Blind Faith: London Hyde Park 1969

I'm hard-pressed to recall another band whose fame so far outstrips their actual musical contribution: late 1960s supergroup Blind Faith—lead guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker from Cream, lead singer and keyboardist Steve Winwood from Traffic, and bassist Ric Grech from Family—released only one self-titled album containing six songs. Although treated like gods by critics and fans alike (I'm one), the band's entire oeuvre amounts to about 40 minutes. Not surprisingly, Blind Faith: London Hyde Park 1969 features the complete catalog of Blind Faith songs (although the original 15-minute “Do What You Like” is only five minutes long here, with a very compressed Baker drum solo), presented in solid if unspectacular Dolby Digital stereo. In addition to the other five Blind Faith tracks—the Buddy Holly cover “Well All Right,” “Sea of Joy,” Had to Cry Today,” “Presence of the Lord,” and their biggest hit “Can't Find My Way Home” (which Winwood introduces thus: “we're gonna do a new number”)—the band performs three other covers, including a fine rendition of the Rolling Stones' “Under My Thumb.” No matter that the ‘60s-style filming (check out the rapid-pulsing zoom-in-and-outs!) of the huge groovin' Hyde Park hippie crowd is cheesy or that the archival intro material on each member of the band is snooze-worthy, fans will want to see this rare live concert footage of the mythical group. DVD extras include a few headache-inducing whiplash-edited promo music videos for Traffic, Cream, and the Spencer Davis Group (early Winwood). Recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)