Eric Clapton - Peaches and Diesel

Detroit, Mi. - March 28, 1978 - Beano 017

Disc 1:

1. The Core
2. Worried Life Blues
3. Peaches and Diesel
4. Wonderful Tonight
5. Lay Down Sally
6. Rodeo Man
7. Fool's Paradise
8. Cocaine
9. Double Trouble

Disc 2:

1. Badge
2. Nobody Knows You
3. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
4. Key to the Highway
5. Let it Rain
6. Layla
7. Bottle of Red Wine

Geetarz Comments:

Many thanks to Richard M. and T.B.R. !.

Online Review: (attrib?)

The second leg of Eric Clapton's 1978 Slowhand tour began on March 19th in Miami and ended on April 9th at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada. There are very few releases from this era and the majority of the ones that do circulate come from the February 11th Santa Monica radio broadcast. There are at least five tapes extant (excluding the Detroit club gig on March 30th), and World Tour 1978 (ECR005/6) on the EC Rarities label of the March 24th Charlotte soundboard is really the only common document that has been released commercially. Peaches And Diesel on Beano comes from a previously unknown tape of the March 28th gig at the Cobo Hall. It is a complete stereo audience recording that captures all of the instruments perfectly and has an amazing live sound to it with depth and clarity. The only noticeable blemishes on the tape is a cut and fade between “Let It Rain" and "Layla" with no music lost. If the producer of the tape were situated a little closer to the stage this would receive the highest grade and would be a contender for one of the best audience recordings to come out of the seventies. The distance is the only negative with the echo smudging the music.

The set-list for the latter shows was changed a bit from earlier in the tour. The majority of the shows had "Peaches And Diesel" as the serene, laid back opening before launching into the livelier numbers. Instead, the eight-minute long "The Core" is used as the opener at least since the March 21st show in Savannah, Georgia. It is one of the Clapton's better "groove" songs and sets the tone of the show much better. The audience applauds Marcy Levy as she sings the first verse and applauds louder when Clapton begins singing his verse. "Fool's Paradise" is introduced as an "old favorite...by Buddy Holly" and is sung by Marcy Levy. "Cocaine" is well received and "Double Trouble" is the first extended blues jam of the evening and really loosens up the band. Before "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" Clapton says, "I'd like to bring on the local talent now. The young and beautiful Miss Marcy Levy". She says hello to everybody in Detroit, her hometown. "I'd like to do this song especially for...my mother and father who came to see me tonight...and all my friends." "Key To The Highway" sounds great with George Terry trading solos with Clapton during the long improv with interludes for piano and harmonica. "Layla" closes the set and "Bottle Of Red Wine" is played for nostalgia.

Peaches And Diesel follows the older Beano release The Core (Beano-010) featuring the amazing quality stereo audience recording of the opening night in Vancouver as essential to own boots from the Slowhand tour. It is to the label's credit they are finding these fantastic quality tapes from such an under-represented era and releasing them. The artwork is printed on thick glossy paper with several pictures from the correct era and a list of the members in Clapton's band. It is limited to three hundred copies and is, like everything else on Beano, a fantastic release of a great sounding show and is highly recommended.