Sometimes faith is misplaced and so it was, at least long term, for Eric Clapton. Less than a year after the demise of Cream, Eric Clapton found himself a member of another supergroup.
He had joined together with old band mate Ginger Baker as well as keyboardist/vocalist Steve Winwood of Traffic and The Spencer Davis Group and bassist Ric Grech to form Blind Faith. They rushed into the studio and in August of 1969 released their self titled debut and only studio album. It quickly rose to the number one position on the American and British charts.
To me, Blind Faith sounds better today than I remember it back in 1969. I was the program director for my college radio station at the time and expectations for the album were extremely high. I think there was some disappointment upon its release, though, comparing it to the strength of Cream's catalogue and it not measuring up to their best work. Time and distance have allowed the album to stand on its own, however, and it exists as a nice slice of late sixties rock.
The band caused controversy right out of the gate. The original album cover pictured a nude eleven year old girl from the waist up. It was withdrawn and a new cover featured a photo of the band.
The album is actually excellent for a hastily thrown-together affair. Clapton’s “Presence Of The Lord” would become a part of his live act for decades. It’s always interesting to compare his later vocals with Winwood’s soulful style on this version. It’s a song that lulls you until a Clapton solo in the middle nearly makes you jump out of your chair.
Winwood wrote three of the six tracks. “Sea Of Joy” contains one of the best vocal performances of his career plus some nice acoustic guitar by Clapton. “Had To Cry Today” is a rocker with several guitar bursts from E.C.
Article comments
1 - Migrant
"Blind Faith is sometimes a forgotten album today"
So is the most memorable track on it, it would appear, "Can't Find My Way Home".
2 - JANK
Agreed. "Can't Find My Way Home" is a true rock classic in the classic sense. Really.
3 - JC Mosquito
This album for me will always be lumped in with Beck, Bogart and Appice's one album, and the one left as evidence by Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu, (and) Rabbit ad others of the same approach - more a collection of superheroes on a victory bonds promo tour than a spirited fighting unit in the trenches.