record collection revisited: Derek & The Dominos "Live @ The Fillmore"

After recording "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs", Derek & The Dominoes embarked on a tour to support the record.  They were reduced to a quartet after Duane Allman's departure to fulfill touring and recording with the Allman Brothers Band, and after Allman's untimely death, like the Allman Brothers, Derek & The Dominoes also continued for a time.

This album, "Live at The Fillmore" was recorded in 1973 and shows a slightly more stripped down version of the quartet band which still has a lot of muscle to it's sound, especially in the vocal harmonies between Eric Clapton and Bobby Whitlock on keyboards.  Whitlock relies on piano through most of the album, while wailing on the B3 for a few numbers, too.  Although, Clapton's voice here, seems a little bit strained, probably for obvious reasons.  That doesn't necessarily detract from the fire of the performance by him, or his band mates, including the rhythm section of Carl Radle on bass, and Jim Gordon on drums.

By this time, The Dominoes sound, though muscular and surefooted, lacked the polish that was on the "Layla" record.  But that does not hamper the performance.  It puts it in a different realm, where they were becoming much more focused on jams and coherently playing, although in some cases, looking at Clapton's career at this point, maybe coherent is a seldom used term.  Still, the performance on the record, taken from the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, California, can be appreciated by diehard Clapton fans, and maybe, new listeners alike, especially to the Derek & The Dominoes records as a whole, before Clapton embarked fully on a solo career almost exclusively, with very few exceptions, from 1974 onwards.  

In addition to numbers (both originals and covers), associated with The Dominoes, Clapton does play a few songs from his 1970 self titled solo release, and from his short lived super group partnership with Steve Winwood in Blind Faith in 1969, during this set.  The Domino's cover of "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix is in here, along with Big Bill Broonzy's "Key To The Highway", "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" by Freddie King, and of course, Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" most famously covered with Cream, and on some of Clapton's recent solo tours including his 2006-2007 tour, and in his more recent shows between 2008 and 2010 partnering with Steve Winwood, revitalizing the idea they had set forth in Blind Faith, but never really were able to achieve.  

Disc 1

  

1. Got To Get Better In A Little While

2. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?

3. Key To The Highway

4. Blues Power Disc 1

5. Have You Ever Loved A Woman

Disc 2

1. Tell The Truth (Clapton plays some wicked slide guitar on the latter half of this number, honoring Duane Allman's contribution to the original recording)

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

3. Roll It Over

4. Presence of the Lord (Blind Faith)

5. Little Wing

6. Let It Rain

7. Crossroads

Check out the live set if you so desire.  It's different than the studio album by a long way, but still satisfying to diehard Clapton and Derek & The Dominoes fans.