrasts on this bittersweet night. They found easy balance between tidy jams like "They Love Each Other," "Wave That Flag," "Playing In The Band," and introspective moments on "Stella Blue," "Sing Me Back Home," and a poignant "He's Gone." It was all laid down with a discipline and a polish unheard of in any of the truly exceptional shows that had come before it. Yes, you might say, they cleaned up nice to carry on the legacy as Pig would have wanted.

    Limited to 20,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 32: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA 3/24/73 has been mastered to HDCD specs from the 7" and 10" reels by Jeffrey Norman.

    GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • Dennis
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    Bob T and past music

    Hey Bob I put the pm to the test, check yours.

    OK, past music easily 60's centric picks, but what about real (semi real?) past. First thought on earlier picks, Fats Domino, 50's/early sixties, might depend a lot on not so state of the art electronics. Seems a club small enough to see these guys in would to be there before they were them. (did that make sense) Maybe 1958 BB king at the Capitol downtown didn't sound so good up in the top tier. First 20-30 rows, may have been a-ok. But maybe 1951 BB was just that fat black guy, playing in the bar up the road. Amps might have sounded incredible in that environment. (BTW, I'm just pull bb dates out my ass for illustration) But most somebodies are nobodies first.

    Anyhow,, I didn't see him mentioned, but could have seen a young Bruce Springsteen in Jersey bars back in 72. Southside Johnny would have been nice to see at his best.

    Anyhow again, how about older stuff. Virtually all acoustic. The Glen Miller Orchestra at those California coast shows, were played over the radio. Smaller open venues for dancing, a solid 16-20 piece band. You know when those horns stood up and that blast hit, your head would explode.

    It be easy to say Sinatra, but in a lot of ways I think I like older Frank. But you could see him in a Hoboken bar or with the Dorsey Orchestra or with Harry James.

    Al Jolson be nice to see, maybe because I was brought up with Al in the house. They say his voice was very deep and you could feel it when he sang, but it never came through on the recordings.

    Probably get boring real fast, but the impact in the day of John Philip Sousa. Image that small town park with this huge brassy sound hitting it. Must have been something.

    ANYPLACE Louis Armstrong played.

    So much past music!

  • billy the kid
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    JJiminMD/ way back machine

    Jimi, you've seen some real great ones over the years. I never saw Fats Dommino, but I love his song Walking to New Orleans. One time when I was seeing Ray Charles someone in the audience took a photo of him durring Georgia on My Mind and he said "shit, don't go takin no photos" I don't know how he could tell. Earl Scruggs, never saw him, was fortunate enough to see Bill Monroe & Ralph Stanley. Blues guys, seen a hell of a lot of them over the years, including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, & Buddy Guy. Along with The Dead, Blues is my favorite music. I agree with you 100% that we are fortunate to have seen all the cool music that we did see, and are so lucky that so much cool music was taped and is now being released.

  • marye
    Joined:
    we interrupt this discussion briefly
    to note that we think the issue of not being able to send messages (PMs) is now fixed. Bring 'em on. Thanks! Back to your regularly scheduled discussion...
  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Stoltzfus, Carlo, etc

    Stoltzfus; that would be an amazing choice! Perhaps the ultimate Woodstock set?
    Carlo/10/16/89; one of my top GD releases ever, the playing, the sound, the set list, this show for what ever reason seems to be so under appreciated? Hope you dig it! HEY DAVE, how bout some more fall 89......Spectrum shows anyone?
    Talking Heads; critics and the public have always hailed Stop Making Sense movie as one of the top Concert films of all time, a must see if your not familiar.....another awesome band I should have but didn’t get to see. My cousin has seen them and DB solo several times and says he’s never seen a show that wasn’t amazing! Bet that solo broadway show was ridiculous....just talking about this makes me want to get up and dance!

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Way Back Machine

    Coulda Shoulda Woulda.. yes, we all have regrets.. the shows we didn't make because we (thought) we couldn't afford them or didn't have the time. Some of these decisions turn out to be responsible, some the result of an unwillingness to toss caution into the wind and take a little risk.

    I don't focus too much on the acts that were before my time. There's not much I could have done to influence these decisions beyond getting the Way Back Machine up and running.. :D

    There are a few I could have seen, but didn't for some reason or another.. mostly the dreaded responsibilities of life.

    like...

    - Doc Watson (but I did see Earl Scruggs for the first time just about on his 80th birthday) so there's a bit of balance there, both high on my list of acoustic intramentalists.
    - Stones (no brainer)
    - Who (no brainer)
    - Buddy Guy/Muddy Waters/BB King/Blues greats of my time
    - James Brown
    - Collins/Clinton/Parliament/etc.

    That's sort of 5.

    More importantly perhaps are the bands and performers I feel fortunate to have seen..

    GD and JGB (high on that list and from a surprisingly early age, saw a couple of ho hums, but a surprisingly large number of what turned out to be quite good shows)

    Followed by Floyd / Gilmour, ABB, S. Dan, Lots of Bluegrass/folk/etc, Zappa, Crimson, Yes, Rush, NRPS. But just as important are those smaller, intimate acts in small clubs/bars/restaurants/theatres, etc. Performers like Jackie Greene, Dr. John, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Galactic, even DSO, Melvin Seals & Co, JRad, etc.

    In fact.. the older I get the more off the beaten path I seem to venture.. smaller places, lessor known performance and intimate not quite discovered bands.. had a great time at the 50th aniv. of Alice's Restaurant a year and a half ago in a tiny place.. stuff like that. Small, no fuss and more or less unplanned fun. My festival days are likely behind me.

    A few regrets.. but not really. Feeling both very fortunate for what I have seen and grateful for the recordings that exist and the efforts put into making them sound as good as possible here at dead.net.

  • Angry Jack Straw
    Joined:
    Talking Heads

    Love that band as well. Stop Making Sense was a staple during the college years.

    Our softball team had a tradition. Any time someone made an error, the entire team would turn towards that person and do the "hand chop" down our forearm, mimicking the MTV video from Once in a Lifetime. Same as it ever was.

    I'll throw in Roxy Music as another band from that era that I listen to every now and then.

  • billy the kid
    Joined:
    Way back machine

    I would like to add a few more performers to my original list: Rolling Stones 69/70, Jimi Hendrix Woodstock & Monteray Pop Festivals, Howlin Wolf, Elmore James, Freddie King , & Janis Joplin.

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Keller Williams and String Cheese

    Archive hopping at the moment, found this excellent recording of Keller with SCI.

    https://archive.org/details/sci2000-08-12dsbd/sci2000-08-12dsbdt09.shn

    The Franklin's is very nice.

    Saw the Talking Heads show last year, fantastic.

  • Thats_Otis
    Joined:
    David Byrne on Broadway

    Funny that there is a lot of Talking Heads talk going on around these parts. Over the holidays, the wife and I took a trip to NYC to see Phish at MSG on the 28th and 29th. On Sunday the 29th, we also scored tickets to see a 3:00 matinee of David Byrne's American Utopia show on Broadway at the awesome Hudson Theater. It was Byrne and about 11-12 musicians and dancers, all with portable instruments on a completely bare stage. The whole thing was choreographed to a T, and watching them all move as an ensemble, along with some minimal but creative lighting, provided for some incredible visuals. The music was a perfect mix of Heads tunes and Byrne's solo stuff.... Great show! I think it runs through February, and is totally worth checking out if you are in or near the city.

    Peace

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Charlie the 3rd and Jason Spooner

    I like his cover of Wishing Well. That's a very nice cover of Slippery People, very slow like Dead and Company were doing it. :-) I'll be looking for that album.

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"Cause it's always like that with the Dead, you know - it's always the whole thing." - News Journal

As we close out the 2019 Dave Pick's series, we deliver on our promise to give you the "whole thing" with the complete performance from The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 3/24/73 and what a show it was! An upstanding "musical eulogy" to the recently departed Pigpen, the Grateful Dead conducted a potent study in contrasts on this bittersweet night. They found easy balance between tidy jams like "They Love Each Other," "Wave That Flag," "Playing In The Band," and introspective moments on "Stella Blue," "Sing Me Back Home," and a poignant "He's Gone." It was all laid down with a discipline and a polish unheard of in any of the truly exceptional shows that had come before it. Yes, you might say, they cleaned up nice to carry on the legacy as Pig would have wanted.

Limited to 20,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 32: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA 3/24/73 has been mastered to HDCD specs from the 7" and 10" reels by Jeffrey Norman.

GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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Just fyi friends...the "Warlocks 1989 Box" is available for only $19.99 via digital download here on site...One of my fav runs from fall 89--incredible buy....great version of "Death Don't Have No Mercy" --10/9/89

Merry Christmas!

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This book is an underrated, illuminating read. Like most of Crowley's output it can be rambling and inconsistent at times, however bookended by brilliance.

I gave it as a gift for the second time this Christmas, to another fiend - er, friend. Anyone interested check it out. Most aspects of the man's life have been stereotyped and sensationalized.

Merry Christmas everyone!

\m/

Nice to see old Edgar Rice Burroughs pop up on here earlier in the week. Our reach is wide indeed. You often read that although Burroughs wrote all those Tarzan books set in Africa, he never actually went to Africa himself. Although he also wrote many science fiction books too, no one ever says that he never actually went to Mars. Makes you think.

Happy Christmas one and all !

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Two great Christmas songs, Merry Christmas Baby by Charles Brown and Santa Claus by Sonny Boy Williamson. Right now listening to T Bone Walker 1940-1954 on Mosaic Records, great box set. T Bone Walker influenced B. B. King, Eric Claption, Jimi Hendrix and so many many more great guitar players. Merry Christmas folks,, have fun.

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My wife either really loves me or she secretly loves the GOGD despite her complaints. She got me the subwoofer that I wanted, and this thing is going to make the house shake...lots of Phil Bombs in my future!!!

Merry Christmas Dead People...Have a safe and happy holiday!!!

KCJ

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War is Over! if you want it
Happy Christmas from John & Yoko

Still has meaning 49 years later

“Merry merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, lets hope it’s a good one, without any fear” .
Thank you David Lemieux , Steve Vance, Ivette Ramos at Rhino. You helped me achieve one of my dreams. To the Grateful Dead, thank you for helping to create a better World.
To fellow Dead Heads. Don’t ever let anyone break your spirit. (Collective and individual) .

It snowed overnight here on the “old Pecos Trail”.

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Have a Grateful Christmas everyone!

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May the new year bring peace, prosperity and happiness.

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Going back a few threads here . Looks like the official unnofficial story on Townsend's Gretsch 6120 and its infrequent stage appearences is that it was too difficult to keep in tune:

http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/guitar/gretsch.html

Which brings me to another thought that has frequently crossed my mind since I've gotten into the Grateful Dead hardcore. Why do they have so many problems keeping their instruments in tune? Is it because they never swap out instruments in the middle of a show? That would be my guess. You go to a concert nowadays and there's no time spent tuning instruments between every third song. But still there non swap instruments that much. Thinking back to Alex lifeson on the Hold Your Fire tour, and he used that white guitar with the little circular emblem on it the entire show pretty much. Or Trevor Rabin and and that funky customized strat (?) he used the majority of his days with Yes.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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Everyone here on this site makes my day more fun, happier, and often more informed. Thanks all for great ideas and comments throughout the year. May we all have a fun, prosperous, peaceful new year.

Listening to last year's stadium box (was it last year?) Sugaree is kicking off the second set. Gonna cook a Christmas day ommlete for family and open presents. Shake it, Sugaree.

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jerry xmas and a happy new weir to yall beautiful freaks

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To all you turkeys out there, happy holidays and a drunk new year's. Peace. P.S.- thanks to you know who on the Woodstock box. Right on.

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Hope all have a fantastic holiday and New Year!

Keithfan, the instruments largely go out of tune due to conditions such as weather like heat and humidity in outdoor shows and indoor shows as well. It could also be the instruments themselves. The Gretsch in this instance has a whammy bar, and whammy bars are notorious for sending guitars out of tune with usage. Also, Townshend is not exactly a light player on his strings, and he bends them quite a bit while playing, as well as attacking them with a windmill motion. There's many jokes about bass players not tuning up for years at a time, which is hyperbole, but basses usually stay in tune longer, despite longer necks, and longer strings, as long as they are set up correctly, so you'll likely see more guitars being tuned at a show than a bass. Technology has made the guitars sturdier and more stable, but those conditions can still send the guitars out of tune. Why the Dead took so incredibly long to tune up is another question. I would bet that they tuned so often between songs due to Jerry bending strings on solos, and Phil having perfect pitch. It probably drove him nuts hearing out of tune guitars. Just a supposition there. Hope that helps!

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… the new-ish pink Floyd box set - the later years. Big sticker proclaims "limited edition",,,, I can't find what the limit is?

Anyone?

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Hi folks...hope everyone had a swell Christmas...we had about four inches of snow fall here at the edge of the world which compared to the nearly two feet that fell for Thanksgiving was quite doable...anyway for my anniversary show today I will be listening to 12-26-70 El Monte Legion Stadium...the start of a three night run which I was lucky enough to attend...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2hmh579Cd8

a lot of changes going on as "Workingman's Dead" had been released the previous June and "American Beauty" had just been released in November...Happy New Year to all and rock on...

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Taking you up on your offer, however I'm opting for the Terrapin>Drums>Space>UJB segment. Thanks for the recommendation! :-)

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There's still a lot of tuning going on during shows, but everyone has pedals now and bypass the house while they're tuning, so you don't hear it.

Last 5:
Winterland '73: - 12-9-73
Giants Box: one of the 89 shows
Neil Young: Harvest
King Oliver
Charlie Parker

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In reply to by Slow Dog Noodle

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I can't get enough of the 5 Disc release of the Grateful Dead movie soundtrack. Multi Track Wall of Sound music. Is there anything better than this. Disc four has one of my all time favorite Uncle John's Band. The energy is unreal.
Recorded by Bill Wolf. Who was he? I don't remember that name.
I know it has been talked about for years, but these five nights with video would be a box dream come true. We know the tapes are there.

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Is a primo 1974 performance, every time I give it a listen I can’t help but smile smile smile! 🙏❤️😎🌹💀🌹💀

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Ditto.

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aka Dick's Picks 5

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Anybody else excited about the Cream "Farewell Tour" 4-cd set coming in February? It should come soon after Dave's 33, so 2020 is all ready to get us started early.
Music is the best!!

Yes, I'm looking forward to this one, too. There have been a few dodgy Cream releases over the last year or so ( ie Detroit 1967-great playing - average sound), but this new one looks like the real deal.

I haven't played 26/12/79 this year yet, but that's a great second set. Rocking Alabama-Promised Land to close set 1, too. It dove tails nicely into 12/28/79-a Road Trips release as well. Good synth playing from Brent in both second sets, as I recall.

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I didn't realize they sound checked Black-Throated Wind at that show. Interesting bit of trivia...

Thanks for the link P Hill.

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smokey the tiger

https://archive.org/details/gd1981-12-27.143630.fob.beyer.m160.streeter…

Set I
New Minglewood Blues >
Sugaree
Cassidy
Deep Elem Blues >
C.C. Rider
Friend Of The Devil
Passenger
Althea >
Looks Like Rain >
Deal
Set II
Samson & Delilah
To Lay Me Down >
Playing In The Band >
Drums >
Space >
The Wheel >
Playing In The Band Reprise >
Wharf Rat >
Sugar Magnolia

Encore:
It's All Over Now Baby Blue

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Thanks for the thoughtful guitar tuning reply. You know what else just came to mind - I've read some stuff about how difficult it used to be to keep Keith's piano in tune (even the elecric stuff he was using by the late '70s; the Egypt run was notorious for it). Maybe he was the troublemaker.

I can imagine them carting around the grand piano by the time they hit the road for the wall of Sound tour, but I wonder if he was stuck playing some house piano at other places in '72 (in '71 he used a stand up, which you can prominently on a lot of those October recordings, like DaP 3).

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74 bermuda triangle
81 salt lake city
72 kansas city
69 electric factory

maybe gainsville

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Good call on the China Rider from the DaP 14 Bonus Disc. You made it a while ago but I'm listening to it now. It's actually a great self-contained one disc chunk of Dead. AOM March '72 for anyone with a head full of bong weed.

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thats right folks it is time for another game of guess that dead show

funiculi funicula
you can call me ray or you can call me jay or you can call me r j j or you can call me johnny or you can call me jaimey or you can juney but you doesnt have to call me johnson
when they come to take you down etc

first prize will be a funky winterbean golf ball and a handful of flinstones vitamins
two dinosaur and 3 bam bams

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In reply to by daverock

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Love that band.

But it looks to me like you are essentially getting four identical concerts. Mehhh.

At least throw in a Tales of Brave Ulysses or Badge in one of the shows.

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gimme blind faith or harmony row any day at that

ive worn out a few copies of ginger bakers stratovarious yet in my younger daze

gem of an album

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word on the street is the aniversary album will come with a bonus disc

that one is a good listen always has been always willbee

although i still wish they had stuck with calling it go to hell with the black suits and flames and what have you

dog gone arista

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You can't get four identical concerts with improvisational live bands. Even if the setlists are very similar. I was also disappointed to see the Cream set lists, but there must be something there worth releasing. I would hate to think that Clapton is allowing this to be put out just to help the Baker and Bruce families. He could do that himself, he's worth $300 million.

A case in point (beyond the obvious - GD) is that last Hendrix box. Many songs played multiple times, but each take quite different from the others, which allows each show to feel like a fresh listen even with songs being repeated.

Where I really learned to appreciate Cream was their initial box, Those Were The Days. Go buy it now and be blown away. The radio never plays anything beyond White Room and Sunshine, and there was so, so much more.

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I have to agree with ledded. Cream is similar to the dead and Hendrix when it comes to live shows. They may have the same songs but each is very different in a great way. Just dont listen to them in row. Give each live concert venue a day apart.

Even the four FW69 shows had more variety in the setlists. All I am saying.

It still remains one of their top two releases.

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In reply to by Angry Jack Straw

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Another point of view is that the more limited the set lists, the more expansive the playing. A bit of a generalisation,but sometimes, certainly with The Dead from 1968 to mid 1969, dedication to a relatively short amount of songs meant that they stretched and recreated those songs in ways they might not have done had they been played more sparingly. Sometimes, maybe the more extensive and varied the set lists are, the more trivial the playing of those songs becomes.
I don't agree with this all the time...its just another way of looking at things.

Having said that, those Cream set lists do look very samey ! The 4 cd Humble Pie Live at the Fillmore East 1971 features essentially the same set 4 times over...and although its a blinding set, and sounds fantastic ( much better than the single disc edition) I would be lying through my teeth if I told you I could tell the difference between one set and another. So fingers crossed with Cream - it has to be bought, no question.

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6/9/1977, what a show! Is there a better Franklin's Tower? I don't know. The whole box is just so damn good. So, we have DeKalb in about a month or so and the Dave's 34 announcement should be coming soon. Looking forward to more releases and another box set in 9 months.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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Is there a better Help-Slipknot-Franklins? If there is, I haven't heard it.

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Music - is it an addiction? Is addiction bad? Does addiction mean loss of control and will, or just total surrender to that which inspires one's muse? Can one be addicted to something good? Or must the line be drawn at being an "aficionado, enthusiast, or fan?"

It would indeed be good to have a Brave Ulysses or Badge on those Cream sets... but, alas, there isn't. Folks might be surprised to know that Clapton has dug deep into the bag over the years and pulled out stellar live renditions on the Crossroads I and II sets, as well as his Crossroads Guitar Festival lp's and assorted other live releases, paying homage to Cream.

God bless Eric Clapton. There have been uninspired releases over the years to be sure, but there's plenty of that from any artist of that era. McCartney, The Who and the Stones have put out their fair share of crap.

I got guitar playing buddies who are "bored" by Clapton. My theory is it's because he wrote the goddamn book on blues-rock soloing and the licks everyone has stolen came off of that tree.

Anyway, to each his own, but I love Eric Clapton. Going back and watching that Cream reunion from a few years ago it's striking that he is all that remains, but he is still strong and I hope he will remain on limited display for a while longer.

\m/

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