Eric Clapton 1979-06-09 Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI

Eric Clapton
Dane County Coliseum
Madison, Wisconsin
June 9, 1979

Lineage:  Audience master => cassette => cassette => cassette => Stand-alone Pioneer CD burner => EAC => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV => FLAC Front-end (level 8)

Disc one (40:20):
(1)  Badge (8:24)
(2)  If I Don't Be There By Morning (4:43)
(3)  Worried Life Blues (7:32)
(4)  Crossroads (9:22)
(5)  Knockin' On Heaven's Door (5:59)
(6)  Tulsa Time (4:17)

Disc two (61:30):
(1)  Early In The Morning (8:55) *
(2)  Watch Out For Lucy (4:18)
(3)  Setting Me Up (5:11) **
(4)  Rambling On My Mind (11:29)
     Incl.  Mean Old World
        Have You Ever Loved A Woman
(5)  Lay Down Sally (6:19)
(6)  Wonderful Tonight (5:06)
(7)  Cocaine (6:52)
(8)  Layla (6:27)
(9)  Further On Up The Road (6:47)

* start cut (first few seconds only)
** Albert Lee - vocals

Fingerprint file is included.  Sorry, no artwork.

Comments:  Very solid recording from Clapton's short "Backless" tour in spring 1979.  There are not very many good recordings from this period, and this one not only sounds great, but is a very strong performance as well.  "Watch Out For Lucy" is a relative rarity included in the set; the real centerpiece, however, is a great Rambling On My Mind/Mean Old World/Have You Ever Loved A Woman medley in the middle of the show.  Eric's in a good, loose mood, and it shows in his playing.

The recording is very good for the era.  All of the instruments are well-represented in the mix (although the low end tends to drown everything out during peaks); the taper was so close to the stage and/or PA that Clapton's off-mike comments to the band and countdowns can be clearly heard on the tape.

I used Audio Cleaning Lab only to break tracks.  I considered de-hissing since mine's a 3rd gen. source, and decided against - that I could do more harm than good.  If anyone skilled at remastering wants to take a crack at this, have at it.  I think it's quite good (perhaps a 7 on a 10-scale) on its own. 

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