LSD: Last Stand Dominos – Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (Mid Valley 495/496/497/498)
Capitol Theater, Portchester, N.Y. 12/5/70. Early Show (52:09) Tell The Truth, Little Wing, Blues Power, Have You Ever Loved A Woman, Let It Rain
Disc two: Late Show (49:32) Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad, Blues Power, Stormy Monday, Key To The Highway, Tell The Truth
Disc three: Late show continued (29:02) Bottle Of Red Wine, Got To Get Better In A Little While, Crossroads.
Disc four: Suffolk Community College, Selden, N.Y. 12/6/70 Late show (73:53) “Last Live”. Introduction, Keep On Growing, Tell The Truth, Stormy Monday, Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad, Blues Power, Have You Ever Loved A Woman, Little Wing, Got To Get Better In A Little While.
It’s just recently dawned on me just how well taped this whole tour is. Initially, The Derek and the Dominos album wasn’t the classic release it became, because the public really didn’t know it was a band formed by Clapton. The tour was not a huge sellout nation wide. Mid Valley has released in this set the last two shows this now historic band played. Both have been widely available for some time, but I don’t think anyone was wise enough to include them together. The first three CD’s consist of the early and late show at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester N.Y. When I see this location I wonder “why?”. Anyway, This unfortunately is not a new source. It is an audience recording that is very good for the time and well balanced. CD one starts a few seconds into Tell The Truth, so it’s known if there was any kind of introduction of the band. There probably was, but the taper missed it. Tell The Truth does start out as a great jam last 19:35, played with real intensity and at the end of the song, the crowd shows it’s appreciation.
The is a cut when the song ends and the opening riffs are to Little Wing. It’s not known a song is cut out or missed. I compared this to the Zues The Beat Goes on Z 2023001/2/3 release and the first Cd sounds the same. CD’s two and three are the late shows. Thats when all the cool people went. The Zeus label has some serious static during Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad that last for a good thirty seconds. I do believe that this is the same source, but Mid Valley managed to EQ the static out. Good job and thanks guys. It is however, EQ’d to the high side and I needed to turn my stereo down. The vocal throughout are up front and at times Claptons guitar is distant and barely audible. Carl Radle takes over on vocals for each time Stormy Monday is played. It’s spread out into a slow blues jam and Claptons solos shine through each time.
Disc four is the ‘Last Live” CD. I assume that this is the late show because they played nine songs, which is one more that the late show from 12/5, and on 12/6 they play Little Wing, unlike on 12/5. It’s not really documented if the Dominos played an early and late show, they didn’t for every city. Having grown up on Long Island and been to the Suffolk campus, I wonder if they played in the small auditorium or the cafeteria that bands used to play in as well. Either way, these are small places. The introduction is captured, and like on every CD I have from this tour, whenever Clapton is introduced there is a huge ovation and it seems like there a “see I told you so” atmosphere afterward. This is also a good audience recording given the year. It is also the same that has been available for some time. It is heavy on the bass at times, there’s coughing into the mic after a long jam on Have You Ever Loved A Woman and Let It Rain at times sounds muffled and bass heavy as well.
At times it does sound as if they just want to get this show over with. However, this is a great document of a now historic tour of one of the greatest albums in rock history. Clapton has admitted several times that this band ended to soon. It comes in a plastic jewel case with a cardboard insert with a picture of Clapton, tour dates and band history inside. It also comes with a plastic backstage pass that says “Eddie” on one side and “Derek and the Dominos” on the other. I would recommend this for fans and would call this the definitive edition due to Mid Valley EQ’ing out the static on the start of the late show and that they were smart enough to package their last two shows together.
