Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert is an album recorded live at London's

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 Rainbow Theatre on January 13, 1973, and released within the year. The concert was organized by Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...

 and marked Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

's comeback after the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. In the year after the Rainbow Concert, Clapton recovered from his heroin addiction and recorded 461 Ocean Boulevard

461 Ocean Boulevard

461 Ocean Boulevard is the second studio album by blues-rock musician Eric Clapton, released in July 1974 on the RSO label after the success of "I Shot the Sheriff"....

.

This concert is the first live performance where Clapton used his famous Stratocaster

Fender Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...

 guitar "Blackie".

A remastered expanded edition of the album was released on January 13, 1995, the 22nd anniversary of the original concert.

A bootleg edition, Eric Clapton and the Palpitations — The Rainbow Concert, 25th Anniversary Edition, was released by the underground label Empress Valley, four CDs of both concerts on January 13, 1973 (the official releases are a mix of songs from both concerts).

Background

The concert was held at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, London, on Saturday January 13, 1973 with two shows at 5.30pm and 9pm. The venue itself was popular during the 1960s and early 1970s, musicians such as the Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

, Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull (band)

Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

, Queen

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, and others performed there. The concert heralded the return of Eric Clapton out of heroin-induced isolation and inactivity with the help of Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...

 and others.

The concert was recorded using Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio

Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio

Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio, also known as LMS, is a mobile recording studio originally owned by Ronnie Lane.Lane acquired the studio in 1972. It was one of the first ever mobile recording studios, and consisted of a 16 track studio housed in a 26' Airstream trailer, with a Helios mixing console,...

.

Side one

1. "Badge
   Badge (song)
   "Badge" is a song performed by Cream, written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison. It was included as a track on Cream's final album, Goodbye. Peaking at number 60 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Badge" was a minor hit after its release as a single in April 1969...
   
   " (Clapton, Harrison
   George Harrison
   George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
   
   ) – 3:32
2. "Roll It Over" (Clapton, Whitlock) – 6:43
3. "Presence of the Lord" (Clapton) – 5:37

Side two

1. "Pearly Queen" (Capaldi
   Jim Capaldi
   Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
   
   , Winwood
   Steve Winwood
   Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
   
   ) – 7:00
2. "After Midnight" (Cale) – 5:12
3. "Little Wing
   Little Wing
   "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
   
   " (Hendrix
   Jimi Hendrix
   James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
   
   ) – 6:32

1995 remastered edition

1. "Layla
   Layla
   "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
   
   " (Clapton, Gordon
   Jim Gordon (musician)
   James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
   
   ) – 6:25
2. "Badge
   Badge (song)
   "Badge" is a song performed by Cream, written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison. It was included as a track on Cream's final album, Goodbye. Peaking at number 60 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Badge" was a minor hit after its release as a single in April 1969...
   
   " (Clapton, Harrison
   George Harrison
   George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
   
   ) – 3:18
3. "Blues Power
   Eric Clapton (album)
   Eric Clapton is the eponymous debut solo album from Eric Clapton, released in August of 1970.-Track listing - original 1970 release:All selections written by Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton, except as indicated.-Side one:...
   
   " (Clapton, Russell
   Leon Russell
   Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
   
   )– 6:03
4. "Roll It Over" (Clapton, Whitlock
   Bobby Whitlock
   Robert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
   
   ) – 4:38
5. "Little Wing
   Little Wing
   "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
   
   " (Hendrix
   Hendrix
   Hendrix may refer to:* Hendrix ** Jimi Hendrix, musician* Hendrix , a lunar impact crater that is located on the Moon's far side* Hendrix, Oklahoma* Hendrix College, a private college located in Conway, Arkansas...
   
   ) – 4:36
6. "Bottle of Red Wine
   Eric Clapton (album)
   Eric Clapton is the eponymous debut solo album from Eric Clapton, released in August of 1970.-Track listing - original 1970 release:All selections written by Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton, except as indicated.-Side one:...
   
   " (Bramlett
   Bonnie Bramlett
   Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
   
   , Clapton) – 3:51
7. "After Midnight" (Cale) – 4:25
8. "Bell Bottom Blues
   Bell Bottom Blues (1970 song)
   "Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971...
   
   " (Clapton) – 6:25
9. "Presence of the Lord" (Clapton) – 5:18
10. "Tell the Truth
    Tell the Truth (song)
    "Tell the Truth" is the eighth song from the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. The song is composed primarily by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, with guitarist Eric Clapton adding the last verse.-History:...
    
    " (Clapton, Whitlock) – 6:04
11. "Pearly Queen" (Capaldi, Winwood
    Steve Winwood
    Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
    
    ) – 4:55
12. "Key to the Highway
    Key to the Highway
    "Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by blues pianist Charlie Segar in 1940. The song was also recorded by Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy in 1940–41, and it was later a R&B record chart success for Little Walter in 1958...
    
    " (Broonzy
    Big Bill Broonzy
    Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
    
    , Segar) – 5:46
13. "Let It Rain
    Eric Clapton (album)
    Eric Clapton is the eponymous debut solo album from Eric Clapton, released in August of 1970.-Track listing - original 1970 release:All selections written by Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton, except as indicated.-Side one:...
    
    " (Bramlett, Clapton) - 7:46
14. "Crossroads" (Johnson)– 4:19

25th Anniversary Edition (Empress Valley bootleg)

Disc One (early show)

1. Introduction
2. "Layla
   Layla
   "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
   
   " (Clapton, Gordon
   Jim Gordon (musician)
   James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
   
   )
3. "Badge
   Badge (song)
   "Badge" is a song performed by Cream, written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison. It was included as a track on Cream's final album, Goodbye. Peaking at number 60 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Badge" was a minor hit after its release as a single in April 1969...
   
   " (Clapton, Harrison
   George Harrison
   George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
   
   )
4. "Blues Power" (Clapton, Russell
   Leon Russell
   Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
   
   )
5. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
   Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
   "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard, written by Jimmy Cox in 1923. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire during the Prohibition era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.-Recording...
   
   " (Myles
   Billy Myles
   William Myles Nobles , known as Billy Myles, was an American R&B songwriter active in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for " All My Love" recorded by Jackie Wilson , and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" recorded by Freddie King , then Eric Clapton .-History:Billy Myles specialised in love ballads...
   
   )
6. "Roll It Over" (Clapton, Whitlock)
7. "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" (Clapton, Whitlock)
8. "Little Wing
   Little Wing
   "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
   
   " (Hendrix
   Jimi Hendrix
   James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
   
   )

Disc Two (early show)

1. "Bottle of Red Wine" (Bramlett, Clapton)
2. "After Midnight" (Cale)
3. "Bell Bottom Blues
   Bell Bottom Blues (1970 song)
   "Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971...
   
   " (Clapton)
4. "Presence of the Lord" (Clapton)
5. "Tell The Truth" (Clapton, Whitlock)
6. "Pearly Queen" (Capaldi
   Jim Capaldi
   Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
   
   , Winwood
   Steve Winwood
   Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
   
   )
7. "Let It Rain" (Bramlett, Clapton)
8. "Crossroads" (Johnson)

Disc Three (late show)

1. "Layla
   Layla
   "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
   
   " (Clapton, Gordon)
2. "Badge
   Badge (song)
   "Badge" is a song performed by Cream, written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison. It was included as a track on Cream's final album, Goodbye. Peaking at number 60 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Badge" was a minor hit after its release as a single in April 1969...
   
   " (Clapton, Harrison
   George Harrison
   George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
   
   )
3. "Blues Power" (Clapton, Russell)
4. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
   Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
   "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard, written by Jimmy Cox in 1923. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire during the Prohibition era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.-Recording...
   
   " (Myles)
5. "Roll It Over" (Clapton, Whitlock)
6. "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" (Clapton, Whitlock)
7. "Little Wing
   Little Wing
   "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
   
   " (Hendrix
   Jimi Hendrix
   James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
   
   )

Disc Four (late show)

1. "Bottle of Red Wine" (Bramlett, Clapton)
2. "Presence of the Lord" (Clapton)
3. "Tell the Truth" (Clapton, Whitlock)
4. "Pearly Queen" (Capaldi, Winwood
   Steve Winwood
   Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
   
   )
5. "Key to the Highway
   Key to the Highway
   "Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by blues pianist Charlie Segar in 1940. The song was also recorded by Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy in 1940–41, and it was later a R&B record chart success for Little Walter in 1958...
   
   " (Broonzy, Segar)
6. "Let It Rain" (Bramlett, Clapton)
7. "Crossroads" (Johnson)
8. "Layla
   Layla
   "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
   
   " (Clapton, Gordon)

Personnel

• Eric Clapton
  Eric Clapton
  Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
  
   - lead guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
   & vocals
• Pete Townshend
  Pete Townshend
  Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
  
   - guitar & vocals
• Ronnie Wood - guitar & vocals
• Ric Grech
  Ric Grech
  Richard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
  
   - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Steve Winwood
  Steve Winwood
  Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
  
   - keyboard & vocals
• Jim Capaldi
  Jim Capaldi
  Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
  
   - drum
  Drum
  The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
  
  s
• Jimmy Karstein - drums
• Rebop Kwaku Baah
  Rebop Kwaku Baah
  Anthony "Reebop" Kwaku Baah was a Ghanaian percussionist perhaps best known for working with the 1970s rock groups Traffic and Can.-Biography:...
  
   - percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...