GiGinJapan Artwork of Japanese CDs (mostly) Eric Clapton / Dortmund 1987 / 2CDR / Uxbridge
Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany 20th January 1987
Play sample :
In January 1987, after completing the regular Royal Albert Hall continuous performance, the Dortmund performance on January 20 was recorded with a high-quality stereo audience recording from the “AUGUST” European tour that took place immediately after that. The complete recording master has been uploaded on the net. It is a performance that was held in the 4-piece band that is the core of this period, as per the album. Actually, the sound source of this performance was included in the 6CD “Miss You” released by our store from the Beano label in 2006, but this time, another cassette master different from that was uploaded. And it’s also pretty high quality! Even if there is a decision board “MISS YOU” of 3 performances in Germany in 1987, we decided to release it on CDR because this “another master” would also appeal to enthusiasts. However, this other master also included various disadvantages. The overall pitch was quite slow, missing parts were found here and there, the low range felt unpleasantly pushed up, and the high range had a metallic texture. Therefore, at our shop, we paid close attention, and our engineers corrected this shortcoming, adjusted the sound balance, compensated for the missing parts from the existing board, and upgraded it to be very easy to listen to. For enthusiasts who think, “If you’re a netmaster, you can listen to it on the internet,” it’s much easier to listen to than the files on the net. I hope you will enjoy watching this work.
[A stage that expresses the groove of “AUGUST”! ]Clapton’s performance changed like a different person between the 1985 tour and the “August Tour” after 1986. That’s because they hired black people from the fusion field as support musicians for the band. Inspired by them, the stage was also tinged with black contemporary colors, just like the album. Let’s take a look at the history of Clapton’s energetic activities in 1987.
・January 3rd to January 30th: European Tour
・ March 27: Special gig at Cranley Country Golf Club, Surrey, England
・April 11th to April 27th: American Tour
・ May 6: Jump into Lionel Richie’s performance at Wembley Arena in London
· June 5th and 6th: Appeared at the “Princes Trust Concert” held at Wembley Arena in London.
・ June 18: Jump into Tina Turner’s performance at Wembley Arena in London
・ July 4: Appeared at the “Island Records 25th Anniversary Concert” held at Pinewood Studios in Iver, England.
・ August 14: Performed with Chicken Shack at a charity gig held at the Cricket Club in Finchley, England
・ September 4: Jumped into Ronnie Earl’s Roomful of Blues who appeared at Lone Star Cafe in New York
・October 6: Recorded live with Buddy Guy for VH1’s TV show “South Bank Show” at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Club
・ October 9: Jumped into the Buddy Guy Trio gig at Dingwall, London
・October 23-27: Australian Tour
・November 2-9: Japan Tour
・ December 19: Appeared in a charity show held at the Village Hall in Dunsfold, England
As you can see, it’s been a busy year, with tours, gigs for other artists, and charity concerts every month. Clapton was in a situation where he wanted to live with the momentum of the album “AUGUST” and his confidence from the previous year. In particular, this tour in January 1987 was a tour that released the ambitious work “AUGUST” in the previous year and renewed the backing band to Blackmen, and has been using “Blackie” for 11 years. It was also a tour that retired the Strat and started using a prototype of the signature model newly provided by Fender (on this tour, a custom Strat with a Ferrari red finish was used). It was not a withered vintage sound like Blackie, but a tour where Clapton showed a new frontier, playing with an edged tone in Gingin. The set list has changed drastically since the 1985 tour, and the stage that starts with the power of angry waves from the classic song Crossroads is fresh. From the new work “AUGUST” at that time, 4 numbers are set in (Hung Up On Your Love, Miss You, Tearing Us Apart, Holy Mother), and conventional representative songs are also played while leaving the black contemporary color. In a word, the impression of this stage is “sharpness”. I have never heard Clapton’s play so sharp. In particular, the playing condition in “Tearing Us Apart” is amazing, and in “Badge”, the intro before the song starts playing a fairly long solo, and such a pattern was very rare in the live performance of the same song. . Even with other numbers, the minimum band composition has been successful, and wonderful performances have been developed that maximize the charm of each person. In the clearly amplified band groove, we will set up a sharp play that makes use of the timing everywhere so that each member can enjoy the groove. You can easily know the effect with “Same Old Blues” played for more than 18 minutes like a progressive suite, but backing with vocal songs such as “I Shot The Sheriff” and “Miss You” ・You can get a glimpse of the band’s fulfillment during this period with the wonderful harmony of the guitar and vocals, and the thrillingly finished “Layla”. It can be said that it is a performance that represents the 87 year tour. It is recorded from the high-quality cassette master that will be released for the first time, so it is worth listening to it as a single-shot excellent performance sound source, whether you have an existing board or not. It is also a record that shows that Clapton, who had developed a stage that was never flashy, rooted in blues and American roots music, transformed into a contemporary artist at this time. Even on the stage captured here, you can feel one aspect of Clapton’s greatness. Please add this work to your collection.
Uxbridge 1889
