Blind Faith managed to get rock icons Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Ginger Baker together to write a full length album, play their first show in front of 100K people, tour the globe, and eventually break up over creative differences, all in the span of less than a year. If that’s not the most 60’s rock and roll thing I don’t know what is.
The album’s opener “Had To Cry Today” is an iconic opening riff, pure Clapton, with overdriven guitar locked into a wonderfully melodic blues scale. That roughness transitions into a verse that sounds like a gallant stroll through the park in springtime and leads into a chorus refrain that’s slightly downtempo before spitting us back out into the opening riff. It’s a remarkable juxtaposition, and after running through that progression a few more times, culminates in gratuitous two minute jam session that plays out with twin guitar solos tussling with one another in pure harmonic bliss. Just great stuff.
This is absolutely vintage classic rock, an era where jam bands were king and mainstream music had room for 8 minute songs on the radio. Can we go back?
Standout Songs: “Had To Cry Today”, “Sea of Joy”, “Can’t Find My Way Home”
