London Hyde Park 1969 (DVD) Des Plaines IL

London Hyde Park 1969 (DVD)

Blind Faith

Sanctuary, 2006

REVIEW BY: Bruce Rusk

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/29/2006

Blind Faith was one of the first supergroups and probably the shortest-lived.

But in that near-year they existed, they created a lasting legacy and entrenched a few songs firmly in the rock canon. Composed of two-thirds of the disbanded Cream (Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker), Steve Winwood late of Traffic, and bassist Rich Grech, the band's inaugural performance at London's Hyde Park turned out to be huge.

This was likely because before the band had recorded a single note or even formed the final lineup of the band, the world was abuzz with the news of this collaboration. Yet according to the band, they went into this show under-rhearsed and unprepared, having only played together for a few weeks. On top of that, the crowd for the event numbered well over 100,000, unheard of outside of the largest music festivals of the period.

The nine-song, 50-minute set was filmed and now is available in its entirety, and as it turns out this show could be the holy grail for Blind Faith enthusiasts. For a less devoted fan of the one-off wonders, it’s still an amazing document of some of the era’s most talented artists. Any fan of Clapton or Winwood -- or even Baker -- will get a thrill out of this show.