Garden Shed (Screamer-05046/47) 

Boston Garden, Boston, MA – September 30th, 1974

Disc 1 (47:31): Introduction, Better Make It Through Today, Can’t Find My Way Home, I Shot The Sheriff, Badge, Little Rachel, Mainline Florida, Little Wing

Disc 2 (43:18): Singing The Blues, Key To The Highway, Tell The Truth, Layla, Blues Power

Garden Shed utilizes the same tape source that was used for the Slunky release Give Me One More Day (Slunky-05A/B). This comes from the master copy that is circulating from the taper’s master cassette and (and mastered by Steve Hopkins). 

This is a fair to good mono audience recording taped a fair distance from the stage. It emphasizes the higher frequencies with the rhythm section being lost occasionally. There is a cut in “Mainline Florida” but is otherwise musically complete. Clapton’s guitar and vocals are audible and overall this is an enjoyable tape. It’s easily identified by the person by the tape in the beginning saying, “Sit down or I’ll knock you down.” (I hope he wasn’t serious!)

This was Clapton’s return to Boston, having played there on July 12th the previous summer. Like the other shows on this tour it begins very relaxed with mellow renditions of “Better Make It Through The Day” and “Can’t Find My Way Home”, the latter with excellent accompaniment by Ivonne Ellerman. The show heats up with “Badge” whose coda is dropped (“love is my badge”) and segues into the shuffling beat of “Little Rachel”. 

The beginning of “Mainline Florida” is cut in this recording. Clapton introduces “Singing The Blues” as a song from the album they just recorded (There’s One In Every Crowd), and like most live versions of the song is extended past it’s three minute studio cut. However, it sounds as if the guitar leads since both he and Terry disappear in the middle, leaving only the organ to carry the melody. 

“Layla” is dedicated to the family in the audience and “Blues Power” is as good as the famous version from Long Beach. Screamer issued this title with several photos from the tour and it sounds like they didn’t mess too much with the tape which is always a plus. They have distinguished themselves by releasing a very solid catalogue of titles this year. 

Garden Shed is the first Eric Clapton title on Screamer and is well worth owning since it is such a significant upgrade over the previous silver pressing of this concert.