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Product Description
Blind Faith's debut gig was in front of a cool 100,000 people on a warm day in Hyde Park. Since 7th June, 1969 when this concert took place, it has never been seen in its entirety. This is a unique opportunity to see the world's first Supergroup perform for the very first time. The audience gathered in London's central Hyde Park, were filled with anticipation awaiting Blind Faith's debut. The newly formed collective of four virtuoso musicians who individually were already rock royalty, were the talk of the town and expectations both within the band and out amongst the counter-culture generation crowd, were high. Fusing the psychedelic blues of Eric Clapton and the soulful vocals and keyboards of Steve Winwood, with Rick Grech on bass and the phenomenal Ginger Baker on drums, they didn't disappoint. The set may have lasted just over 40 minutes long, but fans were treated to a selection of timeless tracks including 'Presence Of The Lord', 'Sleeping In The Ground' and The Stones classic 'Under My Thumb'. The DVD also boasts archive footage of the various members of Blind Faith performing within their earlier musical guises. Clips of the Spencer Davies Group performing 'I'm A Man', Traffic's 'Hole In My Shoe', Family performing 'Dim' and Cream with 'Sunshine of Your Love', act as a gentle introduction to the main concert event.
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It was big news when guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker from the recently-disbanded Cream joined forces with keyboardist-singer Steve Winwood, whose history with Traffic and the Spencer Davis Group had made him one of Britain's most admired young musicians (bass player Rick Grech came from the more obscure Brit group Family), and the buzz must have been palpable when they took the stage before hundreds of thousands of fans on a June afternoon in 1969. They were known as rock's first supergroup, but there's nothing all that super about Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969, a record of the quartet's debut performance. In fairness, the group hadn't been together very long, and their one and only album hadn't been released yet; perhaps they were also taken aback by the size of the crowd and the hype that already engulfed them. Still, their 40-minute set (the DVD is padded with a ten-minute introduction) is surprisingly listless, not to mention out of tune. Having cemented his god-like status by way of Cream's endless bravura jamming, Clapton was clearly looking for something mellower and more song-oriented, but despite a few stellar moments, here he appears dour and uninterested. Winwood, meanwhile, seems to be searching for notes a step or two above his range, with the result that he fairly shrieks his way through all six tunes from the Blind Faith album (along with a pointless cover of the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" and two others); it's Baker who provides the fire, especially on "Presence of the Lord" and the drum showcase "Do What You Like." The audio and video are surprisingly crisp and clear, which helps make up for the fact that the camera was apparently hand-held by a drunk who couldn't figure out what he wanted to shoot. It's cool to see these guys in action, but overall, interest in this document will primarily be due to the fact that it exists at all. --Sam Graham
- Blind Faith
- Eric Clapton
- Steve Winwood
- Ginger Baker
- London
Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 Reviews
Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 Reviews
| 85 of 88 people found the following review helpful  An absolute must for Blind Faith fans, By Book Buddy (Rockville Centre, NY USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 (DVD) If it is true that Sanctuary is not releasing this DVD in the United States due to contractual problems, that is very unfortunate for Blind Faith fans. This is probably the only footage one will ever see of this group, so if you're a fan, you will want to see this DVD. Amazon UK sells this DVD but you must have a DVD player that plays PAL. So do yourself a favor, buy a DVD player that can play both NTSC and PAL, not just to play this DVD, but for so many other DVDs that are only available in the PAL format because they aren't released in the U.S. for whatever reason. Various electronic companies on the Internet sell these type of machines, so get one now, open yourself up to the world of PAL DVDs!Now to the DVD itself. Blind Faith probably should have waited until they had more songs in their repertoire before they started touring because they really didn't have many of their own songs under their belt yet. So their actual set for this concert is only about 40... Read more 23 of 23 people found the following review helpful  Keep the technical aspects in perspective, Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 (DVD) I understand the technical complaints made by some here, and wish the footage was shot differently. But it is what it is, and the perspective I have mentioned is this was a shortlived band but an incredibly talented one, with this being the only available video material. I think the music holds up extremely well, and the differences from the album they put out make this that much more interesting, particularly the different, electric version of Can't Find My Way Home, plus the tracks not on the album, including a rousing rendition of Stevie's Means to an End, the blues Sleeping in the Ground (Winwood had a great voice for the blues - it is too bad he didn't sing blues more often), and a great version of the Stones' Under My Thumb.Looking back at Blind Faith, I feel particularly nostalgic and regretful about it. I was and remain a huge fan of Cream and the Traffic both before and after Blind Faith, but feel that Clapton got off track when he left England to go with... Read more 34 of 38 people found the following review helpful  Lower Your Expectations, By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 (DVD) The film is disappointing, with terrible, twitchy camera work and editing. (I thought perhaps I was just getting stodgy in my old age, but a clip from an earlier Cream concert included among the DVD extras assured me that even in those long-ago days, there WERE people who knew how to shoot a concert video.)By contrast, the audio quality during the concert is good. The DVD cover says the sound is stereo. It sounded like mono to me. The concert itself is frustrating. This show is a precious memory to those where were there, a legend to those who were not, unheard for almost 40 years, and... well, it's not that great. These are all solid professional musicians, but the performances here seem tentative and uninspired. They certainly don't hold a candle to the performances on the album. Nothing I say will dissuade real Blind Faith devotees from getting this DVD. Nothing I've said would have dissuaded me. Just don't get your expectations too high, and you... Read more |
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