First things first: I should warn you that the sound quality for this concert is not great. Good, but not great. Basically, when it comes to live Derek and the Dominos, there are the two nights at the Fillmore East, which are excellent soundboards that I posted here recently, and there's everything else. This is probably the best of the rest, the best of the audience bootlegs. But Eric Clapton was at his absolute peak when playing as part of Derek and the Dominos, so I'm willing to put up with less than pristine sound quality.
In addition to the relatively good sound quality, there are a couple of other good reasons why the concert stands out as the best of all live recordings for the band, not counting the Fillmore East shows. The concert took place a month after the Fillmore East shows, and the band got better as they went on. Also, the band played some songs they hardly ever did: "Call It Stormy Monday," a medley of two Chuck Berry songs "Little Queenie" and "Sweet Little Rock and Roller," and "Everyday I Have the Blues." Also, it was rare for them to play "Let It Rain" without a long drum solo in the middle of it.
The show is almost an hour and a half long. Note that, for "Let It Rain" there was a big dropout during the second verse. I tried to fix it by patching in the second verse from a different concert. Unfortunately, the difference is pretty obvious. But I figure that's better than what the patch covered up.
Note that when I originally posted this album, I was under the impression that the band was joined by blues legend B. B. King for the encore. But while "Everyday I Have the Blues" is a song closely associated with King, and the vocals sound a lot like him, I got some comments from people who went to the concert, and claim that King wasn't there. Instead, the vocals on the encore almost certainly belong to Cliff Bennett, the lead singer of Toe Fat, the opening act.
01 talk (Derek & the Dominos)
02 Got to Get Better in a Little While (Derek & the Dominos)
03 talk (Derek & the Dominos)
04 Roll It Over (Derek & the Dominos)
05 Blues Power (Derek & the Dominos)
06 Call It Stormy Monday (Derek & the Dominos)
07 Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad (Derek & the Dominos)
08 Little Queenie - Sweet Little Rock and Roller (Derek & the Dominos)
09 Tell the Truth (Derek & the Dominos)
10 Let It Rain (Derek & the Dominos)
11 Everyday I Have the Blues (Derek & the Dominos & Toe Fat)
https://www.upload.ee/files/15280926/DereknDom_1970i_CncinnatiMsicHallCncinnatiOH__11-26-1970_atse.zip.html
I'm glad to say the photo I used for the cover art actually comes from the concert in question. I used a different photo from this same concert for my "Live and Rare" Derek and the Dominos compilation. (By the way, I had one song on that album that's from this concert, so I'm taking it off.)
I was at this show and thought I remembered it clearly. Great seats in 4th row on the left side of the stage where Eric was set up. The tripping kid who wandered onstage and hugged Eric in the middle of a guitar solo. But... I have no recollection of the BB King guest spot! How can that even be? Oh well. Still one of my favorite concerts. Glad to see this boot is kicking around.
ReplyDeleteYep....I was there too....NO BB KING..I don't know how this got started, I've seen it in several places. The opening act was a band called Toe Fat..And they jammed with Clapton at the encore..
DeleteAre you sure you're talking about that exact show, in Cincinnati? Because all the evidence points to B. B. King playing on the encore. For instance, this guy says so, and he's written a book just on Derek and the Dominos' live shows, with personal testimonies from lots of people:
Deletehttps://tomcaswell.net/2015/05/18/derek-and-the-dominos-live-with-b-b-king-everyday-i-have-the-blues/
Also, if you listen to the recording, there can be no doubt that it's B. B. King's very distinctive voice on the last song. (At least in my opinion.) Toe Fat did play with the band, but for some other shows.
I don't think that's BB King's voice at all. You certainly can't hear his guitar and I think that's the key. I can't imagine BB coming on stage and just singing along to a song.
ReplyDeleteD&D is the best live band ever, and I’m up for hearing anything by them that’s “listenable”. IMHO, the afternoon and evening shows from Santa Monica 11/20/70 Are listenable. I don’t have a download of these shows, but there’s a decent recording on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteI was at the show 50 years ago today Thanksgiving. BB KING was NOT i repeat not at this show.
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ReplyDeleteI was there but don’t recall BB King. I was with my brother who is a HUGE BB fan so I think I would remember. But it seems to me it was John Mayall. Anyone?
ReplyDeleteHmmm. It seems multiple people are saying that's not B. B. King. Listening to again, I suppose it could be someone who just has a similar singing style, doing a King song. I guess the logical choice is Toe Fat, since they were the opening act.
DeleteI was there. Sorry, it was B.B. King.
DeleteUgh. Just when it seemed settled. Are you sure? If so, why can't his guitar be heard here?
DeleteI was there - and B.B. King wasn't. Cliff Bennett of Toe Fat sang the vocals in the jam that followed the D&D set. Sorry if this offends anyone, but I thought Toe Fat's guitarist Alan Kendall put Clapton to shame during that jam.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm actually going to post some Toe Fat soon, as part of my BBC project.
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