Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 17, 2024

Mercury Studios released Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 Live at The Royal Albert Hall on 1080 disc back when it was still Eagle Rock Entertainment, and is now revisiting the title with this new 4K outing, one that does offer the blandishments of HDR, but which has the same audio options as the older 1080 version. This release also does not have the CDs of the concert that came with Eagle Rock Entertainment's 1080 release.

For my thoughts on the concert and Eagle Rock Entertainment's 1080 presentation, please head over to my old Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 Live at The Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray review. For convenience sake, I'll repeat the disc's track listing here:

Somebody's Knockin' On My Door
Key to the Highway
Tell the Truth
Prestending
Hoochie Coochie Man
You Are So Beautiful
Can't Find My Way Home
I Shot the Sheriff
Driftin' Blues
Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out
Tears in Heaven
Layla
Let It Rain
Wonderful Tonight
Crossroads
Cocaine
High Time We Went

Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in my old Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 Live at The Royal Albert Hall Blu-ray review of Eagle Rock Entertainment's 1080 release for a probably at least relatively better representation of the palette. Because there is no 1080 disc in this package, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Eric Clapton Slowhand at 70 Live at the Royal Albert Hall is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Mercury Studios with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.83:1 (a just ever so slightly wider aspect ratio than the 1080's 1.78:1). This is by and large a really appealing 4K presentation, though huge, sweeping improvements in detail levels are probably fleeting and often consigned to things like textures on fabrics or even things like drumsticks or guitars. HDR adds some really nice new luster to the proceedings, and "little" elements like Eric's bright blue shirt really pop. Fluidity is definitely improved in this presentation, and potential trouble spots like fast moving drumsticks in the 1080 interlaced presentation on the old disc are nowhere to be seen here. I'd also argue that general detai levels probably see at least a marginal uptick in some of the widest shots of the immense Royal Albert Hall. My score is 4.25.

Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As mentioned above, this disc repeats the nice sounding audio options offered on Eagle Rock Entertainment's old 1080 disc. Both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks included on Eric Clapton Slowhand at 70 Live at the Royal Albert Hall offer a vibrant and vigorous accounting of the music, though there is a substantial uptick in the low end on the surround version, as should probably be expected. Even with that more emphatic low end (and midrange), prioritization of Eric's voice and the backup singers is still excellent most of the time, and Eric's guitar is always mixed beautifully, blending with the rhythm section but darting out to claim its own sonic territory during solos. Fidelity is excellent and there are no problems of any kind to warrant concern.

Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Little Queen of Spades (HD; 16:58)

An insert booklet featuring a 2015 essay by Paul Sexton and quite a few photographs is included. This is packaged in a cardboard sleeve and I have to say it was almost insanely difficult to get the disc out of its pocket on the right side. A thumb notch or something similar would have been a better design choice in my not so humble opinion.

Eric Clapton: Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eric Clapton is actually approaching 80 as this review is being written, but this relatively recent trip "down memory lane" still shows how commanding he was at 70. This concert finds the rock icon in fine, relaxed form, and the backup band is simply stellar. Clapton moves through a variety of hits and at some lesser known tunes, offering superb musicianship and even more proof as to why he's so widely admired. I'm not entirely sure those who already have the old 1080 release will feel the need to double dip, since this has the same audio options and doesn't come with any CDs. That said, technical merits on this disc are solid. Recommended.