Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood: Live from Madison Square Garden

"Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood: Live from Madison Square Garden" is a superb concert film. This film successfully and explosively highlights the musical artistry of two undisputed titans on the Blues/Rock Scene of the late 60's. Although Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood made only one album and one tour as 'Blind Faith', this highly rated musical unit paved the way for a new direction in the evolving sounds of Blues, Jazz, Soul, and Folk. In 1968 Clapton's band, 'Cream', was imploding due to personnel differences, and Winwood had left 'The Spencer Davis Group' to form a new jazz flavored outfit called, 'Traffic'. Problems within 'Traffic' led Winwood to team up with guitarist Eric Clapton for a series of jams to further stretch the boundaries of Rock. This interaction led to the formation of 'Blind Faith'. "Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood: Live from Madison Square Garden" is a documentation of some of the better songs from each man's work during this period in their musical history. Clapton staged a reunion with 'Cream' in 2005, and this proved to be a lackluster affair. However, this reunion at Madison Square Garden in 2008 is as fresh, vibrant, and musically challenging as it was in 1969. Each man offers up one-hundred and ten percent of his musical talent, and delivers a blockbuster performance. If you were a fan when 'the sound' was new, or you are exploring the roots of Rock, this concert is A Must See. Also, it must be noted that Netflix graciously provides the entire concert (two hours plus) on a single disc.

It's great to see these old pals now in their 60s and enjoying themselves and still entertaining as much as ever, playing music as good as ever. It's scary to remember these guys when they first played together in a band about 45 years ago. The two reminisce about it at length in a bonus feature on this concert DVD.

Keyboard player Chris Stainton, who was a key instrumentalist in Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" group in the '60s, belongs with Clapton and Winwood, all being about the same age. It's always good to see the three above-mentioned guys playing together, along with the rest of the group.

Song-wise, that's not a lot new (but even if it's familiar, it's still good) but I did really appreciate Clapton giving it a go on the famous Jimi Hendrix song, "Voodoo Chile." The only other guitarist I've ever seen attempt Hendrix's material was the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. Eric did just fine, too.

Don't overlook the three "bonus" songs offered. For me, "Lowdown," with a great a rockabilly beat, was fantastic and another example of how you can't go wrong with these old pros.