LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Official, digitally remastered CD reissue
One of rock's early supergroups, Blind Faith were made up of Cream's Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood of Traffic, and Ric Grech of Family. They formed, recorded their debut, toured, and disbanded all within a year. While they were greeted like the Second Coming during their brief existence, the band's importance is as much symbolic as musical--they hardly lasted long enough to develop their own sound, but they did embody the best and the worst of rock music at the end of the 1960s. Originally released on POLYDOR, BLIND FAITH was cursed at its very inception by being billed as a supergroup. This was truly a pity, because for all the classic beauty of its only recording, Blind Faith was a band that never had a legitimate opportunity to come together as a performing ensemble. Hyped to the hilt and rushed into a massive, chaotic tour, the band fell apart after its final American concerts when Eric Clapton packed it in to join Delaney & Bonnie's band. BLIND FAITH scored a big hit with its evocative acoustic ballad "Can't Find My Way Home" featuring Winwood's raspy falsetto, Clapton's poignant acoustic guitar, and Baker's pulsing brush work. But then, every song on BLIND FAITH has become an FM radio staple. "Presence of the Lord" with Winwood's fervent vocals, "Had to Cry Today" (featuring Clapton's dense, multi-tracked blues leads), and the jacked-up rockabilly of Buddy Holly's "Well Alright," are all good examples. But the band never had much of a life outside the studio, and after Blind Faith folded, Winwood and Grech joined Baker's Air Force before reforming Traffic. Clapton began moving away from extended improvisations into more tightly structured song forms on his first solo album, ERIC CLAPTON, and proceeded in the same direction with Derek & The Dominos.
Track listing: 1. Had To Cry Today 2. Can't Find My Way Home 3. Well All Right 4. Presence Of The Lord 5. Sea Of Joy 6. Do What You Like