Blind Faith

OBAL A DESKA VYBORNY STAV

A1  Had To Cry Today

    Written-By – Winwood

8:49
A2  Can't Find My Way Home

    Written-By – Winwood

3:17
A3  Well All Right

    Written-By – Holly*, Allison, Mauldin, Petty

4:28
A4  Presence Of The Lord

    Written-By – Clapton

4:56
B1  Sea Of Joy

    Written-By – Winwood

5:22
B2  Do What You Like

    Written-By – Baker

15:20
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'Supergroups' are often hit or miss, some implode before they even get off the ground (like XYZ, an attempted project of former Yes and Led Zeppelin members), some are a one off act (do one show/single before quickly disbanding, like Automatic Baby, comprised of R.E.M. and U2 members), and some actually do some work and even thrive before it all comes tumbling down due to the egos involved. Ok, so they're mostly miss. Blind Faith is an example of the 'do work and thrive, but tumble down' brand of supergroup. The members of the band need no introduction, well maybe bassist Ric Grech, formerly of Family, does, but Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker most certainly do not.

Not long after Cream broke up late in 1968, Clapton had started to jam frequently with Winwood, formerly of Traffic (who disbanded shortly after Cream), and soon the thought of forming their very own band was tempting. Somehow former Cream drummer Baker caught notice of this and was eager to be involved. In short, he joins the band, they invite Grech to become the bassist, and the group is officially formed. Rumors of this 'supergroup' start to spread like wildfire (to the point of them actually being called a 'Super Cream'), and thus this group of lads (unnamed at first, the name Blind Faith allegedly comes from the cautious optimism Clapton felt about the band) are now usually recognized as the first act to be christened with the tag of 'supergroup'.

An album is quickly written and recorded (these guys liked to jam more than actually make crafted songs, even though the songs on the album are quite good), and they make their debut at Hyde Park in June 1969 (well received). A quick tour of Scandinavia follows, as a 'warm up' for the bigger gigs to come in the US. By the time their US tour finished up in August 1969, Blind Faith as a band were no more. Like any normal supergroup, they simply collapsed under the pressure that most supergroups succumb to. Now, what about that album they released?

Well, Blind Faith (the album) was a commercial success. A perfect example of what hype can do for sales, the album topped the charts in the US for 2 weeks in 1969 (with no single being commercially released beforehand or after either). The music of the album is at times in the vein of Winwood, Clapton and Baker's former bands Traffic and Cream, though it also has its own unique sound. It is actually quite diverse too! From the hard rock riffing of the opener "Had to Cry Today" (my personal favorite), the mystic folk of "Can't Find My Way Home" (with a wonderful vocal from Winwood), and even a Buddy Holly cover in "Well All Right" (one of the band's original intentions was to make an album of ALL Buddy Holly covers). Then there is Clapton's first major composition as a songwriter, "Presence of the Lord". With a great organ line, powerful vocal delivery from Winwood, and a fantastic (if sudden) middle Clapton guitar solo, it is one of the obvious highlights of the album.

Side 2 opens with "Sea of Joy", perhaps a lesser track compared to the ones on the first side, but still solid nonetheless. Grech's fiddlework is quite noticeable, and is the standout moment of the song. Now comes the album's most controversial moment, the one that separates the diehard Blind Faith fans from the casual ones, the closing 15 minute jam "Do What You Like". Composed by Baker, the guys 'do what they like' indeed; each member gets their own moment in the sun to solo. Though there is an actual song section, it moves onto a jam shortly thereafter. While many hate it, I love it, the guys get to show off how talented they are at their instruments. Winwood's organ solo is freaky, Clapton gives the usual stellar performance, Grech shows us how great and overlooked he is at bass, and lastly, there is Ginger. It seems everybody but me hates drum solos, particularly the ones that go on for a long time, but I like them, and Baker's solo is his usual incredible. Once the jam ends, it goes back to the song section before ending on a weird note with a bunch of strange noises.

So maybe not an absolute perfect album (again, "Sea of Joy"), but it is close enough, and it certainly lives up to the talent of the musicians involved. We can only wonder what they would've done next, but we'll just have to settle for this one incredible album.
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I was in Boot Camp when a friend sent me a full two page spread from the Philadelphia Inquire announcing the tour of Blind Faith ... that was in the fall of 1969, and there was no place I would rather have been, needless to say, attending the concert would be all but impossible.

Blind Faith has been hailed as the first “Super Group,” and we were being asked to accept their talents and musical abilities on “blind faith,” which is how members of Cream, Traffic, and Family, came by the group’s name.  Accepting them didn’t require any faith at all, just remembering the groups from with this band was composed was all that was necessary ... Eric Clapton [from Cream], the legendary and very young Steve Winwood [from Traffic], Ginger Baker [from Cream], and Rick Grech [from Family].  All of these men had come from progressive bands, heavily influenced by the blues, had become bored or disillusioned with their previous outings, and had decided to shake things up ... incorporated their styles and influences, to take the world by storm.

From the fledgling sessions came the remake of the Buddy Holly song “Well All Right.”  Jimi Hendrix had had huge success with his slowed down, and deeply dark cover of “Hey Joe,” and being newly formed, it seemed / felt only natural to begin this journey with music all of the members highly respected ... hence came “Well All Right,” which was barely reminiscent of the Buddy Holly original.  But that was all right, because what Blind Faith laid down sounded fresh and original to our waiting ears.

The rest, as you know, is musical history ... all of the information regarding the group, its genesis, and songs can be found within the pages of the insightful booklet that comes with the deluxe edition of this album.  On the front jacket of the booklet is the original album cover as it was released in America.  On the disc jacket, you will find the album cover as it was presented in Europe, with a very young naked girl / lady ... this cover, because of its concept and depiction was banded in America, and would not see these shores for many years.  The package has a double gate fold with some fine images of the band, and contains two discs.  And to keep it all safe and sound, there is a plastic slip case.

The first disc contains the original album, though here that body of work has been cleaned and reprocessed for compact disc, and a wonderful job was done in that respect.  You will also be presented with five bonus tracks of unreleased material, including and electric version of “Can’t Find My Way Home,” that is breath taking.  On disc two you will find four unreleased songs, though jams might be a better description, which are a great deal of fun, and each is about fifteen minutes in length.

Often albums are rereleased and remastered, sadly all too often the care and time was not taken to present and package this material in a meaningful manner ... happily, in the case of the this Deluxe Edition, there was much care and effort, making this one of those discs you just “must have” for a complete musical catalog.
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This still sounds as good as it did when it was first released. Blind Faith were probably the finest supergroup of all. It is difficult to find a genre name to fit the bill but if British white blues meets your categorical needs, then this is one of the finest examples. All four musicians are at their peak of quality.

Overall rating: 4.50
Almost Perfect
Outstanding Track: Well All Right  (Sea of Joy; a very close 2nd)

My lowest-rated track "Presence of the Lord" (4.25) has been hovering around the bottom of my 1050 Best Ever Singles List since I first strated compiling it!
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This is the only album this "supergroup"( I really don't like that term) ever released, and what an album it is! Featuring 2/3 of the group Cream, Clapton and Baker, Steve Winwood of Traffic, and Ric Grech of Family, Blind Faith sounds like a beautiful cross between Cream and Traffic. My personal favorite is Can't Find My Way Home. Presence of the Lord and Had to Cry Today are also great. Do What You Like is 15 plus minutes of  the band members doing what they do best, playing the crap out of their instruments. The only let down is Sea of Joy, which I find to be boring. That song is why the album is a four and a half rating instead of five stars. The cover with the naked preteen girl was banned here in the states, which probably produced even more hype. The alternate cover with the photo of the band isn't bad, though.
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After the break-up of the rock group Cream, Eric Clapton started new once again. Together with his old buddy Steve Winwood (The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic), Rick Grech of Family and his former team mate Ginger Baker, he formed one of the first supergroups, 'Blind Faith'. Although the combo didn't last for long, their only official album release is full of great songs. The rocking 'Had to Cry Today', the laid-back accoustic 'Can't Find My Way Home' and the progressive 'Sea of Joy' (includes a violin performance of Rick Grech) are all written by Winwood. The spiritual touched 'Presence of the Lord' by Clapton, the jamming Baker original 'Do What You Like' and the moving hymn 'Well All Right', an Buddy Holly cover, they are all fantastic in their own special way.
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Magnificent stuff. Just a great blues rock album with psychedelic and even some progressive elements too. Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech formed one of the greatest supergroups ever. Even though Blind Faith released only this one album they are very well known in the rock/blues music world.

I love all of the songs in here. "Had to Cry Today", "Sea of Joy" and especially Ginger Baker's "Do What You Like" are just mindblowing tracks. "Do What You Like" can be considered as a jam band song. "Well All Right" is the only cover song on the album and it's really nice too.

The only thing I don't like about this album is the album cover which is just gross and horrible. But that can't make my rating any lower. For me this is a clear five stars album in every way. If you like Cream and Derek and the Dominos then you know what to expect from Blind Faith too. A really classy blues rock album and a true must-have for every Clapton fan.
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a lot of people rip on eric clapton for being generic boring blues rock....i won't disagree, but i will challenge them to listen to this album and tell me that to my face.....can't find my way home brings tears....presence of the lord gives hope for something more than this world....had to cry today simply rocks my socks off.......very hard pressed to name a better a-side of an album, Any album.......b-side is decent.....any other artist would gain a 5 star for the b-side but its clapton, so 3.5 stars......a-side=5 stars
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One of the first rock aggregations to fall victim to the curse of being labeled a "supergroup", Blind Faith put out this, their lone album, which in retrospect I believe to be quite good, counterbalanced by one lengthy bummer track. Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and the then-lesser known Rick Grech were talented musicians with impressive pedigrees, but joining them together in a manner was akin to mixing nitro and glycerin. Surviving briefly with an album whose sales were equally generated by hype as well as excellence, the notable gems were the nine-minute "Had To Cry Today", with impressive guitar interplay between Clapton and Winwood, the sordid lament "Can't Find My Way Home"...an apropos indictment of the rock and roll lifestyle..., and "Sea Of Joy", again featuring Clapton/Winwood guitar histrionics as well as a fine Grech violin solo. The fifteen minute "Do What You Like" jam was the principle element that kept this record from being a stone cold classic. Additionally, I always love it when the record album jacket becomes a controversial hot potato, even though 41 years later this particular cover photo has lost nearly all of its initial impact. Looking back through rock's often dirty history, this was one band whose name was extremely fitting.
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The only album they produced and with a very sinister cover. People at the time decried it as 'dissappointing' given the stars attached, Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood. Shit me though it's good. The tunes melt into your cranium and you can't shake em off - even if you have an acid shower and expose the brain and start picking at it you'll still be humming 'Presence of the Lord'. Now THAT is a sinister image.
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