One More Car: One More Rider (Bonus DVD)

Disc 1
1	Key to the Highway
2	Reptile
3	Got You on My Mind
4	Tears in Heaven
5	Bell Bottom Blues
6	Change the World
7	My Father's Eyes
8	River of Tears
9	Goin' Down Slow
10	She's Gone
11	[CD-Rom Track]
Disc 2
1	I Want a Little Girl
2	Badge
3	Hoochie Coochie Man
4	Have You Ever Loved a Woman?
5	Cocaine
6	Wonderful Tonight
7	Layla
8	Sunshine of Your Love
9	Over the Rainbow
10	[CD-Rom Track]
Disc 3
1	Key to the Highway DVD
2	Reptile DVD
3	Got You on My Mind DVD
4	Tears in Heaven DVD
5	Bell Bottom Blues DVD
6	Change the World DVD
7	My Father's Eyes DVD
8	River of Tears DVD
9	Goin' Down Slow DVD
10	She's Gone DVD
11	I Want a Little Girl DVD
12	Badge DVD
13	Hoochie Coochie Man DVD
14	Have You Ever Loved a Woman? DVD
15	Cocaine DVD
16	Wonderful Tonight DVD
17	Layla DVD
18	Will It Go Round in Circles? DVD
19	Sunshine of Your Love DVD
20	Over the Rainbow DVD

Barnes & Noble

Culled from the tour that's strongly been touted as Slowhand's last stand, this two-disc effort -- which takes its name from the original working title for 1986's August -- is a measured retrospective that seems designed to give a little taste of each one of the flavors in Clapton's musical kitchen. As he's done often at recent shows, he spends plenty of time revisiting his blues roots, peppering songs like "Hoochie Koochie Man" and "Cocaine" with his trademark blend of slurry indulgence and crisp riffing. Those won over by that aspect of Clapton's personality -- as well as the no-nonsense rock element that surges forth during renditions of Cream classics such as "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Badge" -- might be a bit taken aback by the degree to which he concentrates on his latter-day adult pop. Both "My Father's Eyes" and "River of Tears" push the nine-minute mark (an expansion that suits, say, the rendition of "Layla" presented here but not these comparatively trifling tunes), while songs from Reptile take up a bit too much space. There are enough solo excursions to satisfy the "Clapton is God" brigade, and the backing band, rounded out by keyboardists Billy Preston and David Sancious, does a fine job fleshing out the quavering "Bell Bottom Blues" and a nice-and-nasty "Going Down Slow." As the final notes of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (yes, that one) fade into the ether, an odd sense of wistfulness emerges -- but there's always that replay button. This special edition of One More Car, One More Rider also includes a two-hour-plus DVD concert recorded in Los Angeles. David Sprague

All Music Guide

As a DVD, this release seems to work a lot better than it does as a CD, principally because Eric Clapton has developed a thoroughly convincing stage presence as a bluesman, and the skilled editing keeps the image in motion constantly without it ever being a distraction. Clapton may sometimes sound like he's playing with a cold mechanical perfection, but he doesn't look it, and when you see him playing and interacting with his band, it adds a level of warmth and involvement that is missing from parts of the accompanying live album. Not that there's anything earth-shattering here -- it's Eric Clapton doing what we know he's always done well, though some fans may be surprised by how well such Derek & the Dominos repertory as "Key to the Highway" and "Bell Bottom Blues" work as acoustic band numbers. Clapton does a mix of old and new material (weighted a bit toward the Reptile album around which this tour was hooked), in a variety of idioms, sometimes transforming the piece in question, such as "Goin' Down Slow" -- written by St. Louis Jimmy Oden but most familiar in the rendition by Howlin' Wolf -- the song in Clapton's hands is much looser, barely recognizable as a showcase for his electric guitar and Billy Preston's organ. One appreciates watching as well as hearing the flow from, say, "Badge" (which is nicely stretched out) to "Hoochie Coochie Man"; or seeing Clapton range freely across his whole history, from a John Mayall-era number to a song from his days with Derek & the Dominos and then to a number from the Cream songbook, and then his solo era. He deconstructs and reconfigures them along the way so that, say, "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" becomes as much a showcase for David Sancious' electric piano and Preston's electric organ as it is for Clapton's voice and guitar. The image is framed in the non-anamorphic 1.85-to-1 aspect ratio that goes along with high-definition shooting, and the music is recorded in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. It's also mastered at a very high volume level, matching that of a modern CD circa 2003, so when a crescendo is reached it's probably not going to be a secret to your neighbors, either. The disc opens on an easy-to-use menu that offers the "play" option in the default position, and is available two different ways, as a separate, free-standing DVD release, or in a triple-disc CD-size package, with the double-CD set -- although the CDs are supposed to be the main focus of the triple-disc set, the concert DVD is what one is really paying for, with the CD set as a $15 "bonus" (and worth that price). Bruce Eder