clapton fresh from treatment at hazeldine in late 1984 developing his musical relationship with phil collins showing his chops at the small venue montreaux. Clapton had huge success with behind the sun (1985) produced by collins & ted templeton which gave him new confidence & direction. This 1986 show was performed shortly before the release of august (1986 album produced by collins) & showed how musically proficient clapton could be when free of a drug/alcohol induced haze. Collins also gave clapton a new edge rhythmically & vocally by introducing clapton to a very structured work-ethic. Clapton's vocals here are better then ever. The other interesting point is that the band is only 4 members (clapton/collins/phillinganes/east) & gives the music a balanced space. Collins is behind the set except for in the air tonight & doesn't overshadow clapton's celebrity or ego one bit. There are many good standards here including sheriff, white room, layla, & crossroads. Newer notable tunes are same old blues, miss you, & holy mother. I think collins really gave the older tunes a rhymic edge that hadn't existed before. His drumming is so aggressive and creates a mood that the music gathers around to a point that each note & chord change hinges on it. phillinganes & east are great too. The show is incredible & raw.

This DVD, for me is a frustrating, tantalizing taunt about what might have been. Clapton, Collins, East and Phillinganes all play well, and they play songs I like to hear. Clapton's tone is pretty good (except for a bit of silly slapback delay on the solos of a few of the songs), thick and beefy while still sounding like a Stratocaster.

There are problems with the sound at times. Clapton will start a solo but his guitar stays buried in the overall mix. The sound man was asleep at the switch, apparently.

The biggest disappointment is in the camera coverage. Whoever directed/edited the various cameras' footage was someone "unclear on the concept." Almost every time Clapton breaks into a solo, the camera cuts to a view of Phil Collins' back as he plays drums, or to the keyboard player or almost anywhere but Eric Clapton and his hands and guitar. So if you're a musician, you're going to find this a bit nerve-wracking (unless maybe you're a drummer, and likely even then).

If you're a non-musician (like the director of this video apparently was) and are a fan of Eric Clapton and want a concert video from the mid-Eighties, you may enjoy this a lot more than I did, although the quality of the video footage itself isn't all that great. (Eighties-technology video cameras.) Clapton's guitar solos' first few bars getting buried in the mix is a bit of a frowner, too. The band plays great and they seem to be having a good time, so it's not a total loss.

Caveat emptor.

Must have for Clapton fans. Good mix, great artists, although rather poor camera work at times.

Superb concert featuring Eric Clapton with an incredible backing band including Phil Collins on drums, Nathan East and Greg Phillinganes. Set list is terrific featuring new songs from then soon to be released "August" cd. Only "Run" was left off this wonderful performance possibly due to lack of disc space. My favorite was "I Shot The Sheriff" and it clearly is one of Clapton's favorite songs. He gives it a real special treatment here in enthusiasm and musicianship. I cannot understand why anyone would complain about this concert except maybe "August" was not their album. Sound quality is excellent and picture could use some remastering for addl color if possible. Eric looks hot in his bright orange shirt.

Eric Clapton was in fine voice and his guitar-playing was top-notch as always in this concert from 1986. Unfortunately, there were also some factors that really detracted from my enjoyment of the performance. First of all, I hated the electric keyboards of Greg Phillinganes. That noodling, mellotron sound, which was so popular in this 80s, is featured far too prominently in the mix to the extent that he even has several solos. In addition, there is a giant dead spot in the middle of the show when Clapton performs several songs that were then new but which have not stood the test of time. They are just not very good. The song that Phillinganes leads with bassist Nathan East is simply awful. A surprise highlight comes when Phil Collins leads the band in a performance of his classic "In the Air Tonight," one of the few songs from his solo work that I care for.