Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 (DVD, 2006)

A very simple production in the Blind Faith - London Hyde Park 1969 DVD finds
listeners/watchers enjoying plain truths. I watched a bunch of people I played the DVD for, who are primarily Gen-X'ers, motivate to the film. Some either fell asleep while the others were really jazzed with THAT feeling---the feeling of the mystical and magical psychedelic 60's. All the players of the group Blind Faith were very basic players in the blues rock genre on this offering. It's absolutely beautiful. I am 40 years old and rememeber the mid-to-late 60's. Besides the protests and skirmishes and Vietnam War and the landing on the moon there were some purely simple and magical things occurring and Blind Faith is that sort of pinnacle of that during this time. They were THE supergroup of the era.....even as they only released one album! The video is wonderfully edited and is full of close-up shots of guitars, drums and amplifiers and all the players at their best. You even get to see the audience of whacked-out-on-something hippies really, really, really enjoying the day in Hyde Park. This is the earmark of a simpler time with people honestly enjoying themselves plainly listening to music and watching a music band perform. NOW...if you adhere to the modern-day, fast-touch cognescetti's eat-to-the-beat-and-then-chuck​-it bubble gum band type of musical listening pleasure-personage- behavior....you need not apply here. This DVD is for those who enjoy simple music for REAL-musician-performance pleasures. The players are actually playing the daylights out of their instruments without breaking a sweat....Eric Clapton included. (Stevie Winwood plays the daylights out of the organ, Ginger Baker plays like an American Native Indian metronome on fire and Rick Gretch handles the bass guitar with aplomb.) The whole show is a nice length...not too long and not too short. The DVD has a few extra tidbits on there and if you can get a used DVD for $10-$15 you really have a stellar documentary on the matter of the end of the 60's. This DVD, the Woodstock show and The Rolling Stones Altamont show are the end-of-the-60's showcase landmarks. And with that I cannot bring myself to watch Gimme Shelter (Altamont) with the audience member getting knifed to death...it ruins the whole mood of the ambience of the purer virtues of the flower-power era. It goes to show you, although, that we do have some brief and fleeting glimpses of The Garden throughout these tense and tumultuous times on our journey through life. (I actually bought the video primarily to get a close look at the the Fender Telecaster electric guitar Eric Clapton played with a Fender Stratocaster neck installed on it!)

This film makes me misty-eyed at the loss of those days when a guy like Steve Winwood would move his own microphone stand from the RMI piano to the Hammond organ. It makes me miss the days when people knew HOW to play the Hammond organ! A seat-of-the-pants performance from one of the first 'supergroups' captured on film, warts and all. Lackluster playing from Clapton and Baker with a competent but self-conscious performance by Winwood. My personal opinion: it would have been a much better band with Jack Bruce on bass and Jim Capaldi on drums, but hindsight is 20-20. The DVD includes vintage videos of The Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man" and Traffic's "Hole In My Shoe" with Dave Mason on board. You'll see Winwood sing "Under My Thumb" while Mick Jagger watches from the crowd. You'll also see Donovan dancing - not spacey trippy dancing, but a real boogaloo! And a live electric version of "Can't Find My Way Home". If you want to see the 60's as it really was without all the hype, re-writing and pontificating, this is like looking through a window directly into the past.

Years ago I found a cassette bootleg of this show. The band was so short-lived, it was impossible to find anything from them other than the one album they put out. So to have this concert with the visual AND great sound, plus finding out it was their first live show as a band, it's too good to be true. But it is good, really good. The music is tight and it is interesting to see Clapton play a very supporting role to Winwood. Also it's a surprise to hear them cover the Stones' Under My Thumb. The filmmakers made an effort to film a lot of audience shots as well so I found it fascinating to see 1969 London up close. All in all a great DVD for it's musical and historical value.

What did like?Well there sure isn't alot of Blind faith DVD's to look at.A good line up of songs.It was a sunny beautiful day for a late 60's outdoor concert and not a garage band playing!!Love about it?Winwood singig a Sam Meyers tune "sleeping in the ground" and you can sense Clapton really wanting to play some traditional blues.Dislike about it?I wish the audio was stronger.But bottom line Winwood really shines.. A different shade of clapton from Cream..And Baker..Wow ....Why did i buy it?I simply admired this band and these musicians. this was a must see...

This document of some of the most signifant and creative talents of the late sixties is long over due. This performance appropriately conveys the cultural atmosphere of the times as well as the secret to Blind Faith's legendary status as superb musicianship fuses with exceptional songwriting, originality and most importantly a powerful creative spirit; all plainly evident at this Hyde Park gig. These artists also exhibit a sincerety, and total focus upon the song--no affectation or showbiz antics here--qualities possibly long lost on many succeeding generations of recording artists. The extra features provided are a nice touch too.

Paul Thomson