Eric Clapton Unveils Live Album Vinyl Collection

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This spring, Eric Clapton fans are getting a mother lode of gems: the release of all four of the legendary rock icon’s live albums from the years he recorded with Polydor/RSO – 1970 to 1980 – on vinyl. The collection comes on the heels of a hefty, eight-piece box set released at the end of January, compiling all of the rocker’s studio albums from 1970 to 1981. Eric Clapton The Live Album Collection 1970-1980 arrives March 25th, including Derek & The Dominos In Concert, Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert, E.C. Was Here and Just One Night.

Double album Derek & The Dominos In Concert was recorded at the Fillmore East in New York in 1970 and released in 1973, and features songs like “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad,” “Let It Rain” and “Bottle Of Red Wine.” It’s a scintillating performance by one classic rock’s greatest if also short-lived and ill-fated bands.

Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert was cut at London’s Rainbow Theatre in early 1973. It features an all-star lineup (Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood, Ronnie Wood and Traffic’s Jim Capaldi) and was a pivotal event in Clapton’s ascent back into his career after a hiatus brought on by his addictions. (See our On This Day item here.) It was also the first live performance where Clapton used his famous Stratocaster guitar “Blackie.” (Read more about it here in our list of rock “class axes.”)

E.C. Was Here collects 1974 and 1975 live concert highlights from three shows — London, Long Beach CA and Providence, RI – on Clapton’s first full tour when he returned to action. The gold-certified Just One Night was recorded at the Budokan Theatre in Tokyo, and it reached #3 in the U.K. and #2 in the U.S. Its guitar interplay between Clapton and Albert Lee atop Eric’s well-seasoned road band mark it as a favorite Clapton work for Best Classic Bands‘ editor.

The ever-influential Clapton has received a whopping 17 Grammys, and he’s the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Age 70 and still going strong, Clapton heads to Japan in April for a five-night residency at, again, Japan’s famed Nippon Budokan. The shows are set to take place on April 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th. He is also set to release his first new album in three years on May 20th – I Still Do, reuniting the classic rock legend with equally legendary producer Glyn Johns, who previously worked with him on his 1977 album Slowhand.

And stay tuned here at Best Classic Bands for an opportunity to own this set and more!