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Okay, It is a great album, er I mean release -- for all of those readers who have never had the pleasure of listening to vinyl crack and pop -- It is musical, it rocks in a cool, intelligent way, it was VERY progressive at the time.
What do I like about it today? I'm in a geezer band, and we worked up Sea of Joy and Presence and you know what... they are an absolute blast to play, improvise upon and ROCK with... I mean these are canvasses which allow one to really kick in some contribution.
Classic pieces like this, ALWAYS go over well at festivals.
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If there were more than six total tunes here, this would be a very worthwhile album. CANT FIND MY WAY BACK HOME,even if its falsetto vocals wear very thin, and PRESENCE OF THE LORD are two of the best songs of that time, and are still pretty good today, but the rest is mainly filler. Early Cream is much better, even though one can appreciate these guys were trying to do something new. Most of it doesn't stand up today though.
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From listening to this and other bootlegs around you'd have to conclude that this was Stevie's band. (In many ways it's an extension of material he was recording with Traffic) Clapton took a back seat but his contributions were not diminished in any way. It's practically the closest he has come to jazz-rock, aside of "Old Love" and the material on his most recent studio album, "Reptile". His solo on "Presence of the Lord" is alternatively savage and poignant, the famous break, an exercise in controlled aggression. I love the loose jazzy jam "Do what you like", where Clapton again excels. "Had to Cry Today" is a potent, but less ardent example of hard rock (compared to Cream) and the delicate "Can't Find My Way Home" make this an outstanding set. This band had enormous potential, much of it unrealised, sadly. The expectations were simply too great, and the pressures on them as a money generating venture too extreme.
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I was one of the lucky ones to get the original issue of this CD without the two bonus tracks. The reason that this is Four Stars is because you can't get this now without the two bonus tracks. The two bonus tracks threw this off when it was reissued. Everything about this is great. What a lineup too Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Rick Grech and Ginger Baker. One of Winwood's best songs is included here "Can't Find My Way Home". Also the Eric Clapton penned "Presence Of The Lord" is very good. Not everyday do you get four talented musicians like this together. Unfortunately, there probably won't be a Blind Faith Part Two because of the passing of Rick Grech. That is why many people consider this a Landmark recording. A one time thing gone right. By the way, they just reissued this as a double CD with more extra tracks. Do yourself a favor, pass it up. It's not as good as the original. Damn those bonus tracks.
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FOr me, this album is the culmination of the British psychedelic sound of the '60s. If I have a list of 100 favs, this had got to be in the top 10. Listen and learn and enjoy.
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