Blind Faith: Blind Faith - 1969

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Blind Faith was a short-lived "supergroup" consisting of Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker from Cream and Steve Winwood from Traffic, with additional help from Rick Grech of Family. 

This was a short, six-track album of quality blues rock, as you would expect, that achieved notoriety for its original cover of a topless barely pubescent girl. Quite what the intention behind that was is unclear. It has since been replaced by a cover with a picture of the group on it. 

The group actually only lasted six months, yet this album was a critical success and remains highly thought of, often making "greatest albums of all time" lists. Funnily enough, although it is only forty-two minutes long, it seems much longer, probably because of the length of some of the songs. 

The opener, Had To Cry Today, is an eight-minute plus serving of solid electric blues, with big heavy, chunky riff and a Traffic-esque (unsurprisingly) vocal from Winwood. Can't Find My Way Home has the group going wistfully acoustic on a song that is as attractive as it is totally 1969-70. Think Led Zeppelin III. Both these songs are really good, I have to say. A lot of critics didn't have much time for the group's cover of Buddy Holly's Well All Right, which I find puzzling, as I love it. It is big, bassy, upbeat and bluesy. I always enjoy listening to it. It has a great heavy bit near the end - lots of organ, piano, organ and thumping drums. 

Presence Of The Lord was possibly Eric Clapton's first great self-penned song and it is certainly an impressive one although I have always felt it suffered a bit from a muffled, undercooked sound. In fact the whole album does, although this latest remaster is finally an acceptable one after many very poor masterings of the album, no amount of tweaking can make it sound any clearer. However, when Clapton's guitars soars in towards the end I guess it doesn't really matter so much. It has been better over the years in Clapton's many live performances of it, though. 

Sea Of Joy is a fine number, featuring a solid opening riff, a Plant-esque vocal in places and some fine acoustic/bass passages. I really love the acoustic/electric vibe we got here. There was certainly some good stuff to be found on the album, that's for sure. Check out Rick Grech's excellent violin part on this track. That's what you want from a "supergroup" isn't it - individual virtuosity.

Do What You Like is a fifteen-minute monster of a track written by Ginger Baker and, although parts of it cater to that now-extinct late sixties-early seventies creature, the drum solo, there are other appealing bits, particularly early on - a great rumbling bass sound, an insistent, vaguely funky rhythm and a far better sound quality than on Presence Of The Lord, for example. Although it has the obvious feel of a studio "jam" about it, it is certainly still enjoyable. Baker could drum, for sure. Take the track for what it is, a child of its time, or just stop it after seven minutes! 

I wouldn't say - as many do - that this is one of the greatest albums of all time but it has something about it and it is, as I said, so very representative of its era.

Secondary, 2 of 9

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