Eric Clapton
Sports and Entertainment Centre
Melbourne, Australia
November 24, 1984

CD-R1 - Geetarz 194 - SB 4

Track List:

Motherless Children
I Shot the Sheriff
Same Old Blues
Tangled in Love
She's Waiting
Steppin' Out (Shaun Murphy)
Blues Power
Badge
Blues Medley:
Who's Loving You Tonight?
Have You Ever Loved a Woman?
Ramblin' On My Mind

Band Lineup:
Eric Clapton Guitar, Vocals
Donald 'Duck' Dunn Bass
Chris Stainton Keyboards
Peter Robinson Synthesizer
Jamie Oldaker Drums
Marcy Levy Backing Vocals
Shaun Murphy Backing Vocals

Geetarz Comments:

Here's a rarity from what I consider a "lost tour", the short Australia / Asian tour that finished off 1984. Very few of these shows were recorded (what's up with you Aussie tapers?) and it's one of those tours that is often overlooked.

If you consider EC's career from a historical perspective, 1985 is considered by many to be the pivotal year when EC burst back on the popular music scene in a big way, with the Live Aid performance. But the groundwork began to be laid in 1983 with the ARMS concerts, and then in a more intense fashion as EC recorded new material in 1984, began to change his band, and then of course had his invigorating summer stint with Roger Waters as a sideman, allowing him the freedom to just PLAY GUITAR.

Considered in this light, the fall 1984 tour could almost be looked at as a dress rehearsal for the new sound and new band that would propel EC into the popular music scene of the 1980s, back into the charts in a big way, and introduce him to a new generation of post-baby-boom fans.

Here we have a rare document of that tour, one I've not seen circulated much if at all. This is clearly what I call a "pure" soundboard recording, with no audience mics in the mix, with the audience only audible as bleed-through.

The original tape source was quite rough, and it took a bit of work to bring out something more listenable. Along with the basics of appropriate EQ and normalization, this took as much noise reduction as it could stand without stomping on the high end, which was already attenuated a bit.

This finished version is much more listenable in my opinion - check it out for yourself and see!

If you enjoy the 1985 tour as much as I do, this is one you may have overlooked.

Cassette source (unknown generation, probably 3-4) > Tascam AD-700a (Playback) > XLR Balanced Analog > HHb CDR800a burner > Mitsui Gold CD-R > EAC v 0.99 Prebeta 4 (Secure) > WAV > Soundforge 9.0e > Remastering > CDWav (Tracking) > FLAC (Level 5) > YOu !!!

Artwork by Kream - thanks!

Enjoy!

~Geetarz, January 2009

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