Morning Spin: E.C. Was Here by Eric Clapton
Live performances of blues jams and Blind Faith favorites
E.C. Was Here
Eric Clapton
RSO Records
Released 1975
By the time Eric Clapton hit the road in 1974 for his first true solo tour and first since 1970 with Derek & the Dominos, he was a well-established rock star. That may explain why this live release contains long blues jams and no hit singles. It serves as a document of blues songs he often played on stage but had not recorded in the studio.
Clapton is backed by his studio band comprised of George Terry (guitar), Dick Sims (organ), Carle Radle (bass), Jamie Oldaker (drums), and Yvonne Elliman (vocals). Marcy Levy is credited on tambourine although she was also a backup vocalist on the tour.
Two songs from Clapton’s time as a member of Blind Faith appear here. “Presence of the Lord” and “Can’t Find My Way Home” include Yvonne Elliman on co-lead vocals and are excellent renditions. Clapton has performed Freddie King’s “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” since his days with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and throughout his career. Clapton’s soulful vocals reach down into the feelings he was experiencing at the time from his unrequited love of the wife of his best friend, George Harrison.
Clapton has always been a big fan of Robert Johnson and “Ramblin’ on My Mind” is a nice 7+ minute blues jam. The album closes with an up-beat rendition of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Farther on Up the Road.’ Bland’s song, written by Don Robey and Joe Medwick and originally titled “Farther Up the Road,” is considered an early example of 1960s blues rock.
On stage, Johnny Moore’s “Drifting Blues” was performed in a medley with “Farther on Up the Road” but it is a stand-alone track at the end of side one. In the song’s fade out you can hear the transition. In 2013, an expanded and remixed version of E.C. Was Here, retitled Give Me Strength, the 1974/1975 Recordings, includes the full “Driftin’ Blues/Farther on Up the Road” performance.
E.C. Was Here reached no. 20 on the US Billboard 200 and sold well internationally. It was certified gold in the UK. A live blues album with two Blind Faith songs may not have been what his fans wanted to hear, but it’s an excellent, although not wholly representative, document of the tour. In two years’ time, Clapton released Slowhand, one of his most critically and commercially successful albums.
Thanks, Tom.