Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		5.0

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 5, 2021

If one were to compile a list of so-called Guitar Gods, chances are it would almost automatically have to feature Eric Clapton at or near the top, at least within the relative confines of rock (however wide Clapton's path through that territory has been). What's kind of interesting about Clapton's long and storied career, though, is how he's remembered differently by various fans in terms of which era and/or hits they prefer, which may actually be a generational thing at times, something that in and of itself points out Clapton's longevity and ability to weather the vagaries of fate, fame and fortune. With regard to handling any curveballs that life may throw, Clapton wasn't about to let a little thing like a global pandemic completely shut down his plans to share some of his music, though a planned set of shows at the venerable Royal Albert hall slated for 2021 were in fact canceled due to the situation. That set up an opportunity for Clapton to arrange and kind of beautifully "private" filmed concert which features the spectacular surroundings of Cowdray House in West Sussex, England. This is an "unplugged" Clapton in terms of overall sensibility and also the focus on acoustic guitar (he does haul out the electric, lest anyone be too concerned), but it's going to be a real spirit lifter for anyone who has been missing live music in general and Eric Clapton in particular.

There's a bit of a discrepancy between both some prefatory text before the concert gets underway which echoes some verbiage on the back cover of this release, both of which state it was a February 2021 cancellation of Royal Albert Hall shows that sparked the genesis of this project, and a more in depth essay by Paul Sexton offered in this release's insert booklet, where Sexton discusses a March 2021 confab of Clapton's "people" where planned dates in May at Royal Albert Hall were deemed impossible to do at that particular juncture, and would therefore have to be postponed for a year. Sexton also mentions that Clapton had already had to announce that a European tour that was initially scheduled to take place after the Royal Albert Hall performances would also have to be delayed until at least spring or summer of 2022. But the actual important point in all of this is that Sexton's assessment of Clapton's resilient state of mind and the fact that this performance exists at all both point to Clapton's refusal to "give in" to the state of affairs. That gives this entire enterprise a rather heartfelt emotionalism that is probably only further emphasized by stripped down arrangements that are frankly not all that "showy", but still offer some viscerally effective moments.

Sexton's essay gets into some of the background of Cowdray House, which is prominently featured in interstitials (as are the stunning grounds surrounding the estate), and mentions how it may have "helped" that Clapton had planned to have his rehearsals for the planned Royal Albert Hall and subsequent tour performances there anyway. Kind of humorously, given how photogenic everything there is, Clapton evidently wanted to have a reassurance from director David Barnard that it could work. The aesthetics may have frankly been less of a concern than how "live" the performance room was, and the essay discusses some of the filming and engineering challenges the setting offered.

Perhaps amazingly, then, there's some fantastic coverage of Clapton and bandmates Chris Stainton (keyboards), Nathan East (bass and vocals) and Steve Gadd (drums) that can almost tend to "insert" the viewer into really up close and personal views of the players and their instruments. There are some sweet moments of playfulness, as one segue where Nathan East doesn't quite get to his bass in time (after having played guitar), and Clapton jokingly stops and lets them start over. Fans of this great "backup" (?) band will delight in sidebars like how intently focused on Clapton Gadd is throughout the performance. Stainton offers some keyboard approximations of pedal steel and/or slide guitar on some of the tunes. This piece's title refers to a cameo that won't be spoiled here.

The setlist for this show is:

1. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
2. Golden Ring
3. Black Magic Woman
4. Man of the World
5. Kerry
6. After Midnight
7. Bell Bottom Blues
8. Key to the Highway
9. River of Tears
10. Rock Me Baby
11. Believe in Life
12. Going Down Slow
13. Layla
14. Tears in Heaven
15. Long Distance Call
16. Bad Boy
17. Got My Mojo Working

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Mercury Studios with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.89:1 (the back cover of the 4K release, which was provided to me for review, and which includes the 1080 disc, states the 1080 presentation is interlaced, but both BD Info and PowerDVD identified it as progressive). I don't have any technical data on this (there's not even an IMDb listing as of the writing of this review), but I'm assuming this was captured at or above 4K and finished at 4K due to the consistently high fine detail levels on display. The concert sections may actually be a bit underwhelming in terms of visual "wow", but still provide really remarkable detail levels courtesy of some extreme close-ups of both the musicians and the instruments they are playing. The interstitials tours around the estate and its grounds are really beautifully detailed and suffused with a kind of wintry glow in the outdoor moments. There is some very minor banding just as things open (against a sunrise or sunset), and some minor image instability in a few pans, including some overhead material.

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions 4K features three superb sounding audio options, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. I'll give just one salient example of how thrilling the Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes in particular are (though to a lesser extent, even the LPCM 2.0 track offers support for this), and that's with regard to the fact that you can feel the air pressure change when Nathan East thunks out a low note on his double bass. Interestingly, in terms of low end forcefulness, Gadd is relatively restrained throughout the concert, often offering just hands on drum heads, or occasionally brushes, so there's not a ton of percussive emphasis in many of the arrangements. Clapton sounds fantastic, all things considered, not really reaching for any of the high notes anymore, but with an expressive melancholy in his vocals that's quite moving at times. His guitar playing is of course flawless and is captured on these tracks with sterling fidelity.

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For the record, Mercury Studios sent the 4K release, and while the 1080 disc does not offer any on disc supplements, this package comes with a DVD and a CD. I'm therefore giving an understood "bonus" score based on the inclusion of the CD alone, which I'm sure many fans will appreciate.

Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's been a tough haul for both performing artists and audiences, and it's incredibly uplifting to see someone of Clapton's stature simply refuse to bow to the supposedly unavoidable "cancellation" of his performances. Clapton's sometimes controversial "political" statements about the pandemic have been widely reported, but this concert is free of them. This is not a "barn burning" performance for the most part, and is instead an almost ruminative journey through both some expected hits and more surprising sidebars. The band plays with commendable esprit de corps, and the surroundings are magnificent. Technical merits are first rate, and Eric Clapton: The Lady in the Balcony - Lockdown Sessions comes Highly recommended.