Review: Blind Faith 24BIT Reissue & Second Disk

Thanks, Jadem, I was wondering if that CD was worth it, now I know. I have a great story to tell regarding Blind Faith: When they played at Madison Square Garden it was still a "primitive" time for touring acts, and they did not have a P.A. system, also they used the P.A. that was used for sports announcments that was mounted in the center of the ceiling , a few hundred feet in the air, far away from the stage. Sound could not have been worse, and to add insult to injury they played for about 40 minutes . The crowd was stunned in disbelief and were shouting for more, and they did not come out for an encore. Well... I won't say that there was a riot, but things got very close to that description, and it was getting very dangerous at the front of the stage where I was standing. As fans poured forward, a bench overturned that caught my leg in between the braces. As the crowd surged forward my leg was about to break when I managed to reach the leg of Steve Winwood's keyboard rig and pull myself up to safety at the last second, knocking all of his gear to the floor. In a Rolling Stone interview Winwood stated that he was hurt and saddened by the reaction of the fans rioting, and wrecking his equipment. He never knew that it was me trying to save my life. Years later I used to see him a few feet away at The China Club, and I also happened to be recording at the same studio he was , (different rooms), but never had the chance to let him know the true story. Well, I will have to get that CD today. I always wished they had done at least one more album. There was something special about that band, and it definitely had the potential to be even greater than the sum of its parts.

The deluxe set has a nicely written anthology of Blind Faith and they spent some time discussing the American tour. They were often overwelmed by the venues and the crowds and the equipment they owned was not at all capable of getting above the din of the crowds. Great story of the early concert tours. My story would be with the first Stones tour in '66. They played at an old 3000 cap. ballroom in Excelsior, MN. (the Jimmie at the drug store is an Excelsior man that Mick met in the line at the counter) Anyway, that night they started a riot of sorts with the biker crowd that called "Big Reggies" home. They threw bottles and stones at the stage and were about to physiclly remove them when Mick and the boys figured it out and left. It was ten years before they came to Minnesota again only to have there show cut short due to the riot and teargas out side that had come in through the ventilation system (the tear gas, not the riot). I think we had a full Stevie Wonder (yawn) set and maybe 15 minutes of the Stones. The best part of the show was when Stevie was working from insturment to insturment and almost walked of the stage but was saved by a security guy.

I saw this CD advertised but the ad didn't give details about the remastering, packaging, etc. I assumed it was not a straight re-issue based on the price. This is great news as this is one of my favorites and the original is also among the worst recordings I've heard on CD. Thanks for the info.

Agree with the raves for this CD. It's a knockout, for performance and sound.

Just got this. Waaaaaay nice. Thanks for the recommendation guys.

I found the second disc very interesting, but in a "scholarly" sort of way. It gives excellent insight as to the private workings of some great artists, but leaves a lot to be desired IMO. I would say that the second disc is for fans only. Being a fan, I am quite pleased. Haven't had a chance to really crank it yet.

Bmpnyc: I was at that concert too, up in the loge level, I guess, and very well recall everything you mentioned, but it wasn't me that rushed the stage, honest! The other thing about that concert, and that I hated, was that they were on a revolving stage in the middle of MSG, so half the time I couldn't see them! When I saw Cream on their farewell tour in Detroit, it was at the old Olympia Stadium, and they had the stage at one end of the arena so we could always see the musicians and hear their huge amplifier banks. So the Blind Faith concert disappointed me on a few levels. BTW, if you got their album on the MFSL gold CD, did you notice on Had to Cry Today how the pan of Clapton's first guitar solo, which had gone from one channel across to the other on the original album, was stopped halfway and returned to its original (I think it was the left) channel on the MSFL? Did they do the same on this reissue, or did they shift him all the way from left to right this time like they should have?

I was just wondering - How does it compare in sound quality to the MFSL version?