"THE YARDBIRDS ULTIMATE!" - YOU NEED TO HAVE IT

It's crazy to think that Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were all once members of the same band, The Yardbirds. Not at the same time, of course!

Clapton actually replaced original lead guitarist Anthony "Top" Topham early on in the band's career. The material they did with Clapton is among the best rock/blues/R&B you'll hear ever, their covers are up there with what the Stones were doing at the time. For my money, it's some of the best stuff Clapton has ever done. Clapton split after the band's big hit "For Your Love" (which he claims not to have played on) because it was too commercial (ironic, when you consider some of the things he's done in his solo career!).

He was replaced by Jeff Beck, ushering in a much more creative era for the band. This is when the band began moving in more jazzy and psychedelic directions.  It's my favorite era of the band.  Soon, Jimmy Page joined - as the bass player - but soon moved to guitar.  And then, Jeff was canned. Page's version of the band was pretty cool, but pretty much overshadowed by what he turned the band into - The New Yardbirds, later known as Led Zeppelin.

For years, The Yardbirds' legacy wasn't well tended, it was hard to figure out what albums to get, and even which guitarists were on which album.   But in 2001, Rhino combined all the eras of the band's career into one very well annotated collection, The Yardbirds Ultimate! I recommend this so highly.   I just listened to the whole thing, and was amazed, once again, by how great this band was.  What a tragedy that frontman Keith Relf is no longer with us - a Yardbirds reunion with Beck and Page, with Relf singing, that would have been amazing.

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD

Martin Scorsese's George Harrison documentary, Living In The Material World, has been in the making for a long time. It was worth the wait.  The first half seemed like watching The Beatles Anthology documentary from a George-centric view, but there were some great scenes.  I'd never seen the footage of an older, wiser George in the '70s, watching video of The Beatles performing.  Also, there was a great story of John Lennon and George Harrison visiting Stu Sutcliffe's girlfriend Astrid (who was interviewed for the special) after Stu died.  She took some photos of them in the area where Stu did his paintings. I'd never seen those photos before, they were incredible.  The second half covered the Beatles breakup and the years after.  There was a lot about All Things Must Pass, and from there it concentrated more on his relationships with Monty Python's troupe, his friendship with Ravi Shankar, and his life at home.  Which is fine, I didn't like many of his albums between All Things Must Pass and Cloud 9. I wish the doc  talked more about Cloud 9, which was the album that introduced him as a solo artist to a younger generation (myself included).  I would have loved to see Jeff Lynne talk more about the making of that album... and also George's final record, Brainwashed.

I wish there was more Traveling Wilburys footage - pretty much everything here is the same footage included on the DVD that comes with the recent Traveling Wilburys collection that compiled both of their albums. And speaking of them, it would have been great if they got Bob Dylan in this doc (especially since Scorsese did a wonderful Dylan doc, No Direction Home).

But I really loved watching it. The interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were great.  It was cool to see Tom Petty talking about him, and the interviews with Olivia Harrison, Dhani Harrison, Eric Clapton added a lot to the picture of George.

If you missed it, I think it comes out on DVD (with extra footage) in six months, and it is still airing on HBO - if you want to see it, check out HBO.com and search for George Harrison.

GUITAR WORLD'S 100 GREATEST (MY ADJUSTMENTS) (part 2)

This is part 2 of my "adjustments" to Guitar World's list of 100 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Songs. Part 1 is here.

26. The Stooges - "1969" I just inserted it here. The Stooges kick the shit out of most bands that "classic rock" radio plays.  I could have chosen lots of Stooges songs, but "1969," leading off their self-titled debut from that same year, was a roaring counterpoint to lots of the hippie Woodstock stuff going on at the time. More people need to check out The Stooges.  I'm glad they finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  R.I.P guitarist Ron Asheton.

27. KISS - "Detroit Rock City (live)" I moved this up a few notches, GW had it at 33. And I replaced the studio version with the one from Alive II. "You wanted the best, you GOT the best! The hottest band in the world..."

28. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - "Cinnamon Girl" Neil and the late Danny Whitten were a great team. This song is really simple, but if it was easy, everyone would write songs like this. Incredible riff. GW had this at 31, I bumped it up.

29. Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love" which shows off Jimmy Page's godly power, not just as a guitarist but as a producer. Moved up from 35.

30. Yes - "Starship Trooper" Well, I may come off as a bit of a snob sometimes, but on the other hand I am a huge Yes fan. I'm glad GW choose this song instead of one of the more obvious ones. From their third LP, but their first with guitarist Steve Howe, The Yes Album. I never get tired of this song.

31. Derek & The Dominoes - "I Looked Away." Of course GW went with "Layla," but "classic rock" radio has kind of driven that one into the ground for me also. It's a great riff, a great anthem (and a great piano song as well as a great guitar song). To me, Derek is Eric Clapton's best period ever. Putting Eric and Duane Allman on the same record, it's still incredible to hear them together. I think "I Looked Away" is one of the most underrated songs in the Clapton cannon.

32. Bill Haley & The Comets - "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" It sounds quaint now, but in 1954, I'm sure it was pretty radical.  And the guitar is tasty as hell, props to Danny Cedrone who played guitar on the track.

33. Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden" GW had "Run To The Hills" at #37, but I replaced it with this song, because I prefer the Paul Di'Anno era to the Bruce Dickinson era. Iron Maiden is creepy and evil sounding.  At the same time, "Run To The Hills" was the first Maiden song I'd ever heard, and really turned me on to them, so lets call it a tie, OK? I knew Maiden's imagery was very horror-film-like, and I was surprised to hear them do such a political song. Anyway, guitarist Dave Murray rocks on both songs.  On "Iron Maiden," he plays with co-guitarist Dennis Stratton, and on "Run..." with Adrian Smith.

34. The MC5 - "Kick Out The Jams" in the place of "Carry On Wayward Son." It's just a matter of opinion, but I think "classic rock" radio would actually rock more with more Stooges and MC5.

35. Cheap Trick - "Surrender" They always seem a bit underrated. GW had it at 39, I moved it up four spots.

36. Alice Cooper - "School's Out" Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce were a great guitar team, and Alice Cooper was a great BAND. This song is also a bit overdone, but it's timeless (at least as long as there are schools and summer break).

37.  Michael Jackson - "Beat It" I was glad to see GW include this song, even though no rock stations would ever play a Michael Jackson song.  The fact that he used Eddie Van Halen on this song was pretty radical at the time.  Michael often choose cool guitarists to work with, including Steve Stevens and Slash, but this was his best rock moment.  The fact that you couldn't hear this song on rock radio made rock radio, to me, seem old and out of touch (their very limited playlists didn't help either).

38. The New York Dolls - "Personality Crisis" I used this song to replace a Motley Crue song that was included by GW.  I don't like GW, but I respect that Nikki Sixx has always given a lot of credit to the Dolls for their influence, and even gave them the opening slot on their summer tour (which I think is still going on). But the Dolls are another great, underrated band. They deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they deserve to be on the radio also. Sylvain Sylvain and the late Johnny Thunders: great guitar team.

39. Bob Dylan - "Subterranean Homesick Blues" I'm not sure who the guitar players were on this song, but it's got great playing. Also, it marks one of the most radical artistic departures from a major popular music artist.  Going from folk to rock (or funk) like this... these days, everyone plays electric and acoustic music, but it was a radical idea back then.

40. The Rolling Stones - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" I moved this up from #46. Yes, it's a bit overplayed, but what a classic.  Undeniable riff. Keith Richards and Brian Jones on guitars.

41. AC/DC - "Hells Bells" Obviously "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Back In Black" are bigger songs from the Back In Black album, but I love how this song opens the album. It's their sendoff to Bon Scott, and the first time we hear his replacement, Brian Johnson. As always, Angus and Malcolm Young are devastating.

42. Dick Dale & The Del-Tones "Miserlou" I moved this up from 50.  It's truly an iconic piece of music, and bless Quentin Tarantino (one of the greatest soundtrack curators) for putting it in Pulp Fiction.

43. Crosby Stills Nash & Young "Carry On" I used this to replace CSN's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." I think this is better, and, plus, Neil Young is on it (I think: I know all four guys were on every song together on Deja Vu). When you see it live, it's cool to watch Stephen Stills and Neil go back and forth on lead guitars. David Crosby is a good rhythm guitarist, and Graham Nash is just a great musician. It's a great song to open a concert with.

44. The Grateful Dead - "Bertha (live)" I replaced "Truckin'" with this, I don't need to hear "Truckin'" anymore. This live version opens the "Skull Fuck" album, and they opened with this the first time I ever saw them. I'm not always into the hippie/jam band thing, but Jerry Garcia was a cool guitar player.

45. Link Wray & His Wray Men - "Rumble" Another badass instrumental used in Pulp Fiction, but not included on the soundtrack. I moved this up from 62.

46. The Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Another great George Harrison composition, and in this one, the Fab Four gets an assist from Eric Clapton. I moved this up from 63.

47. Heart - "Barracuda" Yes, also driven into the ground by radio, but what the hell, it's  great riff.  Nancy Wilson is an underrated guitarist, and in the interest of fairness, it's worth mentioning that Roger Fisher was the other guitarist in the band at this point. I moved this up from 64.

48. Pearl Jam - "Corduroy" GW choose "Evenflow," which is a great (and has a monster riff that I think Stone Gossard came up with), but "Corduroy" is probably my favorite Pearl Jam song. When they play it live, it just raises the entire arena. People don't talk about Mike McCready enough when they talk about the best lead guitarists around today, but he is one of the best.

49. Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" You just can't deny how huge Van Halen were in their day, and how great they were. I used to sort of "blame"them for hair metal, but I realized that was ridiculous.  This song is one of Eddie Van Halen's coolest moments.

50. The Yardbirds - "Over Under Sideways Down" This is from the Jeff Beck era, which is my favorite.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON: NEW ALBUM?

I write a lot about Levon Helm, the drummer and singer from The Band. But I'm also a big fan of guitarist/songwriter/producer Robbie Robertson's post-Band career, although he hasn't done much lately. In an interview with Mojo to promote the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (which he produced), Robbie mentioned that he's working on a solo album that will be the guitar heaviest thing he's done since he toured with Bob Dylan back in the '70s. Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Tom Morello and Robert Randolph guest on the album with him. That's pretty cool! His last album was 1998's Contact From The Underworld Of Redboy (which I loved, but I know a lot of people dismissed it).

THE RETURN OF THE PLASTIC ONO BAND

Earlier this week, Yoko Ono put on a show with a new (and almost definitely one-off) version of The Plastic Ono Band at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It featured former Plastic Ono Band members - bassist Klaus Voorman and, um, Eric Clapton (but not Yes drummer Alan White!). But also: Sean Ono Lennon, Mark Ronson, Bette Midler, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Paul Simon.  Weird bunch, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than Yoko pulling that off.  Read a review of the show at Rolling Stone. It sounds like the show was a great tribute to the band's original co-leader, John Lennon.

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND BEACON BOX

The Allman Brothers Band is about to kick off their latest March Madness string of NYC shows.  It will be hard to beat last year's run: they were joined, over the multi-night stand, by Eric Clapton, Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and many others.  The box set costs $500.  You got that right.  But it's 49 CDs! Not bad for that price! Although you can get the concerts individually for $27 each.  Find out more here. I have a recording of the March 19 show which featured Clapton.  I've often said that he can be pretty lazy (my opinion). When he joined the Allmans onstage, that was not the case. You should check out some of these shows. 

KNEBWORTH GETS A 20TH ANNIVERSARY REISSUE

Wow, it's been twenty years? I remember working at sleepaway camp over the summer and listening to the live broadcast of this concert over the radio. The concert featured British rock royalty, and raised funds for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the Brit School of Performing Arts. Nordoff -Robbins "specializes in transforming the lives of children and adults constrained by illness, disability, trauma or isolation, through the power of music." It's easy to understand why so many musicians would donate their time and efforts. Learn more about Nordoff-Robbins here.

The concert itself was incredible.  Tears For Fears, a very hot band at that time, opened. They were followed by two legendary U.K. bands that never caught on here, Cliff Richard & The Shadows and Status Quo. And then it got really good.

Robert Plant, who was absolutely huge at that moment thanks to his hit album Now & Zen performed, and towards the end of his set was joined by Jimmy Page. Phil Collins, one of the biggest stars in the world played a solo set.  After a few songs, most of his band (minus drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer) left and Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks joined for a Genesis set. Then Phil's band rejoined for a huge-ass "Turn It On Again" medley. Eric Clapton and The Dire Straits (both at their commercial peaks) performed a set together, playing songs from both catalogs, and then were joined by Elton John for some of his songs (including his then-#1 single "Sacrifice"). 

Paul McCartney, who was at the time on his first tour in over a decade and played an abbreviated version of his usual show. And, believe it or not, he wasn't the headliner: Pink Floyd (the post-Roger Waters version, alas) closed the show. I lost my CD version of the show, and ended up finding it on eBay and buying a new copy. I really like some of it: especially Plant's set, but before and after Page joins.  He was really enjoying having a hit album, I think. I also liked the Clapton/Elton/Dire Straits thing. Plus it brings back memories of listening to it over and over that summer (of course we taped it off the radio. I wish I still had the tape, since not all the songs made it to the album).  But now, Eagle Rock Entertainment is reissuing it (unfortunately with no bonus tracks).  It comes out March 23.

TWO LIVE YARDBIRDS: JEFF BECK AND ERIC CLAPTON

Pretty cool of Rolling Stone to put two guitar legends on thier cover: for the first time, tourmates and fellow ex-Yardbirds Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton sit down for an interview together. I look forward to reading this.  I would love to see their show together, but I am sure it costs a ton of money.  Still, I bet Jeff Beck could coax some great performances out of Clapton (as Steve Winwood did when they toured together last year).

JEFF BECK: NEW ALBUM, NEW BAND

Jeff Beck has a new album coming out on April 13, Emotion and Commotion. I don't always love Jeff Beck's new music, but I appreciate that it's never lazy or contrived.  He does what he wants to do, not what is commercial, and he doesn't put out an album simply because he hasn't put one out in two years or whatever. He still really pushes boundaries, which you really can't say about many of his peers (and even former bandmates). The album features Jeff using an orchestra on a few songs, and working with a few different singers: Joss Stone, Imelda May (who sang with him at the Grammys) and Olivia Safe. After spending his entire solo career on Epic Records, this one will be on Rhino.  He also has a new touring band, which, surprisingly includes a former collaborator: drummer Narada Michael Walden. Walden is interesting: on one hand, he's done some really complex musical things, including working on Jeff's Wired album, but also records by Robert Fripp and Jaco Pastorius.  On the other hand, he produced #1 singles for Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and and Starship. Anyway, the rest of Jeff's band includes keyboardist Jason Rebello (who has been in Jeff's band for a few years), and bassist Rhonda Smith, who has played for Prince, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Little Richard.

As I've mentioned, Jeff will be touring with another ex-Yardbird, Eric Clapton, and then going on his own tour.

WHAT THE... SANTANA'S SUPERNATURAL TURNS 10!

Man, time does fly.  Next week, Sony Legacy is releasing the tenth anniversary edition of Santana's Supernatural. It isn't remastered, I don't think - it came out in 1999, I doubt they could improve the sound! Disc 1 is the entire original album, and disc 2 includes some tracks that didn't make the original (including a second collab with Dave Matthews and Carter Beauford, "Rain Down On Me," remixes of "Corazon Espinado" (the song that featured Mana, the Mexican rock band) and the huge hit "Maria Maria" (produced by Wyclef Jean and featuring his then-protegees The Product G&B), an extra jam with Eric Clapton and some other stuff.

The album was a pretty stunning comeback for Carlos Santana. At that point, he was pretty much an "oldies" classic rock type artist.  This not only made him a rock star, it made him a pop star and even saw him crossing over into hip-hop and R&B. Yes, people can bitch that a lot of it was contrived marketing on the part of co-producer and record mogul Clive Davis (who originally signed him to Columbia after Woodstock, and signed him to Arista thirty years later). But the fact is, these "all-star" type albums that are supposed to bring a legacy artist to a new generation hardly ever work, and I can't think of many, or any, that have worked this well (with the exception of Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company). It connected Carlos with the jam band scene that he had such a huge influence over via the Dave Matthews collab ("Love Of My Life" - the first single, although it didn't really become a hit), the alt-rock scene with "Put Your Lights On," featuring former House Of Pain MC turned singer/songwriter Everlast (and that song was a pretty huge hit), hip-hop and R&B with "Maria Maria" as well as "Do You Like The Way" produced by Lauryn Hill and featuring Cee-Lo Green (then with Goodie Mob, now more famous for Gnarls Barkley). The song with Mana reminded folks that he was the first big Latino rock star (or one of them), and the Clapton song was a nod towards classic rock. But it was his biggest pop hit ever, "Smooth," a collaboration with Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty that really made the album a monster. I've written about how people really hate on the guy, but this is a good song, and as far as I'm concerned, bringing Carlos Santana to new audiences is a great thing.

Anyway, the extras on the album are cool, but not essential. Amazon is selling the album for $13.99, which is good for two cds, but if you have the original, it may not be a totally necessary purchase.

PAUL McCARTNEY AND ERIC CLAPTON: "SOMETHING"

A new friend reminded me of how moving this performance was. It was from "The Concert For George," the George Harrison tribute concert from a few years ago. Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton did a duet on George's Beatles classic, "Something," backed by an allstar cast, including George's Wilbury brother Jeff Lynne and Ringo Starr. I never really get into the personal lives of rock stars, but I have to wonder what went through their minds here. There must have been... regret. It's no secret that Paul (and John Lennon) bullied George a bit, looking back, was he sorry about it? And Clapton, on one hand a close friend of George's was also George's rival for Patti Boyd. Most people wouldn't still be friends after that - these guys played on each other's albums and even toured together. That's a deep relationship!

Below the "Something" video is another performance from the same concert, Paul doing George's solo song "All Things Must Pass," the title track from George's first post-Beatles album. The Beatles actually turned that song down! I think George actually wrote it about The Beatles, but of course it can take lots of other meanings - including about life. Life being a "thing" that "can pass." To me, it is the most moving performance by Paul I've ever seen. Also moving: Beatles sideman Billy Preston on keyboards and Traffic's Jim Capaldi on percussion, both no longer with us.

2010: A BIG YEAR FOR THE WHO

By now, everyone knows that The Who are playing the Super Bowl in January. (When I first wrote about it, it was a rumor, now it has been confirmed.) And they are supposed to be putting out a new album and touring as well. But I just found out that on March 2, there's going to be a big tribute concert to The 'Oo at Carnegie Hall in New York City, featuring Gov't Mule, Living Colour, Frank Black of The Pixies, Bob Mould, The Smithereens, The Gaslight Anthem and... Bobby McFerrin. I wonder if the organizers will go after any of the artists who paid tribute to The Who at The Kennedy Center Honors last year (including Chris Cornell, Joss Stone, Jack Black and Dave Grohl) or the VH1 Rock Honors show which featured Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Tenacious D and Flaming Lips.

Anyway, proceeds from the show go to six different charities, which you can learn about at the concert's webpage.

Meanwhile, Roger Daltrey who has been doing a solo tour this year, will be doing at least some dates next year: Eric Clapton said Roger would be opening some shows for him. I heard Roger's shows have been pretty cool. I wonder if he will put out a live album. What I really would love to hear is his version of The Who's "Blue, Red and Grey," which he wasn't originally on (Pete Townshend sang that one, and it is one of The Who's most underrated songs).

ERIC CLAPTON AND STEVE WINWOOD LIVE AT MSG: WORTH THE BUCKS (for the CD)

For decades, Eric Clapton never really had to look back that much. He is so enduringly popular as a solo artist, that he hasn't had to reunite with anyone. In 2003, he joined John Mayall onstage for the latter's 70th birthday concert (you can hear the amazing results on John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and Friends 70th Birthday Concert). In 2005 he had his "hell freezes over" moment and reunited with Cream for four nights at the Royal Albert Hall (followed a few months later by three nights at Madison Square Garden). Soon after that, he kind of made peace with the ghosts of Derek & The Dominoes -- he hired Derek Trucks of The Allman Brothers Band (he was named after the group) for his backing band, and performed Dominoes songs that he hadn't done in decades. (I thought it would have been nice if he included Dominoes keyboardist/singer Bobby Whitlock, but oh well). Then, in 2008, he revisited Blind Faith -- sort of -- with singer/keyboardist/guitarist Steve Winwood with a couple of shows at Madison Square Garden. (I say "sort of," because they declined to invite drummer Ginger Baker -- whom Clapton dealt with in the Cream reunion.)

Meanwhile, Winwood, who had done a few Traffic reunions over the years, is now unable to reunite with that band, as drummer/singer Jim Capaldi passed away a few years ago, and Winwood and Traffic guitarist/singer Dave Mason hate each other. Short of rejoining The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith is the only band he can revisit with a member he can deal with. But a funny thing happened a few years back: after years of making boring adult contemporary albums (much like Clapton's), Winwood got his mojo back with 2003's very Traffic-like About Time. (Unfortunately, he sort of lost it again on last year's Nine Lives, which came out at around the time of these shows.)

So, anyway, this show could have been a really schmaltzy affair done as a money grab by two legends who have been mostly coasting for decades. But there are some inspired moments here - even on some of thier '80s hits: Winwood's "Split Decision" (which I think originally featured Joe Walsh on guitar) and Clapton's "Forever Man" (sung as a duet) are both pretty great.

But the best moments, unsurprisingly, are when they revisit Blind Faith - you can't really call it a "catalog," as they only had one album. Opening with the track that kicked off their self-titled album from 1969, "Had To Cry Today," you can hear the "unfinished business" that Clapton mentioned when they originally announced the duo shows. "Presence Of The Lord," also sung as a duet (on the album, Winwood did all the vocals, with Clapton sticking to guitar) is pretty moving, considering all the things he's been through over the decades. But Sam Myers' "Sleeping In The Ground," Buddy Holly's "Well All Right" and of course their greatest song, "Can't Find My Way Back Home"... there's not a bad moment there. Clapton avoids Cream, playing mostly stuff from his solo repertoire, but also rocks Derek's "Tell The Truth." When they cover Winwood's Traffic stuff, it's also great, especially "Mr. Fantasy." And I have to mention the trio of Jimi Hendrix covers - "Little Wing," "Voodoo Chile" and "Them Changes" (the latter was done by Jimi's Band Of Gypsys, and was actually written and sung by drummer Buddy Miles - who passed away just a few days after this Clapton/Winwood performance was recorded). I was pretty cynical about these shows: in fact, I didn't even try to go because the pricing was aimed at what Lennon referred to as the "rattle your jewelry" crowd. I still maintain that they charge too much for these shows, but this live album proves that there is still some inspiration in Clapton and Winwood. And now I'm thinking twice about ignoring the Clapton/Jeff Beck shows.

JEFF BECK AND ERIC CLAPTON TO CO-HEADLINE U.S. SHOWS

After playing some co-headlining shows in Japan, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck are going to do some gigs in the U.S., including one at Madison Square Garden February 18. This will be a bit different than Clapton's shows with Steve Winwood, where they played as one band for the whole show. Jeff and his band will probably do a set, followed by Clapton and his band, and then they'll play together. Clapton, for all of his stardom, seems to enjoy this kind of thing. Meanwhile, Jeff Beck is just kind of lazy when it comes to rehearsing. I don't mind saying this: Mr. Beck told me so himself. I saw him on his first tour in a long time back in 1989, he was co-headlining with Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble. Like these Clapton shows, it was billed as a "together and apart" type thing. It turned out Jeff and SRV did one song together, "Goin' Down," that was it. Years later, I saw him with Santana, and Carlos called him out from the stage, saying he'd love to jam with Jeff Beck, but Jeff didn't want to. I asked Jeff Beck about these, and he shrugged and laughed and said that he didn't like rehearsing too much. At least he was honest! Anyway, I am a big Jeff Beck fan, and I think Clapton always needs someone on stage who isn't a "yes, Eric" guy to kick his ass, and Jeff would be that guy. I doubt I'll be at the show though: it will probably be priced for millionaires. It'll be a "shake your jewelry if you're having fun" type thing. But I bet it will be a pretty cool show.

JEFF BECK REPLACES ERIC CLAPTON (AGAIN) (SORT OF)

Back in the day, Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds because he thought that they were going too "pop" (he obviously hadn't predicted songs like "Lay Down Sally" and "Wonderful Tonight" in his future). He was replaced by Jeff Beck, and The Yardbirds became an even better band than they were before.

Now, Clapton has announced that he is dropping off of this week's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert at MSG because of gallstones. I'm sorry to hear that - and I hope he is feeling better soon. But pretty cool that Jeff Beck is playing instead. (Let's hope that Jeff doesn't do one of his legendary flake-outs and drop off - although then they might have to get Jimmy Page to play!).

I'd love to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shows (on Thursday night, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and Stevie Wonder are on the bill, on Friday it is Metallica, U2 and Aretha Franklin), but I just can't afford the tickets.

BLIND FAITH REDUX... AGAIN

After playing three nights together - as one band, not co-headliners - last year, former Blind Faith bandmates Eric Clapton and Steve Winood are hitting the road together for a few weeks in June. They're also going to release a live album and DVD of the MSG shows from last year. Both of these guys are so huge, they never need to be in a "band" ever again.  But I think that they both know, unless there's someone with the skills and/or starpower to challenge them, they kind of coast a bit. So, while I wouldn't pay to see either of these guys alone, I would, in theory, be willing to pay for this. Of course, the ticket prices will probably be outside of my ballpark. 

JEFF BECK AND ERIC CLAPTON TO PLAY JAPAN

According to Rolling Stone's web site, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck are going to play some shows together in Japan - not co-headlining, but sharing the stage, as Clapton did with Steve Winwood last year.

It's surprising that Clapton, who used to be against too much looking backward, is doing these shows. But he's been looking back quite a bit in the past few years. In 2003, he joined John Mayall on stage at Mayall's 75th birthday concert - it was the first time they'd performed together since Clapton left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers four decades earlier. In 2005, Clapton reunited with Cream for dates in England and New York. While he couldn't reunite with Derek & The Dominoes (bassist Carl Radle and guitarist Duane Allman have passed away, and drummer Jim Gordon is serving a life in prision term), he recently did a Derek-centric tour featuring Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks in his band. And he sort of resurrected Blind Faith last year for the shows with Steve Winwood.

Eric and Jeff were never bandmates - Jeff actually replaced Clapton in The Yardbirds, a band that Clapton doesn't discuss much (he didn't even show up to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). Still, they have played together over the years, notably at The Secret Policeman's Other Ball in 1981. It will be interesting to see what material they'll play.

Jeff has a history of disappointing fans expecting collaborations: in 1989, he returned to the road after a long break, and co-headlined with Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: each band was supposed to do its own set, and then they'd play together. They ended up just doing one song together - "Goin' Down" - every night. About a decade later, he co-headlined with Santana - Carlos Santana called him out from the stage every night, but still Jeff didn't jam with him. I got to interview Jeff Beck once, and asked him about this stuff. He just said, "I'm lazy, I don't like rehearsing too much, I don't know" and laughed. But hopefully these shows with Clapton will happen. I think it's been established by now that Clapton really needs to have someone on stage with him who can kick his ass, or he gets all snoozy.

9/11 MUSIC PART 2: THE CONCERT FOR NEW YORK CITY

On October 20, 2001 - just over a month after 9/11 - VH1 organized The Concert For New York City. I had just started working at VH1, and I gotta say, I was really proud to work there at that moment. I wasn't involved in the concert, but I knew people who did: I watched from home with my girlfriend (now my wife). 

There were a lot of really good sets: David Bowie opened with a really interesting version of Simon & Garfunkel's "America" and then did his own classic"Heroes"; Eric Clapton played with Buddy Guy; Billy Joel played with his band, Elton John played solo and they did a duo thing also; Mick Jagger and Keith Richards performed together, John Mellencamp played and was joined by Kid Rock; James Taylor played, and Paul McCartney headlined. 

But everyone knows what the highlights of the show were: Adam Sandler's set as "Operaman," and, of course, The Who's performance. I listened to both today, actually. Sandler's set shows the healing power of laughter. It must be one of the greatest comedy performances of all time. And The Who. Wow. Since they started reuniting in 1989, they've been approximating their old greatness, and sometimes hitting it. It's not really realistic for anyone to think that they can exceed the heights they achieved when Keith Moon was alive. And yet, on this night, they did. I've seen it rated as one of their best performances ever, and was the only post-Moon performance to be included on that list. 

I remember an exec at VH1 saying that they should have had more "modern" bands, although The Goo Goo Dolls, The Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, Five For Fighting and Jay-Z were on the bill (Jay-Z in particular was so lame I was embarrassed for him).  This guy has great instincts and has become even more successful since then. But how wrong he was: adding Sugar Ray and matchbox twenty wouldn't have really worked. The crowd needed larger than life artists and larger than life songs to lift them up and help them mourn. They needed music by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, not Smash Mouth. 

THE LAST OF THE DOMINOES

Bobby Whitlock may not be a household name, but you've definitely heard his piano playing. He was the keyboardist in Eric Clapton's short lived group, Derek & The Dominoes. For my money, that's my favorite part of Clapton's career.

The band didn't last long, mainly because of drugs probably. But their one album, Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, is a classic.

Anyway, after they broke up, bass player Carl Radle played in Clapton's band for a while, and died in 1980, and drummer Jim Gordon (who also played the piano coda at the end of "Layla") was confined to a mental institution in 1984, he's still there today. Bobby Whitlock did some solo albums and kind of faded into obscurity. But he and his singer/sax playing wife Coco Carmel, have a new album out called Lovers.

Clapton has spent most of his career moving forward and not reuniting with old band mates. That changed a few years ago when Cream played a few shows. Then Clapton and his old Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood played some gigs together.

Although Clapton and Whitlock's breakup was supposedly bitter, it would be great to see them doing some old Derek & The Dominoes songs together.

COPING VIA MIXTAPE: STEVE WINWOOD AND ERIC CLAPTON

Yeah, I really wanted to see one of the Steve Winwood / Eric Clapton shows at the Garden. But I just didn't have it in me to pay those insane prices (although since they sold out all three nights, I guess they charged what many considered to be a fair amount). The last day of the show a ticket was available behind the stage in the upper level. It was $75. If it was a benefit for Crossroads, maybe. Maybe. So, this calls for Volume 2 of Coping Via Mixtape, where I share a mixtape (actually an iPod mix) that I would have used to get psyched for the show, had I actually been going (and which I enjoyed listening to anyway).

By the way: A friend of mine hooked me up with a bootleg of the show. I'm normally not a bootlegger, but I really wanted to hear what the show was like. And the minute they release a live album of the shows, I'll happily fork over the dough.

So, anyway, my Winwood/Clapton mixtape:

Of course, lots of Blind Faith, which made up much of their set: "Had To Cry Today," "Well All Right," "Presence Of The Lord," "Sleeping In The Ground," and "Can't Find My Way Back Home."

Years before they played in Blind Faith, Clapton and Winwood recorded two tracks together as "Eric Clapton's Powerhouse." They recorded "Crossroads," so that version made the mix.

The Yardbirds: "Smokestack Lightning"

The Spencer Davis Group: "Dimples" and "I'm A Man"

Jimi Hendrix: "Voodoo Chile" (Winwood actually played Hammond on the original, and was performing it on his last tour - and they actually did play this. "Little Wing," which Clapton and Winwood played at The Rainbow Concert in the early '70s (Clapton's "comeback show, organized by Pete Townshend and which also featured Ronnie Wood). Amazingly, this song also made the MSG setlist.

Cream: "Rollin' And Tumblin'" and "Badge." Having reunited with Cream a few years ago, Clapton veered clear of the Cream songbook.

Traffic: "Pearly Queen," "Glad," "Freedom Rider," "Empty Pages," "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "John Barleycorn." A bunch of these made the set.

Derek & The Dominoes: "I Looked Away," "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Tell The Truth."

Winwood: "Freedom Overspill," "Split Decision," "Back In The High Life," "Roll With It," his cover of Curtis Mayfield's "It's All Right," "Different Light," "Final Hour," his cover of Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together," and his new single, which features Clapton, "Dirty City" (which he surprisingly didn't play).

I would have been happy with much of the setlist, so hopefully they will do it again... and this time, wait until after I win the lottery.

Clapton: "All Our Past Times," "Hello Old Friend," "Sign Language," his cover of Elton John's "Border Song," his cover of Leadbelly's "Alberta," his cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," his cover of Curtis Mayfield's "You Must Believe Me," his Hendrix covers "Stone Free" and "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp," his cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It," his cover of Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues," and his recent collab with J.J. Cale, "When This War Is Over."