Eric Clapton – Minnesota Night – April 1987 – CD review
Minnesota Night is a nice little snapshot of Eric Clapton’s tour in support of his 1986 album August which happened to be produced by his ol’ buddy Phil Collins. I’m not sure if Collins felt like he owed Clapton after the album got panned by critics at the time but in any case, Collins played with him for a number of shows during 1986 and 1987.
So what we have here is a fantastic sounding recording of the April 18th Minnesota show which featured a stripped down four piece unit that included Nathan East on bass and Greg Phillinganes on keyboards. It’s a stellar band and it’s also nice to hear Clapton as the sole guitarist in the group since he normally includes one or two extra guitarists in his touring band.
Even though I’m a huge fan of Phil Collins’ drumming, I have to say that his style is a bit too heavy-handed for some of the material featured here. Frankly, at various points in the show, his pounding backbeat overpowers the rest of the band and even ruins “Layla” by setting the tempo way too fast. But I’m a musician and I’m probably being overly critically about the playing captured here. In any case, this is a unique band lineup and I’m glad to have a nice sounding document from this tour.
retroGrade: B+
It’s definitely worth seeking out. In the meantime, here are a couple tracks from the boot.
Minnesota Night
artist: Eric Clapton
Date: April 18, 1987
Venue: Civic Centre, St. Paul, MN
Sound quality: excellent soundboard recording
the band:
Eric Clapton: Guitar, vocals
Nathan East: Bass
Greg Phillinganes: Keyboards
Phil Collins: Drums
Tracklist:
Disc 1:
1. Crossroads
2. White Room
3. I Shot the Sheriff
4. Hung Up On Your Love
5. Wonderful Tonight
6. Miss You
7. Same Old Blues
Disc 2:
1. Tearing Us Apart
2. Holy Mother
3. Badge
4. Let it Rain
5. Cocaine
6. Layla
7. Sunshine of Your Love
For those interested in this particular band lineup, check out the following officially released DVDs: Eric Clapton & Friends Live 1986 and Eric Clapton Live in Montreux 1986. Both DVDs feature the same lineup although the Montreux DVD seems to be a more complete representation of the full live show.
—
Related posts:
Leave a Reply