20,000 ‘spellbound’ by Clapton’s guitar

by Evan Roth, The Knickerbocker News, June 27, 1975

To call Eric Clapton’s performance last night triumphant would almost be an understatement. For over two hours he held a crowd estimated at more than 20,000 spellbound at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Clapton, rock and roll’s foremost guitarist, was relaxed, extraverted and, above all, confident. He strutted happily across stage, coaxing some of the sweetest sounds possible from his guitar.

From the opener, the rousing and popular “Layla,” the audience was Clapton’s, pressing closer and closer to the stage with such zeal that he had to urge them more than once to move back.

The frenzy was so great at one point that Clapton had to slow things down by bringing his two female vocalists to stage center to sing some pleasant—and soothing—tunes. The ploy worked, and the fans got some pretty music in the bargain.

But the audience wanted to hear Clapton at his most frenetic, and that’s what the multitude got.

No longer was Clapton “laid back.” His guitar work was always aggressive. Over and over again, his riffs harkened back to his days with Cream. Modesty was gone; virtuosity returned.

The highlight of the concert was certainly his medley of “Eyesight to the Blind,” the Sonny Boy Williamson-Peter Townshend song he sang in the film “Tommy,” and “Why does Love have to be So Sad.” For 25 minutes he and his band, with some improvisational help from Carlos Santana, himself no sloucher on guitar, jammed and jammed as if they didn’t know quite exactly how to end the song.

“Let It Rain” also placed Clapton’s playing in the spotlight, but his guitar sometimes was overpowered by his band. The problem rested more with the sound mix, however, than with the band. His “Bell Bottom Blues” was almost dirge-like in time, but mesmerizing at the same time.

Clapton also combined his recent predilection for reggae with, of all things, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” a cantryish tune by Bob Dylan. The combination may seem absurd, but, oddly, it worked.

Throughout the performance, Clapton’s band did a yeoman job. Not always as tight as one might expect, the band, nonetheless, catered to Clapton’s whims, providing him with the perfect showcase.

Carlos Santana and his band were the opening act and provided over 1½ hours of solid Latin-spiced rock. Santana is a guitar virtuoso himself, and he proved it over and over again to the audience.

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