<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#0000ff" SIZE=3 PTSIZE=12 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Trebuchet MS" LANG="0">Trevor Kempin asked for some more Japan 03 comments a few Digests ago so here goes......<BR>
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For the guitar playing enthusiasts, I was surprised by the amount of finger picking on almost every song. More than I have ever seen during EC's career. Most solos were started finger picking with EC shifting to pick later in the solo. Some solos were all finger picking. Especially nice on the opening of "Reconsider Baby." Also for the first time in a long while we got more of the classic Strat tone.<BR>
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Also I thought Chris Stainton being in the band added something - if nothing else addition by subtraction. His piano/organ style is blues/rock based and plays a complimentary role to the overall band sound as opposed to some of the more recent piano/organ players that have been in the band.<BR>
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As for future tour dates, nothing against Billy Preston but if he joins the band for the rest of the shows as rumored that IMO just means less guitar and more organ/piano (would mean 2 keyboard players in the band). I attend E.C. shows for the blues/rock guitar and we got plenty of that with the Japan shows. I have pretty lofty expectations and the 4 Japan shows I attended exceeded my expectations, especially the 12/2 and 12/3 shows. <BR>
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And on a final point the hospitality extended by Japanese friends was simply outstanding - thanks to all!<BR>
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Cheers,<BR>
Eddy</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" BACK="#ffffff" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
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