Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
Belgrade Arena
Belgrade, Serbia
June 9, 2010

"Exotic Summer" (Mid Valley Records 644-645)

Lineage: Audience Recording => Mid Valley Silvers => Plextor 40X12X40 SCSI => EAC => FLAC front-end (level 8)

Setlist:

Disc 1 (65:39):
(1) Had To Cry Today (8:07)
(2) Low Down (3:43)
(3) After Midnight (3:44)
(4) Presence of the Lord (5:26)
(5) Glad (3:26)
(6) Well Alright (4:30)
(7) Tough Luck Blues (6:49)
(8) While You See A Chance (6:03)
(9) Key To The Highway (4:51)
(10) Midland Maniac (7:02)
(11) Crossroads (6:00)
(12) Georgia On My Mind (5:53)

Disc 2 (63:10):
(1) Driftin' (8:05)
(2) How Long (3:50)
(3) Layla (acoustic) (6:24)
(4) Can't Find My Way Home (5:01)
(5) Gimme Some Lovin' (5:04)
(6) Voodoo Chile (14:30)
(7) Cocaine (10:36)
(8) Dear Mr. Fantasy (9:37)

Md5 signature file, artwork, disc scans, ffp file, and EAC log are all included. The first and last torrent in this set (Birmingham 5/18/10 and Washington 6/13/09) have the complete artwork and booklets for the entire 24-disc set; all other torrents in this series have only the artwork specific to the two discs in that particular torrent. Each file set contains the original info file (which spans all 12 shows) and an info file specific to the performance included in that torrent.

Comments:

Mid Valley Records released a mammoth 24-disc set, "Exotic Summer," in the summer of 2011 that largely focuses on Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood's European summer 2010 tour. Several of these (at least Birmingham, London, and Antwerp) appear to have originated from sources that were originally posted on DIME shortly after the shows took place; however, at least five of the versions have not appeared on the larger torrent sites to date, and may be new to the broader trading community. The core of the set consists of ten European shows between May 18th - June 13th, 2010, with two "bonus" recordings from the U.S. tour the previous summer (Philadelphia 6/12/09 and Washington 6/13/09). The sound quality of the 12 audience recordings ranges between good and great; the two weakest are the "bonus" shows from the U.S., but all are extremely listenable. The set was distributed in deluxe packaging, scans of which are included here.

This torrent features discs 15&16 of the "Exotic Summer" set, an excellent audience recording like the rest. This recording may be the best of the entire set - or at least the most surprising, given that not too many recordings come out of Eastern Europe that sound like this. Outstanding mix and dynamic range, clear vocals (though not as high in the mix as Vienna), and very little audience interference. This one has a good, lively feel. No setlist surprises, unfortunately, but a very enjoyable listen.

This set first appeared as a single large posting on HungerCity by "MainlineFL" in July 2011, and has been broken into 12 individual segments to comply with DIME rules. Many thanks to him for the original share. (Note: Those who have already completed this download on HC can point the torrent to their existing folder and will resume at about 99%. After you download the show-specific artwork, info, and md5 signature, you will be able to begin seeding.)

Many thanks (again) to MainlineFL. Mp3 samples are included in the comments.