Search - Derek & Dominos :: Live at the Fillmore

Uneven, but a "must-own" for the highlights

Matt | 08/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Derek & The Dominoes. They made one of the most essential classic rock albums of all time and - lucky us - they also laid down some live stuff. Here's how it holds up to their studio genius.



DISC ONE



"Got To Get Better" (13:52) ...WOW. This is the best live song I have ever heard, bar none. I would say that it now rivals the Stones' "Tumbling Dice" for the title of My Favorite Song Ever. This CD is well worth the asking price, for "Got To Get Better" alone.



"Why Does Love Got to be So Sad?" (14:49) is almost equally amazing. The first 3 minutes Eric gets into some cool riffage and soloing on a wah-wah pedal; if you didn't have the CD cover to tell you, you would never know what song he is starting. Then, he moves fluidly into the song itself and does an 11-minute rendition that dwarfs the (already awesome) studio version. SWEET.



"Key to the Highway" (6:25) is shorter, leaner and louder than the jammy studio version. In fact, THIS sounds like a studio version. Very good.



"Blues Power," as usual, is no good as a live song. "Have You Ever Loved" is pretty good, but "Bottle of Red Wine" verges on annoying. I usually don't listen to these three when I'm listening to disc 1.



DISC TWO



"Tell the Truth" (11:04) is decent. Different enough from the studio version, but not a different song by any means. Good soloing. Too slow, though.



"Nobody Knows You" (5:33) is terrific, and very interesting particularly if you are used to the studio version. The Layla version of this song was quite tough, but this is a totally mellowed-out, laidback blues groove. Very nice.



"Roll It Over" (6:40) is good. I'm not familiar with this song from anywhere else - was it on a Clapton solo album that I am forgetting? - but it is good.

**edit: I finally paid attention to the lyrics on this song. Kinda tasteless ("Roll it over, let's take it from behind ... means so much to me").



"Presence of the Lord" (6:16) is WAY better than the Blind Faith version, and I LOVE the Blind Faith version. It is the highlight of disc 2. Like "Nobody Knows You," this one is much mellower and more stretched out than the studio version. This song has a lot of cool transitions, and it's fun to hear the crowd expecting each one and cheering when it comes.



"Little Wing" (6:13) is very good. At least as good as the studio version, but not the same at all. More like Hendrix's version.



"Let It Rain" (18:19) is the extended jam of disc 2. It's good. There's a long drum solo that, surprisingly, doesn't get boring. I love the studio version of this song so much (my favorite song of Clapton's) that I'm tempted to say this live version is not as good; but that would be apples and oranges. This is not even the same song - instead, it is a very enjoyable jam.



"Crossroads" (8:29): Every other live take of this song that Clapton has done in his career has sucked next to the Cream version, but this one stands up. It's very slinky and funky and cool. It's definitely amusing to hear the typically-shy Clapton finally include the line, "You can squeeze my lemon babe till the juice runs down my leg...you know what I'm talkin' about." Robert Plant, sure. Eric Clapton? Haha.



In sum, this has fast become one of my very favorite CDs. Eric Clapton, as a jam-band leader, puts Jerry Garcia and Trey Anastasio to shame. At the same time, even people with little tolerance for the extended length and increased sloppiness of live music will enjoy most of the songs here. The highlights of this disc are certainly among the highlights of Clapton's career."

Jamming hard at the Fillmore just like the Allmans

Barry Smith | Plainview, New York United States | 09/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Derek & The Dominoes was one of rock's first jam bands. Whereas their classic album LAYLA (1970) can be best remembered as the prime mixing of the blues and dual rock lead guitar, IN CONCERT is the testament of their impressive jamming abilities. They were associated with the Allman Brothers Band due to Duane Allman's crucial contributions on the Layla CD. However, the core quartet(Clapton, Whitlock, Radle & Gordon) were on their own for the subsequent 1970 tour. The Allmans' spirit was certainly there on the concert stage. In 1973, they released the album IN CONCERT, which is the main source of this more recent box set. Although the 1973 release met little fanfare (the band had already broken up 2 years prior), a listen revealed that this album rivaled the intensity and beauty of the Allman's Fillmore East classic album, which was recorded around the same time. Both albums contain extraordinary guitar solos, extemsive drum solos, essential blues reworkings, and plainly intense jamming. In the early '90s, both albums were remixed and similarly repackaged by Polydor: The Allman's FILLMORE CONCERTS and Dominoes' LIVE AT THE FILLMORE. Each box sets contained new liner notes, extra tracks. Everything sounds brilliant in its remastered glory. Eric Clapton and his American bandmates were at the top of their game when they came to the Fillmore in October 1970. This extraordinary box set faithfully preserves the mind-boggling complete live show they presented.
Very few people actually had a chance to attend a Dominoes concert, so this double CD certainly shows the rest of us what it was like."

Very worthwhile

Stuart Hartley | 03/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What a fine document of Clapton's playing in a live setting this is. Even though Eric seems quite nervous at times, his graceful and fiery playing more than makes up for it. In places, Clapton seems to attack the solos as if his life depended on it.



The rest of the band functions as an incredibly tight unit in places and it makes me wish that Derek and the Dominos had managed to stay together for longer. It makes me wonder how much better the show could have been with a little bit more practice. I think the vocal support given by organist/vocalist Bobby Whitlock is particularly beautiful.



I would say that this is a very worthwhile purchase and just another example of why Eric Clapton is so great."