The present recording was accomplished in 2020 by socially distanced musicians, and director Robert King puts things in perspective, observing in his notes that Henry Purcell lived through the London plague of 1665, during which 15 percent of the city's population perished.
As with previous tour boxes, the 2020 Elements box covers the full spectrum of Crimsoning, this one with music and line-ups from 1969-2019. Disc one represents a mostly live/mostly new-to-CD selection of material including 4 tracks taken from the 2019 tour. Disc two, in keeping with the theme of Sid's notes, discussed below, presents pieces played occasionally by the current line-up - Exiles and Sheltering Sky, pieces from the studio - both King Crimson and Robert Fripp that were never completed, or were developed in different ways, material that never made it to a studio recording - The Errors, Dr. Diamond, Trees (extract), Guts on my Side, etc, all combine to present a convincing musical counter-history to the band.
With new Eco friendly rechargeable batteries in his torch, and dry cleaned fedora upon his head, it's that time of year when good old Mr Stormy gives up his newly discovered treasures. A fourth year of treats unearthed from the murky, cavernous DGM archives. These have previously only been offered as MP3s, but now, for your delight and fetishization, they can be suffered in full FLAC quality. Take your time to enjoy yet another marvellous collection of newly polished gems!
Eric Clapton, one of the world's outstanding blues/rock guitarists, once again assembled an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Organized at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the therapy facility for alcohol and drug addicts founded by Clapton in 1998. After a six-year hiatus, the festival returned with new energy and outstanding performances, including performances by James Bay, Jeff Beck, Doyle Bramhall II, Gary Clark Jr, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Andy Fairweather Low, Peter Frampton, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Sonny Landreth, Lianne La Havas, Los Lobos, John Mayer, Keb' Mo', Bonnie Raitt, Robert Randolph, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jimmie Vaughan and others…
The fact that a comprehensive collection like this one can exist well into the twenty-first century gives testament to both the staying power of the blues and to the wide influence it has had on other areas of popular music. Whilst few of these have ever been major worldwide hits in the conventional sense, so many of them have provided the roots to rock music that is enjoyed by millions today. This is, we hope, a collection that makes you seek out more, and our Not Now catalogue can offer you very many fine albums to take you further.