Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 10, 2023

Remember the halcyon days of yore when rock stars only got in trouble for claiming to be bigger than Jesus, rather than for offering their opinions on things like global pandemics and vaccines? I briefly allude to some of the controversy surrounding Eric Clapton's pronouncements on both Covid and its perceived cure in my Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray review, but for a return to an ostensibly happier, more carefree, time in Clapton's long and storied career, Warner Music Group and Reprise are providing a release that is almost certain to generate excitement among Clapton's still very active fan base. This impressive set aggregates performances from Royal Albert Hall concerts that took place in 1990 and 1991, and which saw Clapton offering "genre" groupings with self described "rock", "blues" and "orchestral" bands. The results are a prime example of Clapton's virtuosity and versatility, and if the video isn't exactly going to set anyone's heart on fire, the audio on the Blu-ray discs includes Atmos mixes that may help to offset any visual deficits.

The title of this release may be just a bit of a misnomer, as some prefatory text on all three Blu-rays offers the following background:

In 1990 Eric Clapton plays 18 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall with different line ups and sets featuring rock, blues and full orchestra. In 1991 he returns playing a record 24 nights. The concerts of both years are filmed. Over 30 years later this film captures the definitive performances of both years.

This collection could have therefore perhaps been jokingly titled Level 42, and for any fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who also love Clapton, the three discs may indeed provide something close to the answer to the "ultimate question(s) of life" (and, yes, that's another joke, at least kind of). The fact that someone curated these performances may cause some to wonder just how "definitive" these are, while also perhaps being a bit suspicious that a forthcoming "complete" collection may be in the offing (I have no actual news to impart, just voicing a hunch). One way or the other, because of the array of different concerts utilized for this collection, a rather staggering multitude of musicians are involved, including such (sorry, pun unavoidable) notables as Phil Collins, Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East, my weird kinda sorta lookalike Chuck Leavell, Albert Collins, Robert Cray and Buddy Guy, among many, many others, including conductor Michael Kamen for the orchestral concerts. That variety along with the self described genres on the three discs afford a splendid showcase for stylistic differences, and anyone interested is invited to compare some of the songs shared in more than one playlist for examples of how wonderfully inventive different arrangements can be.

Details on packaging and technical merits are included below, but the three Blu-ray discs in this set offer the following genres and performances:

Disc One (Rock)

1. Pretending
2. Running on Faith
3. Breaking Point
4. I Shot the Sheriff
5. White Room
6. Can't Find My Way Home
7. Bad Love
8. Before You Accuse Me
9. Lay Down Sally
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
11. Old Love
12. No Alibis
13. Tearing Us Apart
14. Cocaine
15. Wonderful Tonight
16. Layla
17. Crossroads
18. Sunshine of Your Love

Disc Two (Blues)

1. Key to the Highway
2. Worried Life Blues
3. You Better Watch Yourself
4. Have You Ever Loved a Woman
5. Everything's Gonna Be Alright
6. Something On Your Mind
7. All Your Love (I Miss Loving)
8. It's My Life Baby
9. Johnnie's Boogie featuring Johnnie Johnson
10. Black Cat Bone featuring Albert Collins
11. Reconsider Baby
12. My Time After a While featuring Buddy Guy
13. Sweet Home Chicago
14. You Better Watch Yourself (Reprise)

Disc Three (Orchestral)

1. Overture
2. Crossroads
3. Bell Bottom Blues
4. Lay Down Sally
5. Holy Mother
6. I Shot the Sheriff
7. Hard Times
8. Can't Find My Way Home
9. Edge of Darkness
10. Old Love
11. Wonderful Tonight
12. White Room
13. Concerto for Electric Guitar
14. A Remark You Made
15. Layla
16. Sunshine of Your Love

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Music Group and Reprise with AVC encoded 1080p transfers (mostly) in 1.32:1. Unfortunately the hardback book in this set does not impart any technical data, but I'm assuming these are upscales from videotapes, though anyone with actual authoritative and verifiable information is encouraged to private message me, and I can update things here if necessary. While this is another ostensibly progressive presentation, combing artifacts would suggest an interlaced source at some point of the workflow. There are some other anomalies like aliasing and ghosting which suggest a videotape source to me. Detail levels vary pretty widely based on lighting conditions, though they actually are reasonably fulsome in close-ups. Some of the wide shots in relative darkness are downright blurry (see screenshot 17 for just one example). As can be seen in a few of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, occasionally there are multiple screens offered in a more or less 2.63:1 aspect ratio.

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights features Dolby Atmos and LPCM 2.0 audio options. This is another case where some may actually prefer the stereo iteration to the Atmos version because it arguably presents a more focused, "up close and personal" accounting of the music, though that said, the Atmos track definitely opens up the soundstage and provides a much more realistic version of "hall ambience". That very opening up may tend to just slightly disperse the aggregated sounds, and I in fact kept wanting to turn up the Atmos volume as a result. I frankly found the Atmos speakers to largely offer crowd noises, though the side and rear channels also have a bit of audience spill, while also offering clear directionality to band and/or orchestra performances. There are some occasional potential mix issues on both tracks, where, for example, in the orchestral concert the director cuts to an oboe player, but absolutely no oboe sound can be heard (this may be a simple directorial error). There is also a very peculiar sound at the beginning of the orchestral performance that I'm frankly uncertain is an anomaly or some kind of sound effect, but it's a weird, screechy sound that lasts through the overture (which has a perhaps slightly hilariously ponderous snippet from "Layla").

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As I so often state when multi format releases like this come out, one man's supplements may be another man's main attraction, but one way or the other, this is a very impressively packaged release that comes housed in a large box that measures approximately 13" wide by 13" high by 1" deep. Inside the box is a hardback book just a bit smaller than the box itself that has an essay by David Fricke and tons of photos, along with complete songlist and musician credits, along with some production information for both the original video and this particular release. Underneath the book are three pockets which house the Blu-rays and CDs, all of which are in mini-LP jackets (the CDs in gatefolds). There is also a numbered lithograph offering a photo of Clapton.

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eric Clapton: The Definitive 24 Nights offers a prime example of the arranger's art in a way, as Clapton marauds through various versions of some of his evergreens, while offering each of the three "genres" their own specialties. Video quality "is what it is", but audio is largely great, and the entire package actually kind of sumptuous. It's pricey, yes (though not as pricey as the release with LPs instead of CDs), but at least for Clapton completists, this release comes Highly recommended.