Rough mixes by Bill Halverson from 1968. Sitting On Top Of The World is posted on his website: Bill Halverson - Legendary Producer, Engineer, Arranger - Bio The basic tracks were cut at Wally Heider's (not demos), with overdubs at IBC. The basic track of Badge from Wally Heider's is posted on Halverson's site: Bill Halverson - Legendary Producer, Engineer, Arranger - Bio They are releasing the Goodbye shows because those are the shows that exist.
Some excellent stuff on Bill's bio page too, check out Sitting On Top Of The World audio clip. Thanks @lukpac for these links, all new to me and much appreciated.
Do you happen to know if they still have access to the the March '68 tapes (Wheels of Fire recording dates at Winterland/Fillmore).
I'm not aware of anything complete like the fall shows, just a few songs. I know there's an alternate mono mix of Crossroads, for example; I don't know where that came from though.
Thanks for the link! Loved the bare version of Badge and also the story of the missing Leslie pedal The Sitting On Top Of The World Mix also sounds good, looking forward to the complete shows!
The Atlantic warehouse fire was in 1978, and the March 7, 1968 "Sunshine" was released on a maxi-single (and AFAIK never otherwise). No idea if that was taken from the multis but could it be there might be hope these March 1968 recordings still exist?
You're going to get varying opinions, but mine is that the band were not quite as good as they had been in 1967. Don't get me wrong, they still performed at a relatively high level (If they were going through the motions, they were still darn good at it!). Good shows combined with what should be great sound quality make this set a must have for any fan! In fact, for some this release may be more enjoyable than anything from 1967 based on sound quality alone. However, I just don't believe they matched up performance wise with what we have from 1967, specifically from the first North American tour (Whisky, Fillmore, Detroit, etc).
Amazing band, only together for a little over 2 years but guess they were lucky to last that long with the volatile personalities and egos involved.
Oh Boy! This set is gonna be killer. Listening to the mix of Sunshine it sounds very nice indeed. If the RAH set is better than what I already have then I will be very happy. I have the bootleg of these sets and it is great. Loving all these EU copyright releases.
You would think that as it was their farewell show it would have been recorded on multitrack with a view of releasing it at a later date, but it was not. What exists is a mono line recording that was the basis of the film footage soundtrack. Review files for the set have been sent to journalists today. The producers have worked miracles with the audio for the RAH show. It is now very listenable and I am sure fans will be pleased to have this historic show in the box set. No John Peel introduction though and I think White Room may be from the first show, but I need to listen again to be sure. If you are a Cream fan, you are going to love this set.
Agreed. This is a deal breaker for me. I am not pre-ordering but will wait on reports on mastering first.
Thanks Marc! Every time a new set like this comes up, I always reach out for your books to see what was recorded, set lists, etc. They’re the best Clapton recording resource out there for fans like me So the RAH show is mono release then?
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, RAH is mono, but I have not heard it sound as good before. The producers did a great job with what they had available.
Ordered the SHM-CD version. Clapton had said one the last shows they played (Philadelphia?) was one of the Band's best. Hope some of those tracks are on this.
I’m fine with Mono Royal Albert Hall, I will take this and be most grateful. Just imagine if it had cleaned up multi camera option Blu Ray too.