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Press release below. The original date was 2/28, but it sounds like it's been pushed back to April or May. I think things might still be getting cleared.

Some notes on the versions:

- the "Delaney mix" on bootleg is in fact Clapton's original mix. Delaney's actual mix apparently has never shown up anywhere.
- Tom Dowd apparently didn't mix Slunky or Easy Now. Slunky was Delaney's mix (and thus shows up twice here) and Easy now was Clapton's mix.
- After Midnight on Crossroads is Clapton's mix

DISC ONE
ERIC CLAPTON: THE RELEASED MIX
Mixed by TOM DOWD

1 SLUNKY 3.33
2 BAD BOY 3.33
3 LONESOME AND A LONG WAY FROM HOME 3.29
4 AFTER MIDNIGHT 2.51
5 EASY NOW 2.57
6 BLUES POWER 3.08
7 BOTTLE OF RED WINE 3.06
8 LOVIN’ YOU LOVIN’ ME 3.19
9 I’VE TOLD YOU FOR THE LAST TIME 2.30
10 DON’T KNOW WHY 3.10
11 LET IT RAIN 5.02

additional material:

12 BLUES IN “A” 10.25 session out-take
13 TEASIN' 2.14 Performed by KING CURTIS with DELANEY BRAMLETT, ERIC CLAPTON & FRIENDS
14 SHE RIDES 5.08 previously unreleased LET IT RAIN alternate version

DISC TWO
ERIC CLAPTON: THE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ORIGINAL MIX
Mixed by DELANEY BRAMLETT

1 SLUNKY 3.33
2 BAD BOY 3.41
3 EASY NOW 2.57
4 AFTER MIDNIGHT 3.17
5 BLUES POWER 3.19
6 BOTTLE OF RED WINE 3.06
7 LOVIN’ YOU LOVIN’ ME 4.03
8 LONESOME AND A LONG WAY FROM HOME 3.48
9 DON’T KNOW WHY 3.43
10 LET IT RAIN 5.03

additional material:

11 DON’T KNOW WHY 5.12 previously unreleased Olympic Studios version
12 I’VE TOLD YOU FOR THE LAST TIME 6.46 previously unreleased Olympic Studios version
13 COMIN’ HOME 3.14 Performed by DELANEY & BONNIE and FRIENDS featuring ERIC CLAPTON
14 GROUPIE (SUPERSTAR) 2.48 Performed by DELANEY & BONNIE and FRIENDS featuring ERIC CLAPTON

Wait, so this album was mixed three times by Delaney, Dowd and "Clapton" (I'm guessing he just supervised)? The Crossroads mix of "After Midnight" is way too busy, IMO, I wonder what Delaney's mix sounds like.

MK wrote:Wait, so this album was mixed three times by Delaney, Dowd and "Clapton" (I'm guessing he just supervised)? The Crossroads mix of "After Midnight" is way too busy, IMO, I wonder what Delaney's mix sounds like.

Heh. I love that mix of After Midnight. The horns really spice things up...

As for your question, here's a bit from the liner notes that Bill Levenson has been posting:

Three distinctive mixes of Eric Clapton were originally prepared—one by Delaney Bramlett, one by Clapton, and one by legendary producer/engineer Tom Dowd, who'd previously worked with Clapton on the Cream classics Disraeli Gears and Wheels Of Fire.

As Clapton explained to England's Melody Maker in 1970, "I left the tapes in L.A. for Delaney to mix, and he was waiting on me to finish one of the tracks. And he didn't realize that I was waiting on him to mix the tracks and send them over. Finally, my manager got kind of impatient and told Atlantic to send the tapes to me, and I mixed them very badly. Atlantic heard them, and didn't like them. Then they sent them to Tom Dowd, who mixed them again. So they were mixed three times in all. Naturally, I never heard Delaney's mixes until it was too late—the record was already out."

Although Dowd's mix of Eric Clapton was the one ultimately released, many who've heard Bramlett's version have expressed a preference for it over the official release. This package makes the complete Delaney Bramlett mix officially available for the first time, pairing it with the familiar Dowd mix to allow listeners to decide for themselves.

I can't seem to find the interview in question, though.

I have never heard this mix if it is not the one on the Yellow Dog Bootleg. I must get this one.

lukpac wrote:- After Midnight on Crossroads is Clapton's mix

I haven't heard back from Bill Levenson yet about this, but the bootleg mix of After Midnight is NOT the same as that on Crossroads. The differences are fairly minor, but they are there (slapback on the vocal on the bootleg version not on Crossroads mix, drums don't pan from one channel to the other as they do on Crossroads).

Based on comments that Eric's mix was bad/sloppy I'm inclined to think the bootleg is indeed his mix, but then After Midnight on Crossroads would have to be Delaney's.

Has anyone heard any updates on a release date for this? Someone posted elsewhere (ICE?) that it may have been srapped altogether.

I'm working on a Deluxe Edition SACD of Backless for LaserLight's budget label, Soccer Mom Soundz. Wait until you hear all 26 takes of "Lay Down Sally"! The higher resolution really brings out the ambience retrieval in the backing vocals.

Alexander Keith wrote:Has anyone heard any updates on a release date for this? Someone posted elsewhere (ICE?) that it may have been srapped altogether.

Most likely May, I believe.

lukpac wrote:

Alexander Keith wrote:Has anyone heard any updates on a release date for this? Someone posted elsewhere (ICE?) that it may have been srapped altogether.

Most likely May, I believe.

Thanks Luke. Some of us still like that album

I checked PauseandPlay.com and they don't have a date listing for it. The same also goes for the Bob Marley Live!: Deluxe Edition.

lukpac wrote:

Alexander Keith wrote:Has anyone heard any updates on a release date for this? Someone posted elsewhere (ICE?) that it may have been srapped altogether.

Most likely May, I believe.

Looks as if it is May 23 according to CD Universe.

So the Delaney mix is a bit...underwhelming, I guess. It's fine (with the exception of Let It Rain, which sucks IMO), but I'm not hearing a lot of *wow!* moments. She Rides is pretty cool, if not as good as Let It Rain.

It's sloppy as hell, but I think in some ways the Clapton mix is actually more interesting.

FWIW, the Clapton mix would have been released too if not for the additional royalty costs. I guess they didn't want more than 40 tracks.

Comparison clips of a few songs. DB=Delaney Bramlett, EC=Eric Clapton, TD=Tom Dowd

Slunky DB
Slunky EC

Eric's mix has an intro not present on Delaney's, and doesn't have the lead sax for the first part of the song. Delaney's mix was used on the released album (Tom Dowd apparently never mixed it).

After Midnight DB
After Midnight EC
After Midnight TD

No horns on Dowd's mix. Eric's mix has session talk, more reverb, and some louder guitar parts. Delaney's mix was released on Crossroads.

Blues Power DB
Blues Power EC
Blues Power TD

Eric's mix has some warming up. Lots of differences in the guitars between the three. More guitar but lower horns on Dowd's mix.

Let It Rain DB
Let It Rain EC
Let It Rain TD

Warming up again on Clapton's mix, as well as more reverb. Dowd mixes out the "woo!" before the solo section and the lead in to Eric's solo. Delaney keeps the vocals lower at the end.