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Rating: This album represents the "swan song," the last "glow of vivid and bright light" for the English artist, marking the end of the first and dazzling part of his career, before plunging into the darkest times for a few years. Those weren't easy times for Clapton; in fact, after the "Layla" tour, from which the tracks of this splendid album were taken, the guitarist disappeared from the scene for a long period due mainly to two problems. First, the troubled love with Patty Boyd, wife of his great friend and colleague George Harrison, a tumultuous, hidden affair that led the guitarist into a deep depression. Meanwhile, perhaps the greater problem was the strong heroin addiction that was undermining his body and mind.
Although in poor physical and mental conditions, Clapton appeared in dazzling form on stage at the famous New York auditorium, showcasing all his qualities in an elegant and powerful performance, launching into long guitar improvisations without giving up his clean and chiseled style, a true trademark of "Slowhand." The tracks of this live album were taken from the two dates of October 23 and 24, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York, where Clapton shared the stage with Bobby Whitlock on keyboards, Carl Radle on bass, and Jim Gordon on drums, the same lineup (apart from Gregg Allman) that had created that studio masterpiece just a few months earlier, the famous "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," perhaps the perfect album of an entire career.
The concert kicks off with "Got To Get Better In A Little While," a lively and pulsating blues that immediately reveals the band's great technical abilities; Radle and Gordon form a highly experienced rhythm section and perform their duties with perfect precision, while Whitlock on keyboards provides a soft base where the leader can indulge in his guitar skills. On the same level, the subsequent "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad," one of the fourteen masterpieces of "Layla," is expanded immeasurably by Clapton's solos that follow one another without interruption, accompanied by a chorus that exudes joy and cheerfulness, quite different from the meaning of the song's title. Whitlock executes his role excellently, proving to be an excellent second voice and providing an excellent base with his honky-tonk piano. Undoubtedly among my favorites in the setlist, the following "Key To The Highway," a splendid reinterpretation of the original blues by Big Bill Broonzy, one of Slowhand's idols, is performed perfectly by the band, although in my opinion, the studio original was better, as in that case, the guitar was assisted by "Skydog" Allman. After the lively "Blues Power," a song from Clapton's self-titled solo debut of the same year, it's time for another highlight of the guitarist, the historic "Have You Ever Loved A Woman," a reinterpretation of the Billy Miles blues standard, still today one of the strengths of concert setlists, a slow and clean blues, with our Fender cutting the air with powerful and determined phrasing, simply splendid and seductive.
The audience appreciates, Slowhand doesn't talk much but leaves the music to speak, and the concert flows swiftly, with the subsequent "Bottle Of Red Wine," a song with a deep southern feel, the tense and vibrant blues of "Tell The Truth," and the poignant "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out," another classic of the British artist, until reaching "Presence Of The Lord," the only song credited to Clapton from the Blind Faith experience, performed in a relaxed and laid-back manner. The voice may not be as brilliant as Winwood's, but in my opinion, this version is more fluid and heartfelt than the studio version, always a nice listen nonetheless. With "Little Wing," the audience is thrilled, joining in the chorus and fully enjoying the band's great performance; the track, a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, a longtime great friend and highly esteemed by Clapton, is rendered in a more bluesy and delicate manner by the Dominos, always performed cleanly and dreamily, a worthy tribute to an exceptional artist who passed away just a month before the concert. To conclude the show, the band performs a classic, the evergreen "Crossroads," a song by blues father Robert Johnson, revisited by Clapton with Cream a few years earlier, and included in the famous "Wheels Of Fire" album by the English power trio. The concert version is slower, less visceral and decisive, but excellent and so well done that it splendidly closes one of the artist's most famous and successful live performances.
This live was released only in 1973, a period when there was practically no news of Clapton. At the end of the tour, Slowhand indeed retired from the scene for about three years; no album, no concerts except for occasional appearances like the Concert for Bangladesh organized by Harrison or the live at the Rainbow in London in '73, where, with the help of Pete Townsend, he managed to perform publicly again, almost completely freed from the slavery of drugs and ready to relaunch himself in the music world, but that's another story... "Live At The Fillmore" is still today a pleasant album, well-played, with excellent and very talented musicians, a child of one of the most important studio albums in the rock-blues field, so I highly recommend listening to it...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Key To The Highway (06:25)
I got the key to the highway,
Billed out and bound to go.
I'm gonna leave here running;
Walking is most too slow.
I'm going back to the border
Woman, where I'm better known.
You know you haven't done nothing,
Drove a good man away from home.
Live Verse: When the moon peeks over the mountains
I'll be on my way.
I'm gonna roam this old highway
Until the break of day.
Oh give me one, one more kiss mama
Just before I go,
'Cause when I leave this time you know I,
I won't be back no more.
First Verse
Second Verse
07 Tell The Truth (11:04)
Tell the truth. Tell me who's been fooling you?
Tell the truth. Who's been fooling who?
There you sit there, looking so cool
While the whole show is passing you by.
You better come to terms with your fellow men soon, cause...
The whole world is shaking now. Can't you feel it?
A new dawn is breaking now. Can't you see it?
Tell the truth. Tell me who's been fooling you
Tell the truth. Who's been fooling who?
It doesn't matter just who you are,
Or where you're going or been.
Open your eyes and look into your heart.
The whole world is shaking now. Can't you feel it?
A new dawn is breaking now. Can't you see it?
I said see it, yeah, can't you see it?
Can't you see it, yeah, can't you see it?
I can see it, yeah.
Tell the truth. Tell me who's been fooling you
Tell the truth. Who's been fooling who?
Hear what I say, 'cause every word is true.
You know I wouldn't tell you no lies.
Your time's coming, gonna be soon, boy.
Chorus
Chorus
08 Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (05:33)
Once I lived the life of a millionaire
Spent all my money, I just did not care
Took all my friends out for a good time
Bought bootleg whiskey, champagne and wine
Then I began to fall so low
Lost all my good friends, I did not have nowhere to go
If I get my hands on a dollar again
I'm gonna hang on to it 'til that eagle grins, yeah
'Cause no, no, nobody knows you
When you're down and out
In your pocket, not one penny
And as for friends, you don't have any
When you finally get back up on your feet again
Everybody wants to be your old long-lost friend
Said it's mighty strange, without a doubt
Nobody knows you when you're down and out
But when you finally get back up on your feet again
Everybody wants to be your good old long-lost friend
Said it's mighty strange, yeah
Nobody knows you
Nobody knows you
Nobody knows you when you're down and out
09 Roll It Over (06:40)
Go down easy and let me take my time...
Rock me slow, 'til I lose my mind.
Roll it over, let's take it from behind...
It's only love, god knows it ain't no crime.
You don't know how much it means to be here in your arms.
Roll it over. Roll it over.
10 Presence Of The Lord (06:16)
I have finally found a way, a way to live just like I never could before.
And, I know I don't have much to give, but I can open any door.
Everybody knows the secret, everybody knows the score.
I have finally found a way, a way to live in the presence of the Lord.
11 Little Wing (06:13)
Well, she's walking through the clouds
With a circus mind that's running around
Butterflies and zebras and fairy tales
That's all she ever thinks about
And when I'm sad, she comes to me
A thousand smiles she gives to me free
Said it's alright, take anything you want from me
(Anything you want, babe) (Anything)
Well, she's walking through the clouds
With a circus mind that's running around
Butterflies and zebras and fairy tales
That's all she ever thinks about
And when I'm sad, she comes to me
With a thousand smiles she gives to me free
Said it's alright, take anything you want from me
(Anything you want) (Anything)
Whoo
Fly on little wing
Baby, baby
13 Crossroads (08:29)
I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.
I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.
Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by.
Standin' at the crossroads, and I fell down on my knees.
I went down to the crossroads.
Asked the Lord above for mercy, "Save me if you please."
I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.
Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.
You can still barrelhouse, baby, on the riverside.
[ad lib]
You can run, you can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.
You can run, you can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.
And I'm standing at the crossroads, I believe I'm sinking down.
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