I was really excited when I heard this was being released. However I was somewhat disappointed. It is a 2cd anthology of Clapton's Polydor material from 1970-80. The first disk is a studio disk while the second disk is a live disk. The set contains 5 unissued recordings. This compilation contains some fine blues playing by Clapton. Some of the highlights include Little Walter's "Mean Old World" with Duane Allman from the Layla sessions, Muddy Water's "Blow Wind Blow", and live versions of "Drifting Blues", "Further On Up The Road" (unreleased w/Freddie King), and "Crossroads". My quibble with the set is the track selections. I can understand having two versions of "Before You Accuse Me" because both takes are unreleased and quite different. However, did we really need takes of "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" and "Early In The Morning" on both disks? I also would have omitted "Wonderful Tonight" (not really blues but included to sell the set to casual fans), "Cryin'" and "To Make Somebody Happy". Better selections would have been a versions (perhaps live unissued) of "Key To The Highway", "Mean Old Frisco", and an unissued live version of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" from the Rainbow concert not issued on the remaster of this concert. Other possible inclusions are studio or live versions of "Steady Rollin' Man", "Last Night" the cd only studio bonus track from the "No Reason to Cry" cd, an unissed studio take of Albert King's "Drowning On Dry Land", or a live version of "Rambling On My Mind". Clapton also has performed such tunes as "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Milk Cow Blues" during the seventies. I do not know if usable versions of these songs exist in the vaults. Although this 2 cd set is good, a missed opportunity prevents it from being essential!

Don't buy it if your not a huge EC fan and you already have 'Crossroads 2', 'Another Ticket', other and assorted studio. Most of these are already on his other efforts. HOWEVER, for big EC fans there is four new previously unreleased studio songs: 1) A great chompin' version of 'Before You Accuse Me' 2) 'Alberta' by Leadbelly (his knickname given to him in prison because he was a such a tough man), which is an acousic 12 string black folk song about a cheating woman recorded after he was out of the Louisianna State Penitentiary. 3) Willie Dixon (He is the blues, and that's a fact) song Meet Me, done instrumentally where your in that Clapton grove 4)Another version of Before You Cuse Me, kind of like the Revolution Number 9 version (I thing that's the slower version)of this song. But overall, it's a good selection to just sit back and listen to so it's a good Clapton CD for someone who has no Clapton but wants a variety of studio and live stuff.

Blues consists of recordings made between 1970 and1980, when Clapton's contract with Polydor ranout. It is a fairly shameless reissue ofpreviously issued material, therefore cheap tomake and pure profit for the record company. Thereis a detailed but nothing-new booklet accompanyingthe CDs. The first disc consists of studiorecordings, with four unreleased cuts. Two addnothing to the Clapton legacy; two have someappeal. The selection of the previously-issuedrecordings is hit-or-miss; the progression of cutsis not very well thought out. The second disc is areally decent anthology of live recordings, mostlyfrom the outstanding Crossroads 2 four-disc liveslow-blues concerts. Two cuts are from Just OneNight, and the final cut was originally releasedon an obscure Freddie King tribute album issued inthe Seventies. All of disc two is smokin', powerful, improvisational electric blues thatClapton does so well. It's well worth having justfor the second disc, especially if you don't already have Crossroads 2.

I've had this CD for five years now, but it wasn't until I put on during a recent road trip that I really appreciated the cohesion between each song. I own Crossroads II, I own almost all of the '70s albums, but "Blues" was still a breath of fresh air. In this album, Clapton's "honest-to-goodness" singing is far more suitable to the blues than his growling on "From The Cradle," which gives you the sense that Eric is relying on volume to mask his passion. Not so here- Eric's lazier (but more intense) singing is perfect...perhaps because he's drunk out of his mind?
Better than the "holy" "From The Cradle?" Oh yeah, no doubt. PS- What an amazing backup band Eric had in his '74-'78 band. The next group of people who played with him couldn't TOUCH Terry/Elliman/Radle/Sims/Levy/Oldaker...I don't think any band he's had since could capture the true grit of those guys.

"Blues" is a 2-CD collection of, ostensibly, blues recordings of Clapton's solo years on the RSO and Polydor (now Universal/Polygram) labels - one disc studio, one disc live.

It's important to note that those early solo career years, 1970-82, were mostly low-lights; he moved from drug abuse to alcohol abuse, and his music suffered enormously. Yet, Polygram positions this as a "the most comprehensive" collection of his blues performances. OK, most of it has a 12 bar construction. But Eric is so weak through most of these tracks that, to the uninitiated, you'd wonder what's the deal with his vaunted reputation. Polygram did nod towards completists by including a few `unreleased' recordings, but almost all of these (save for a choogling version of "Before You Accuse Me") were best left buried. One track, "Alberta," is particularly harrowing: Clapton is horribly drunk and barely alive.

The live disc is less grim, yet the best of it is average playing; his fine `70's touring band largely overshadows him. Totally ridiculous is the inclusion of "Wonderful Tonight" as a "blues" song. The suits at Polygram must believe every Clapton album must contain this song, and here we get the zillionth version of this limp-wristed crutch.

With 99% of this available elsewhere, and far better compilations (altho a bit pricier) like the two "Crossroads" box sets covering the ample career of this great artist, "Blues" is totally unessential and pointless.