I too have listened to this multiple times and first tim was very impressionable. Since then it just keeps on growing on me.. enjoy it folks!!

Just curious: why are you both not impressed upon first listen? (My copy is on it's way, BTW).
Because of how it sounds? (production / mastering) or performance wise? Not as good as audience tapes from the same tour? Due to the songs played and musicians involved you could know what to expect.

I thought Clapton was on fire that tour. Both Doyle and Derek got plenty of room to shine as well and the setlist was killer with lot's of D&TD's songs.

I am I impressed!

DutchFan, on first listen I found the drums and Clapton's voice very loud while the guitars were sometimes too low; the JJ Cale set seemed like a big drop in energy; and some of the songs present (After Midnight, Wonderful Tonight) seemed to be taking up space that would have been better filled by other songs. However, repeated listenings are changing my mind.

DutchFan, on first listen I found the drums and Clapton's voice very loud while the guitars were sometimes too low; the JJ Cale set seemed like a big drop in energy; and some of the songs present (After Midnight, Wonderful Tonight) seemed to be taking up space that would have been better filled by other songs. However, repeated listenings are changing my mind.

Thanks for the heads up. Haven't received it yet. I hope those sound "issues" you describe don't spoil all the tasty guitar work from Eric, Doyle and Derek.

Cheers!

I really enjoy this. I wish more shows from that tour were available. Other than "Wonderful Tonight", which I think took some momentum way from the show, the set list was great. I saw this tour in Birmingham, AL and wish I could have seen more shows from it.

My 3 negatives:

1. No DVD/Bluray release with it.

2. Steve Jordan's snare is overused during the show and a little too loud in the mix.

3. The usual acoustic set was dropped on this show for Cale's appearance. I wish they could have had both.

I haven't made it through the whole thing yet, and agree the vocals and drums are way high in the mix, but I just listened to Key to The Highway and Got To Get Better in a Little While and there is some smoke there for sure!!

DutchFan, on first listen I found the drums and Clapton's voice very loud while the guitars were sometimes too low; the JJ Cale set seemed like a big drop in energy; and some of the songs present (After Midnight, Wonderful Tonight) seemed to be taking up space that would have been better filled by other songs. However, repeated listenings are changing my mind.

They're not changing mine. The mix is terrible. Claptons guitar is, of course, prominent, but there are times where I had to struggle to hear Derek at all. I totally agree that the drums are too loud. It's not just the snare, either. There are some tunes, depending on which snare he used, where it's actually very low in the drum mix, but the drums are still overall too loud.

Not a huge fan of the Cale tunes other than Midnight and Cocaine. I assume they changed Cocaine to a lower key to accommodate Cale singing it. They all sounded like a laid back jam session on the back porch. Totally killed any energy in the set for me.

I typically just skip Wonderful Tonight but I wanted to hear if Derek really added anything to it. He did some nice stuff. Certainly made it a bit more interesting.

I've got a couple of boots from Derek's time with Clapton. ( Although, none of them have Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad, dang it.) I'll be returning to them a lot more frequently than this set.

If you mix the drums and vocals higher than the guitars on a Clapton abum w/ Derek Trucks you should find another line of work.

I was also unimpressed at first. However, for some reason, "Little Queen of Spades", changed the way is was listening to it. Started hearing the mix differently for some reason, and was able to pick up the various guitarist more clearly. Listened to it again, and now think it is my favorite live EC since D & D at Fillmore East.

Funny thing is I don't normally enjoy "Little Queen of Spades"

Listened to the Derek and the Dominoes songs and thought they sounded great. Then again this was my favorite Clapton tour.

The first youtube video link that Pops posted is "Tell The Truth," and it is a ripper. Great version. EC really belts out the vocals, and who better than Derek to play slide on that song?

I wonder if the mix in that video is the same as the album. I listen to music in my car but watch music videos on my computer. That video sure makes me think these guys are dopes for not releasing a DVD.

Anyone else notice that Doyle seems to be dressed as Robbie Robertson from "The Last Waltz"?

Clapton's reps said that there would not be a DVD release of this.

Ok, further thoughts. I am enjoying the disc. I'm glad they released it. It is an important part of the Derek Trucks story, an interesting look at him in a gig that is not the ABB, not the DTB, not the TTB, yet one that is essential in that, as he really is the guy who received the torch from Duane, this is Derek as a Domino.

Obviously EC gets that, and this is important for EC. He has been reclaiming his past, doing his reunions with Cream and with Winwood, doing a Robert Johnson thing, etc, and this live album has him showing his respect to JJ Cale AND doing the Dominoes.

To me it is odd that both the Cale and the Dominoes are put in the same package, AND that this release is pitched as the Cale project, with JJ' s name on the front and picture on the back but no Derek.

I also feel that the Cale stuff is so low key while the Dominoes stuff is so crunchy and dynamic that it is a jarring shift that unbalances the album. I have gotten used to it, but I'd rather this be a single disc with no Cale stuff and no Wonderful Tonight.

"Tell the Truth" opens it up and kicks butt. As I've noted, it hit me as odd at first how loud the drums and vocals are. Maybe it is because the studio album had the more organic early 1970s mix, with low drums and vocals. Great opener though, with Derek playing all the lead.

A very different Key to the Highway follows; they shifted the beat. I didnt get itr it at first but dig it now. Eric digs in and rips.

Got To Get Better In A Little While rips too. Some cool funk guitar. It sounds more like "The Core" than in has noticed before. However, the bass solo kind of kills the momentum; you really can't hear it well.

Little Wing is wonderful. Doyle and Derek take brief tasty solos that seem to kick Eric into really going for it.

"Anyday" rips, of course; like "Tell the Truth," a great song especially with THIS line-up.

The first two Cale songs are beer break songs for me. Pleasant throw-aways. "Anyway the Wind Blows" is all about low key groove and silly lyrics. That would be OK in a different setting, but not after five killer songs like this set. "After Midnight" has been done a million times before, and better than this.

"Who Am I Telling You?" Is better, more dynamic progression and some lovely solos. I'd still rather hear "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad."

"Don't Cry Sister" is also solid, a good lively one that may have gotten the crowd to get back up. It sounds like Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac to me, some nice crystalline guitar sounds that actually have a twang of "Layla" to them.

"Cocaine" I never need to hear again.

"Motherless Children" absolutely burns. Why not? A slide-driven song when you have Derek in the group is the right pick.

"Little Queen" is EPIC. Each guitarist delivers a meal. This is the winner, though Doyle needs some volume.

"Further On" is fun, effortless.

"Wonderful Tonight" argh. Derek spices it up a little. Ugh.

"Layla" is great. They renew it, driven by the drums and rhythm, Derek playing perfect fills, and the coda is magic.

"Crossroads" is good but anticlimactic after "Layla." Like Further On, I dig it, but they could've had a better pick.

Good disc overall, despite my criticisms. Great musicianship, lots to listen for. Here's hoping for that DVD. If they do one, they should add bonus songs from other shows on the tour.

I wish Clapton would return to the Cream version of "Crossroads". I don't need the background singers on that song.

"Willie Brown, Willie Brown"

Thei first real big time concert I went to see was Roger Waters in Toronto in the late 90s - his primary lead guitarist was Doyle Bramhall II and he played David Gilmour lead parts all night and crushed them. When that guy is clearly your weakest guitar player of 3 - you got a dynamite band.

The show has highs and lows. The Dominos stuff is good. But Little Queen of Spades makes the album.

i think I have posted this before but what the heck. I have seen Clapton many times including the ABB shows at The Beacon. My most memorable (and favorite) was in 1990. On Easter Sunday he played outside of Detroit. I had a pair of tickets. My girlfriend broke up with me so I thought about not going but decided eff it, I'm going. I left my mom and grandparents and drove down to The Palace of Auburn Hills.

It was the first concert I ever went to alone. Obviously this was before the internet so nobody knew who would play with him. He didn't have an opener, but a special guest. Stevie Ray came out toward the end of the show. They played together for quite a while, did a couple of Stevie's songs, Cream, etc. White Room was amazing.

And of course sadly, we lost Stevie a few months later. 🙁

Sounds great to me.

[Edited on 10/8/2016 by pops42]

This copy sure sounds fine...most grateful Pops!

I am guessing that youtube video of the whole audio will be taken down at some point since it is a direct copy of the CD and likely out there without permission.

[Edited on 10/9/2016 by WarEagleRK]