May's Theme At So Many Roads

In May, as So Many Roads celebrates its 2 1/2 year anniversary, our them will be The 1980s. Every show we post will have taken place between 1980 and 1990.

Enjoy the tunz!

Eric Clapton - 1977-04-27 - London, UK (SBD)

Eric Clapton
1977-04-27
Hammersmith Odeon
London, UK
Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included

CD 1:
01. Hello Old Friend
02. Sign Language
03. Alberta
04. Tell The Truth
05. Knocking On Heaven's Door
06. Steady Rollin' Man
07. Can't Find My Way Home

CD 2:
01. Further On Up The Road
02. Stormy Monday
03. Badge
04. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
05. I Shot The Sheriff
06. Layla
07. Key To The Highway

Eric Clapton - 1977-04-27 - London, UK (SBD)

Here’s our 7th and final EC post for April. In August 1976, Clapton released the album No reason To Cry, his 3rd solo disc since his return to the rock world after overcoming his addition to heroin. The album is notable because EC takes a much less prominent role than might be expected. For example, Marcy Levy sings lead vocals on innocent times and shares them with Eric on Hungry. Two other tunes also feature EC giving up the limelight to share vocals with another rocker. On All Our Times past, Rick Danko steps up to the mike with Eric, while on Sign Language, its Bob Dylan who duets with EC. Dylan wrote Sign Language, but his version with Clapton is the only time he recorded the song. The album went to #15 on the US charts, and the single from the disc, Hello Old Friend, went to #24. Clapton and his band toured extensively in 1976 and 1977 in support of No Reason to Cry. This soundboard recording captures him at The Hammersmith Odeon in London, on April 27, 1977, 35 years ago today and exactly 10 years before the time I saw Eric at Madison Square Garden. Download this one and you’ll hear a much more laid back Eric than in 1987!

Eric Clapton - 1987-04-26 - Providence RI (SBD)

Eric Clapton

1987-04-26

Providence Civic Center

Providence RI

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

CD 1:

01. Crossroads

02. White Room

03. I Shot the Sheriff

04. Hung Up On Your Love

05. Wonderful Tonight

06. Miss You

07. Same Old Blues

CD 2:

01. Tearing Us Apart

02. Holy Mother

03. Badge

04. Cocaine

05. Layla

06. Further On Up the Road

07. Sunshine of Your Love

Eric Clapton - 1987-04-26 - Providence RI (SBD)

Here's another show from Eric Clapton's magnificent 1987 Spring tour. This soundboard captures him on April 26, 1987, 25 years today in Providence, RI, the night before I saw him at Madison Square Garden (a show already posted on this blog). I sat in the front row behind the stage at the Garden with a perfect view of Phil Collins on the drums. Even better, EC came back behind the drums numerous times to play for the folks in the "cheap seats". We couldn't have been more than 10 feet away from him. The highlight of our night was the Badge into Let It Rain sequence near the end of the show. This soundboard recording from Providence has the same set list as the Madison Square Garden show.

Eric Clapton – 1975-04-23 – Brisbane, Australia (SBD)

Eric Clapton

1975-04-23

Festival Hall

Brisbane, Australia

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

CD 3:

01. Introduction

02. Badge

03. Milk Cow Blues

04. When You've Got A Good Friend

05. Have You Ever Loved A Woman

06. Steady Rollin' Man

07. Two Ladies Introduction

08. Can't Find My Way Home

09. Teach Me To Be Your Woman

CD 4:

01. Interval

02. Let It Rain

03. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

04. I Shot The Sheriff

05. Layla

06. All I Have To Do Is Dream

07. Little Wing

08. Little Queenie

Eric Clapton – 1975-04-23 – Brisbane, Australia (SBD)

Here's our 4th post this month from Clapton's 1975 tour of Australia. This soundboard recording captures him in Brisbane on April 23, 1975, 37 years ago today.

Eric Clapton - 1985-04-22 - Richmond, VA (SBD)

Eric Clapton

1985-04-22

Richmond Coliseum

Richmond, Virgina

Soundboard Recording

192 kbps

Artwork Included

CD 1:

01. Tulsa Time

02. Motherless Children

03. I Shot the Sheriff

04. Same Old Blues

05. Blues Power

06. Tangled In Love

07. Behind the Sun

08. Wonderful Tonight

09. Steppin' Out

10. Never Make You Cry

11. She's Waiting

CD 2:

01. Something is Wrong

02. Lay Down Sally

03. Badge

04. Let it Rain

05. Double Trouble

06. Cocaine

07. Layla

08. Forever Man

09. Further On Up the Road

Eric Clapton - 1985-04-22 - Richmond, VA (SBD)

As I’ve mentioned in other posts featuring EC in 1985, that was the year that I found myself with a renewed interest in Clapton’s music. His 1985 album Behind The Sun produced 2 hit singles in Forever Man and She’s Waiting, songs which also found EC again demonstrating the extraordinary fret work that had once inspired London teenagers to proclaim that “Clapton Is God”. His appearance at Live Aid, looking fresh and healthy before a worldwide audience, cemented his comeback to the top of the rock world. This show features EC on April 22, 1985, 27 years ago today, in Richmond VA on tour in support of the Behind The Sun disc.

Eric Clapton - 1983-04-20 - Bremen, Germany (SBD)

Eric Clapton
1983-04-20
Stadthalle
Bremen,Germany
Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Artwork Included

CD 1:
01. Tulsa Time
02. I Shot The Sheriff
03. Lay Down Sally
04. Worried Life Blues
05. Let It Rain
06. Double Trouble
07. Sweet Little Lisa
08. After Midnight

CD 2:
01. The Shape You're In
02. Wonderful Tonight
03. Blues Power
04. Ramblin' On My Mind > Have You Ever Loved A Woman
05. Cocaine
06. Layla
07. Further Up On The Road

Eric Clapton - 1983-04-20 - Bremen, Germany (SBD)

This soundboard recording captures EC on April 20, 1983, 29 years ago today, on tour in Bremen, Germany. That Clapton was even on tour in 1983 was a bit of a miracle given his emotional state a year earlier. In January 1982, EC, having finally admitted he was an alcoholic, flew from London to Minneapolis to check into the Hazelden Treatment Center. On the flight, Clapton drank heavily out of fear he would never be able to drink again. Clapton is quoted in his autobiography as saying, "In the lowest moments of my life, the only reason I didn't commit suicide was that I knew I wouldn't be able to drink any more if I was dead. It was the only thing I thought was worth living for, and the idea that people were about to try and remove me from alcohol was so terrible that I drank and drank and drank, and they had to practically carry me into the clinic.” After being discharged, the doctors at Hazelden recommended that EC avoid any activities that would act as a trigger for his alcoholism. A few months after his discharge, Clapton began working on his next album, against the Hazelden doctors' orders. Working with Tom Dowd, Clapton produced the disc Money & Cigarettes, which he released in February 1983. The album’s memorable cover depicts Clapton, cigarette in hand, standing next to a melting Fender Stratocaster guitar. EC said he chose the album title and imagery "because, that's all I saw myself having left”. Despite less than stellar reviews for the album, the single I've Got a Rock 'n' Roll Heart went to # 18 on the Billboard charts. Download this soundboard recording which captures EC on tour in support of his comeback album.

Eric Clapton - 1975-04-20 - Sydney Australia (SBD)

Eric Clapton

1975-04-20

Hordern Pavilion

Sydney, Australia

Soundboard Recording

256 kbps

Artwork Included

Disc 1:

01. Let It Grow

02. Tell The Truth

03. Better Make It Through Today

04. Badge

05. I Shot The Sheriff

06. Teach Me To Be Your Woman

07. Steady Rollin' Man

08. Key To The Highway

Disc 2:

01. Can't Find My Way Home

02. Blues Power

03. Driftin' Blues > Crossroads > Have You Ever Loved A Woman

04. Layla > Opposites

05. Let It Rain

06. Little Wing

Eric Clapton - 1975-04-20 - Sydney, Austrailia (SBD)

As promised, here's another post featuring Eric Clapton in Australia in 1975. This one is a soundboard recording from the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on April 20, 1975, 37 years ago today.