Christopher A. Dees 2010-01-17

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Eric Clapton has been collaborating with a lot of people lately. First, he worked with B.B. King on Riding With The King. Then, he reunited with Cream for their historic reunion concerts. After that, he worked with J.J. Cale on The Road To Escondido. Not to mention his two Crossroads Guitar Festivals. Now, he reunites with his old Blind Faith pal Steve Winwood on this release. This is one that has been a long time in the making. Clapton and Winwood mesh together so well, you'd think they had been together all this time. All of the Blind Faith numbers are stellar. Had To Cry Today is a wonderful opener, with Clapton and Winwood trading guitar licks back and forth. Presence Of The Lord is an inspirational song that has a nice rocking middle. Can't Find My Way Home is a great anthem as well. There is also some nice choices from both Clapton's and Winwood's back catalog. Personally, Forever Man, Tell The Truth, and After Midnight smoke for Clapton, while Well All Right, Pearly Queen, and Dear Mr. Fantasy exquisitely show off Steve Winwood's talents. But to me, the high point of the shows are the Hendrix covers. Little Wing is simply to die for, and what can you say about the 16 minute version of Voodoo Chile? Anybody who thinks these two guys are washed up need to check out this performance alone. Clapton's guitar conjures up Hendrix's voodoo spirit while Winwood's voice just amazes.

All through this, I can't help but think that Clapton and Winwood need to go into the studio and come up with some new material. These two play off of each other very well, and bring out the best in each other. Watching the blu-ray, you could tell these two guys are very comfortable around each other, and simply love playing together. This live release is awesome, but now I just wanna bang the drum. Hit the studio guys!

K. Hayduk 2010-01-07

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Great show brings back the old Traffic and Blind Faith songs plus other works, fantastic.

Dr. Feelgood 2010-01-04

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Two disc CD, featuring Clapton and Winwood, performing Live. The guitar work is quite good as usual, and Winwood sounds great too. Some of their best material is featured, from their individual or, combined careers.

Tommy Gavin 2009-12-09

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

I heard Clapton say not too long ago that he had lost his chops and could not longer play like he did when he was 20 or so. Well, you couldn't prove that by how he plays here! He is amazing. "Voodoo Chile" is out of this world, I actually was driving and had to pull off the road because I could not trust myself driving listening to this song, it is incredible...Clapton's solo is unbelievable. On "Cocaine", Winwood's piano solo is amazing - truly a great CD. But like any other CD, there will be songs you like and songs you don't like - you can't please everyone all of the time. But overall, just terrific.

Brian D. Ives 2009-12-06

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This show could have been a really schmaltzy affair done as a money grab by two legends who have been mostly coasting for decades. But there are some inspired moments here - even on some of thier '80s hits: Winwood's "Split Decision" (which I think originally featured Joe Walsh on guitar) and Clapton's "Forever Man" (sung as a duet) are both pretty great.

But the best moments, unsurprisingly, are when they revisit Blind Faith - you can't really call it a "catalog," as they only had one album. Opening with the track that kicked off their self-titled album from 1969, "Had To Cry Today," you can hear the "unfinished business" that Clapton mentioned when they originally announced the duo shows. "Presence Of The Lord," also sung as a duet (on the album, Winwood did all the vocals, with Clapton sticking to guitar) is pretty moving, considering all the things Clapon has been through over the decades. But Sam Myers' "Sleeping In The Ground," Buddy Holly's "Well All Right" and of course their greatest song, "Can't Find My Way Back Home"... there's not a bad moment there.

Read the rest of my review at my not-for-profit, just-for-the-love music blog, No Expiration. [...]