For Eric as a solo act, 2005 shaped up as another quiet year. Eric only made three solo concert appearances. Through early August, he was a guest star at two one-off charity events (Teenage Cancer Trust and Wintershall 2005 in aid of HASTE). Then, in early September, he appeared with John Mayer in a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina on US television. There are no bootleg releases of note covering these solo performances.
The big event for Eric’s fans was the Cream Reunion with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Four shows took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 2, 3, 5 and 6 May. Almost immediately after, poor quality recordings started circulating and were almost immediately re-issued by a variety of “labels”. The collecting waters were further muddied by a proliferation of poor quality recordings in MP3 and SHN / FLAC formats. A two-disc DVD and a two-disc CD from these shows were officially released in October 2005.
Three further Cream reunion shows took place in October at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Again, there was a flurry of poor quality audience recordings soon circulating amongst traders. Several obscure labels also issued these recordings on CD-R. Like the London shows, Mid Valley released the best availalbe recordings.
To hear Cream 2005 in the best quality possible, seek out:
Cream Maximum (Mid Valley / Audience 5)
All four London shows are presented via the highest-quality recordings and in their entirety. Eric, Jack and Ginger’s chemistry was pure magic. Do not expect Cream 1967 or Cream 1968 it’s definitely Cream 2005. For those who never saw Cream in their hey-day, this is Clapton as you have never heard him before. Listening to these shows prove that Eric, Jack and Ginger are still “The Cream”.
Cream Macrocosm (Mid Valley / Audience 5)
The audio of all three shows is complete and by far the best quality of all MSG recordings making the collecting rounds. In addition to the 6 CDS, the set has 3 DVDs of the concerts. The DVDs can be best characterized as “pretty good”. Be aware that the DVD from the second night is incomplete (10 songs). As with all MVR releases, the packaging is excellent. Macrocosm is packaged in a slip sleeve. The insert has loads of pictures from the shows and outside Madison Square Garden.
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.
