1993 would mark the beginning of a welcome era for Eric’s fans: the blues years. From 1993 through the 1996 tour, Eric’s setlist would offer lots of variation – little known blues songs, blues standards sometimes combined with hits. Unfortunately, the first year of this era is not well documented as the others.
The best bootlegs from 1993 are:
Slowhand Blues (label unknown / 4)
This release is from the first solo all-blues run at the Royal Albert Hall. Recorded on 7 March 1993, it contains many blues standards that were not performed during subsequent blues tours. Tracks include the Robert Johnson songs “Alabama Women”, “Terraplane Blues”, “32-30”, “Juke”, “Meet Me In The Bottom”, and “Chicago Breakdown”. A few of these Johnson songs would not be dusted off again by Eric until his officially released 2004 CD, Me & Mr. Johnson. The sound quality is inferior to shows released from the later blues-only tours, but this should not dissuade you from owning it.
Into The Fire (Mid Valley / SB6)
Unlike the Albert Hall concerts, the Japan tour featured a combination of blues and hits. This stellar sounding show from Japan has not yet been dated beyond the year. To sum it up in one word: wow! Eric and his band are on fire delivering great acoustic blues on “How Long” and “32-20” before plugging in for powerful versions of “Forty Four” and “Blues Leave Me Alone”. Eric plays tribute to Jimi Hendrix with an excellent cover of “Stone Free.”
Where’s ERIC! does not encourage or condone the manufacture of bootleg recordings. They are illegal and artists do not receive royalties from their sale. However, Where’s ERIC! realizes that there are fans who collect these recordings. In that spirit, information about them is provided for fans’ research and guidance purposes. Where’s ERIC! does not sell, trade or provide free copies of bootleg recordings nor can we tell you how to obtain them.
