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Eric Clapton has made some great live albums, particularly the superb "Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert".This is not one of them.He and his band play very well, sure they do, but they're certainly not playing the blues. Instead they manage to turn everything they touch into slick, lounge-like pop songs with not an ounce of grit.If you prefer Eric Clapton in his 90s balladeer's guise, you'll probably like this album just fine. Nothing wrong with that. But if you like Eric Clapton the bluesman, and have gotten your hopes up by the inclusion of songs like "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", you'll be sorely disappointed. Almost everything is done in a bland, unbearably mannered fashion, with not so much as a spark to ignite a little bit of passion in the listener, let alone the smouldering fire of Clapton's sixties and early seventies recordings."Key To The Highway" is pretty good, as is "She's Gone", and Eric Clapton does a better than half-decent "Bell Bottom Blues" as well, and....well, that's it, really.He performs all of his worst, most saccharine, Michael Jackson-like ballads, "I Want A Little Girl" from the "Reptile" album is pure Vegas, and I didn't even recognize Jimmy Oden's classic "Goin' Down Slow" at first...it has somehow been molded into a happy, bouncy little pop song whith just a hint of jazz and no trace of the blues whatsoever.And for a closing number he does "Over The Rainbow". I wonder if he'll be turning up in a white jumpsuit on his next tour?

Rating: 2 out of 5

Don't be put off after hearing the first few tracks. As good as they are, they aren't quite what you expect from an opener to a Clapton gig. To say that it's a tame start is something of an understatement. The music itself is good - with stand-out tracks being Change the world and Tears in heaven. But if you're wanting to hear some of that fantastic Clapton fire on the fretboards, you have to wait until towards the end of CD1 - Father's Eyes and She's Gone in particular. There's also a wonderfully soulful River of tears - you can picture Eric losing himself in some of the solos he plays here.Better still slot CD2 in first. Here is EC at his finest - Badge, Have You Ever and Layla are the main stand-outs. Layla in particular has a wonderful intro - as in Unplugged, you wouldn't know the track until he drops the signature riff - and boy is he on form! Wonderful Tonight with a reggae tilt? - an interesting variation on what must have been played hundreds of times, though for me you can't beat the 24 nights version. Finishing with Over the Rainbow - as with the opening tracks, this one displays another side to his playing - but would you really leave a gig by Slowhand humming Somewhere over the Rainbow.By the way - Eric's voice sounds better than ever!All in all, some superb music - it's just the track listing that leaves something to be desired.

Rating: 4 out of 5

....'River Of Tears' from One More Car.... has one of the finest solo bursts ever. It's what you want from vintage Clapton, and it burns you down. A Short, sharp, melodic explosion, and to the point, in a way that the solo in Cream's 'White Room' of old has much to answer for in the development of the guitar solo par-excellence in all of classic contemporary rock... blah, blah, blah - and in the same song Billy Preston goes almost nuclear, looking Jimmy Smith square in the eyeballs with a supreme glare. In this form 'River Of Tears' is a massive choon and begs the question why Clapton settled for such a dreary version of this song on the Reptile album? Massive choon.

Ta.

Rating: 5 out of 5