[Slowhand] 2004 vs. 2006

[K S]

Hi Slowhanders,

Honestly, I prefer the 2004 tour when comparing the two recent solo tours. 
I've attended a couple of shows each time (in Europe) and I've also heard 
bootleg recordings from each tour. The spirit of the crowd or of the band 
those particular nights might have influenced my view.. that I remember the 
outings as better.. things that don't have to do with the quality of the 
tour in itself. But generally I liked 04' better. The one and only reason - 
there was more EC.

I love guitar solos, maybe unnecessary to say since I'm a Clapton fan. 
Plenty guitar on the Cream reunion - loved that. Same thing with the Nothing 
but the blues tour, or the Robert Johnson tour. In 2006 however, there was 
just too much non-EC-guitarwork sometimes. Don't get me wrong; Bramhall, 
Trucks and Cray are top-notch players. I love their work. And Derek is 
something else! I also think EC shows class when he invites young guitarists 
and let them shine. But, to over-exaggerate just a little, I'm there for 
Clapton. Therefore, the Bramhall/Clapton mix in 04' was more to my taste. 
You got a couple of original interpretations from Doyle, (he did an 
excellent job compared to the Reptile tour), but most of the time EC did the 
talking. He simply had more and longer solos. -And he was at least as 
inspired as in 2006!! He laughed and moved around on stage that year too:)

Certainly there have been outstanding shows in 2006. And the change of rythm 
section was a brilliant move. Then one can debate the loss of Billy Preston 
against the addition of Cray (even though Randolf was good) and Trucks. I 
would say that the 06' set-list was somewhat stronger than in 04'. But the 
2004 set-list was at that point considered a lot more exciting than 2001 and 
EC dared pulling out 'forgotten' gems from his old repertoire. 2006 could be 
seen as a sort of extension from 2004 in that aspect.

Well. That he's stepped back a little this year, guitar wise, has been said 
before. I just wanted to say that that makes the whole difference for me. I 
don't want to be among those who praise this year's tour as the best ever, 
although the tendency to change approach and band is much welcomed.

KS

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