Saturday 13 April 2019

On Tour - DELANEY & BONNIE****

Things Get Better/Poor Elijah-Tribute To Johnson (Medley)/Only You Know & I Know/I Don't Want To Discuss It/That's What My Man Is For/Where There's A Will There's A Way/Comin' Home/Little Richard Medley

A live album capturing the legendary early 1970 American tour of blues rock duo Delaney & Bonnie, plus influential friends including Eric Clapton, Dave Mason and Rita Coolidge. Includes the top twenty hit singles Comin' Home and Only You Know & I Know. (US:29 UK:39)

"The energy of this recording is amazing. Clapton is on fire and the whole band kicks out a strong set of gospel influenced rock and roll. Great stuff. If you like Clapton at his peak you'll want this."

"The duo were always acclaimed as great live performers, and this shows why. Bonnie Bramlett with her powerful soulful voice sours over these numbers, and you can just see where Clapton learned where to find his voice; it's directly inspired by Delaney Bramlett. Once you have Rita Coolidge vocals added to the mix, you have a culmination of electrifying vocals. It's a blast. There are some big heavyweights on this live assembly. Notably, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, and as a sideman he is just on top form; there are some of his best most calculated riffs here. He must be enjoying himself."

"Through some twist of fate, this pretty good white-soul duo wound up with one of the greatest backing bands ever assembled. There's not a lot of flashy guitar, but the ensemble certainly kicks out the jams... you can hear the Derek & the Dominos sound emerging, on cuts like Things Get Better and especially Comin' Home with its duelling lead guitars."

"Clapton is a sideman, and totally content with that. It brings out his best to be sure. The other sidemen, soon to become the core of Clapton's next project The Dominoes, are also in excellent form. Bonnie Bramlett was a sorely under-rated blues belter who could throw down with the best."

"This really is the LP where Delaney and Bonnie's sound - a heady brew of blues, soul, gospel and straight-up rock (what we might nowadays call roots music) - comes together in a big, big way. The backing band is amazing, and EC seems totally inspired on guitar; maybe because he's just working as a sideman; the pressure to perform is off, and he responds with some of the sharpest, most thoughtful playing of his career."

No comments:

Post a Comment