Blind Faith - Blind Faith (1969) [Japan (mini LP) Platinum SHM-CD 2013]

Blind Faith is the self-titled album by the English supergroup Blind Faith, released in 1969 on Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Europe and on Atlantic Records in the United States. It topped the album charts in the UK and Canada as well as the Billboard 200, even peaking at #40 on the Billboard Soul Albums chart, an impressive feat for an English rock quartet. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA. In addition, Rolling Stone published three reviews of the album in their 6 September 1969 issue, which were written by Ed Leimbacher, Lester Bangs, and John Morthland.

Blind Faith's first and last album, more than 30 years old and counting, remains one of the jewels of the Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Ginger Baker catalogs, despite the crash-and-burn history of the band itself, which scarcely lasted six months. As much a follow-up to Traffic's self-titled second album as it is to Cream's final output, it merges the soulful blues of the former with the heavy riffing and outsized song lengths of the latter for a very compelling sound unique to this band. Not all of it works – between the virtuoso electric blues of "Had to Cry Today," the acoustic-textured "Can't Find My Way Home," the soaring "Presence of the Lord" (Eric Clapton's one contribution here as a songwriter, and the first great song he ever authored) and "Sea of Joy," the band doesn't do much with the Buddy Holly song "Well All Right"; and Ginger Baker's "Do What You Like" was a little weak to take up 15 minutes of space on an LP that might have been better used for a shorter drum solo and more songs. Unfortunately, the group was never that together as a band and evidently had just the 42 minutes of new music here ready to tour behind. ~ Review by Bruce Eder







Track Listing

01. Had To Cry Today (8:49)
02. Can't Find My Way Home (3:16)
03. Well All Right (4:27)
04. Presence Of The Lord (4:50)
05. Sea Of Joy (5:22)
06. Do What You Like (15:20)

Produced by Jimmy Miller

The Band

• Steve Winwood - vocals, keyboards, guitars
• Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals on "Do What You Like"
• Ric Grech - bass guitar, violin, vocals on "Do What You Like"
• Ginger Baker - drums, percussion, vocals on "Do What You Like"



Many thanks to the original uploader: ALLexxess