This latest release from rock legend Eric Clapton is a long overdo 2-cd "live" recording. Actually his last live recording was his "Unplugged" cd released in 1992. This 2-cd set was recorded during his 2001 tour and Clapton is in fine form here. Disc One starts with Clapton playing acoustic guitar on the first six songs. His acoustic guitar playing on songs such as "Key To The Highway" (a Derek & The Dominos song) , "Tears In Heaven", "Bell Bottom Blues" (another Derek & The Dominos song) ,"Change The World", etc. shows the diversity this talented guitarist has. He's as good on acoustic as he is playing electric guitar. It's not until "My Father's Eyes" that he switches to electric guitar. Every song sounds polished and Clapton's band is excellent with veteran keyboardist Billy Preston playing better than ever. Disc Two starts out with the bluesy "I Want A Little Girl". And very few guitarists can play the blues like Clapton. The following song "Badge" (from his late 60's days with the rock supergroup Cream) sounds terrific with the addition of keyboards. And Clapton's voice sounds better than ever. Clapton's 70's hit "Cocaine" is full of energy and the backup singers also add a special touch to this version. My favorite Clapton song (from his Derek & The Dominos days) "Layla" is outstanding with Clapton doing a nice guitar solo before the song kicks in. This version also includes the 4 min. extended piano ending which is played perfectly by Billy Preston. Another favorite (from his Cream days) "Sunshine Of Your Love" also starts with a nice guitar solo before going into the song. This is a nice updated version of the song again with the use of keyboards. Clapton's rendition of "Over The Rainbow" is a nice version which only he could pull off and make it sound good. This is an excellent "live" double cd that no Clapton fan should be without. Highly recommended!

First of all I am a HUGE Clapton fan and have followed his career for a long time. I had been waiting for this CD set ever since I found out about it 2 months ago. That said I have to say that while this is a good set it's not great. The set starts with Eric playing acoustic on the first 4-5 cuts. The songs are excellent but let's face it we all expect Clapton to wail!! The electric tunes are OK and Claptons playing seems methodical rather than inspired, especially on cuts like "Have you ever loved a woman" and "Layla". It's though they taped this set late in the tour and he is going through the motions rather then displaying the passion that has lead to some incredible music. The back up band is excellent with Billy Preston, David Sancious and Steve Gadd but there are time when Clapton relinquishes the lead of the song to keyboards (yawn). This is supposed to be his last tour as he has said that he is tired of touring. With this album and Pilgrim I hope that he will take some time to record an album that truly shows his passion and master of the guitar rather than laid back music. The sound on the CD is excellent and there are even 2 video clips on the Cd's that can be played in your PC. Overall it's good but not great...

I won't deny it. I'm a Clapton fanatic and have been for 4 decades. I've seen more Clapton shows than I can remember. This collection, however, is not even indicitive of what the man can do. Sure, he sings great, but he also yields the reigns over to the keybords too much in addition to rendering stiff versions of old favorites. But it's not Clapton so much as it's the band that undermines this title. Layla is leaden, Sunshine of Your Love doesn't swing at all and Cocaine is plodding. The main reason for these really stiff and lazily rendered "Vegas Clapton" tunes is, I feel, Steve Gadd. A great musician, one of the best ever. But he's just not a rock drummer in the same vein as, say, Phil Collins or even Ringo. 'Reptile' on disc 1 illustrates what Gadd does best. Laid back and just right. And it works here just fine. But the rest of it? NOT! Back in the early 80's, Clapton fired his band of English studio players citing that they were 'too perfect' and 'lacked a feel for the music'. This is also the case here. Too competent, too clean, too straight and very boring. Get 'Live at the Fillmore" or 'Crossroads II' or 'George Harrison Live in Japan' to hear the real deal. Too bad you can't just buy disc 1 of 'One More Car...' by itself. At least the master isn't being led by the band on most of these tunes. Otherwise this collection is EC on auto pilot.

When buying music, there are a few rules of thumb. One example is don't buy a comedy album with a white guy talking about white people. Another is that if a pop song says "baby" or "girl" or others expressions like that more than two times in the opening line, chances are the music is unbearable.

Likewise, usually you should steer clear from white guys trying to play the blues. However, one exception can be found in Eric Clapton's new album.

On this two disc CD, there are both electric blues and acoustic blues. Both of these styles are mastered and presented by Eric Clapton. Clapton takes it a step further by adding the rock and roll drive into the mixture. The product is one of the best live albums on the market to date.

In short, if you like Eric Clapton, blues, live albums, or rock and roll in general then this is a must have.
-trigundude

This is not a bad CD, there is just something not quite right.
The problem is that all songs are played with the exact same, flat emotion. So a blues number like Have You Ever Loved a Woman, has the same light energy that an up tempo song like Wonderful Tonight or Sunshine of Your Love has. It is middle of the road, and not fitting for any of the songs. It is as if Clapton is becoming a lounge act, ready for Las Vegas.

Most of these songs have been done live before, and much better. So this CD adds nothing new or special. And there are some bad songs. Reptile is a throw back to late seventies, Sunday Brunch jazz. It sounds like something George Benson would have done, only not as good. My Father's Eyes has some guitar work, but just drones on way too long.

There are some good parts, and Clapton does open up on guitar occasionally. The best solos, however, are on keyboards, by Billy Preston.

I am giving this 2 stars, because there are so many other better Clapton CD's. However, anything by Clapton is better than most things by other artists. If you want to here Clapton really rock or play the blues with some emotion, get Crossroads II, or 24 nights, or Derek and the Dominos Live. Hear how Have You Ever Loved a Woman or Bell Bottom Blues should sound.

The other reason I am giving this 2 stars, is the slimely trick they play to get you to buy both the DVD and the CD. If you want to just hear music and or play this in the car, you need to get the CD. But, they purposely leave off one track so you need to get the DVD, if you want the complete show.