Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 25, 2023

It seems that even so-called rock gods can get themselves in a bit of hot water if they deign to offer opinions on, say, a global pandemic or the seemingly ceaseless conflicts in the Middle East. That latter controversy comes courtesy of none other than Roger Waters, who offered some arguably (sorry for any unintended pun) impolitic comments about Israel and Palestinians, while the former brouhaha comes courtesy of none other than Eric Clapton, who hasn't been particularly shy about sharing his negative feelings about the Covid vaccine(s) and the general tenor of a lockdown (part of which led to the rather wonderful Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions). For those wanting a return to perhaps simpler times that were (thankfully?) more about the music than any sociopolitical statement will probably want to flock to this superb release, one which offers a Martin Scorsese produced documentary on a Blu-ray disc along with a glut of other items.

The Blu-ray features a kind of combo performance and quasi Behind the Music aspect by combining a November 1994 set of concerts at San Francisco's Fillmore Theater with some talking head segments by not just Clapton himself, but any number of other legends, including B.B. King. That results in what amounts to a "living history lesson", as those who mentored Clapton either overtly or simply by influence are detailed, at times by Clapton himself. I was reminded of a great tome by Leonard Bernstein called "The Infinite Variety of Music", which sought to give an almost mathematical explanation for how many variations in pitch, rhythm, and timbre gave composers an endless palette from which to draw, even if western music at least has been largely consigned to a chromatic scale of twelve half steps.

That "infinite variety" might seem on its face to be seriously whittled down by a form like the blues which is frequently proscribed by its use of only three chords (I7, IV7, V7 in any given key) and a tendency toward 4/4 time signatures and somewhat "standard" bar lengths like 16 or 32. That said, simply listening to the incredible tunes Clapton and his crackerjack band offer in the Fillmore performance is proof enough that while, yes, probably not infinite, there's more than enough variety to keep the ear engaged.

The songs included are:

1. Blues All Day Long
2. Standin' Round Crying
3. Forty Four
4. It Hurts Me Too
5. Early in the Morning
6. Five Long Years
7. Crossroads
8. Malted Milk Blues
9. Motherless Child
10. How Long Blues
11. Reconsider Baby
12. Sinner's Prayer
13. Everyday I Have the Blues
14. Crosscut Saw ( Note: CD version only)
15. Someday After A While
16. Have You Ever Loved a Woman?
17. I'm Tore Down
18. Groaning the Blues
19. T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness ( Note: CD version only)

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Rhino, Reprise and Warner Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.40:1. Despite the veritable glut of stuff (a technical term) included in this deluxe packaging, there's no technical information about this high definition presentation that I could see. Rhino's website page devoted the standalone Blu-ray release (which may be considerably more wallet friendly to some) mentions a 4K restoration, and the result is a very nicely organic viewing experience. There's a substantial grain field that is especially noticeable in both the more brightly lit interview segments but perhaps especially the live performance footage, though even with the (rather appealing in my opinion) grittiness, detail levels are typically quite good, probably a bit more so in the interview segments simply due to overall lighting conditions and the fact that people are by and large holding more still. The palette is very nicely suffused and natural looking. The documentary does utilize some archival footage, some in slightly different aspect ratios, and some of which can look pretty rough and at times undeniably damaged.

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues features a nicely energetic Dolby Atmos track that makes the most of recreating the sonics and general hall ambience of a Fillmore Theater crammed with adoring fans but also with deliberate attention paid to trying to keep the actual musicians forward in the mix. The array of music offers a lot of good spacious placement throughout the side channels in particular, with the rear channels and Atmos speakers typically engaged the most noticeably when the crowd noises intrude (which, thankfully, they tend not to during the actual music). The talking head interview segments and some of Clapton's onstage comments are all delivered without any problems whatsoever.

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Driftin' (HD; 8:19) is the only on disc supplement.

However, as I frequently mention when reviewing these deluxe editions that feature a Blu-ray disc, some collectors may actually feel like the Blu- ray disc is the "extra feature", and the rest of this collection is the "main event", so to speak. This is another extravagantly packaged deluxe edition that should delight fans with its somewhat whimsical assortment of items. The outer box is more or less 13" x 13" and about 1 1/2" deep, so this is not going to fit with a standard Blu-ray collection. The box houses a nice 32 page hardback book which is just slightly smaller in size in terms of height and width, and about 1/4" deep. This has some interesting writing in it about both the documentary and the concert, along with some nice line drawings and photos of Clapton and complete lyrics and composer-lyricist data for all the songs. Also in the box is the following:

• CD of the Concert (see above for the tracklist)


• Bonus CD with the following tracks:
  1. Driftin'
  2. County Jail Blues
  3. Kid Man Blues
  4. It's Too Bad (Things Are Going So Tough
• Two LPs of the Concert (see above for tracklist)


• Poster


• Bandana


• Clapton Guitar Strings


• Custom Guitar Picks


• Individually Numbered Lithograph

Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the wonderful things about Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues is that it is sweetly overt in detailing a "torch being passed", albeit admittedly decades ago. But the fact that Clapton is so open about his influences and the long legacy he is joining, not creating, is heartwarming and rather life affirming in its own way. You can hear Clapton's love for the blues players who have gone before, and how he hopes to continue spreading their sound. This deluxe edition offers a beautiful Blu-ray of the legendary Fillmore concert, and also features a glut of other items, including CDs and LPs (yes, I still have a turntable, of course, and these sound great), along with a number of more whimsical additions. Technical merits on the Blu-ray are first rate, and the non disc supplements a lot of fun. Highly recommended.