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  | Crossroads Guitar Festival
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Average user rating:  | |
 There's a reason you can buy this off the shelf at Walmart. | |
| Where should I begin? Given that the cross-section of artists at this festival is so diverse, it makes it nearly imposible to cull a meaningful, marketable collection of music without having to cater to the greater listening audience which is kind of disappointing. The selection of songs on this set is what I really take issue with. Case in point, no Jeff Beck performances and shoddy-at-best performances by Joe Walsh and ZZ Top. Singular mediocre performances by Eric Johnson, Johnny Lang and Steve Vai, etc. I could go on and on about what could have and should have been on this set. Highlights however include Buddy Guy's performances, along with Robert Cray's. Clapton's "I Shot the Sherriff" (would you expect any other tune?) was pretty good as well. Probably the best "guitar playing" on the whole set is Vince Gill's finger picking on "Oklahoma Borderline." Very impressive. I see that a lot of the glowing reviews are by people who were at the show. I myself was not and that drives home my point. If this is supposed to be the best of the festival I'm glad I didn't go. If you are a casual listener or intermediate musician than this set will be very entertaining. If, however, you are looking for something a little more inspiring, save your money. | |
 Eric! Are you listening? | |
| Eric, child. What's wrong with you? You don't know, you say. I'll tell you, you need to release the rest of the goods. There's no touring heaven, you know, it's all or bust. So, please, what good can the rest of the footage do, moldering in some file? Let us all feel the fullness you yourself felt when everyone you wrote to responded in the positive. Let all see all. | |
 Some great stuff, but some issues! | |
| I've been playing guitar for 25 years and I love DVD concerts that feature guitar. Clapton's Crossroads festival is a heapin' helpin' showcase for some of the best fret-grinders in history. The best part is you don't have to get blasted by the Texas heat in Dallas' Cotton Bowl to enjoy it!
With a line-up that reperesents many in the constellation of all-time guitar greats, some of the finest players shown on the DVD turn in mediocre performances, and some of these you might think less of, are absolutely killer. I find most of the ensemble performances are lukewarm, including those with BB, Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Jimmie Vaughan. Buddy DOES play great, no question, and he really stands out. But I saw Jimmie Vaughan play live last year and he was awesome. The playing I saw on this DVD of him was pretty tepid. His requiem to his lengendary brother Stevie, "Six Strings Down", is pretty weak, but is rescued by the addition of pedal steel phenom Robert Randolph, who turns in a sizzling performance. Other disappointments include Eric Johnson. His "Desert Rose" is one of his showcase pieces and he labors through it on this disk. Johnny Langs hardly plays a guitar solo on his featured song. Why the hell was that tune even put on the disk? The Great stuff: Steve Vai and his over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek antics are amazing. Beat-up and haggard, JJ Cale is sublimely great. James Taylor, as usual, plays with great warmth and subtlelty, and is accompanied by dobro giant Jerry Douglas, whom he refers to as "The Muhammad Ali of Dobro", and also by Joe Walsh. It is Joe Walsh, in my opinion, who steals the DVD's show. His electric blues-drenched stylings dipped into a bucket of digital delay is pure candy and heaven for guitar aficionados' ears. I've never been a big fan of his, even though he's a respected player. Joe's blues intro in his own set will floor you. His tone and phrasing are fantastic. John Mayer surprised the hell out of me...thought he was just a pretty boy, but he's an excellent electric guitarist. Carlos Santana and Clapton play a guitar duel in the classic , "Jingo." Country player Vince Gill plays some hot Telecaster licks in his set, esp. on "Oklahoma Borderline." Finally, Clapton himself plays some great stuff, clearly inspired, and he sings with a passion that burns. Other issues: the sound mix has problems at times...the overall level dips now and again through Vai's song and Gills' "Oklahoma Borderline." Some of the audience reaction shots make the crowd look dazed and like they don't understand what they're seeing/hearing. Maybe it's just the Dallas heat and dehydration at work. Some of those shots look so out of place they appear to be taken from songs other than the one they're married to on disk. And the director makes some strange choices, as in Gills' "Oklahahoma Borderline," he gets confused and calls for the camera on Jerry Doulglas while Gill is playing a solo (I have not looked at the alt. angles yet). Finally, we see or hear snippets of some other players not on the disk: Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, John McGlaughlin and Neal Schon. Schon's "Star Spangled Banner" is heard on closing titles and sounds great. One can only hope those and the rest of the omitted performances are being saved for a Volume II. Issues aside, I really like this DVD and show highlights from it to all my music aficionado pals, who end up digging it as much as I do. Take it to the bridge! | |
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