When Eric Clapton straps on his guitar, chances are something good will happen. When Eric Clapton plays the blues, the good turns into something special.

In 1994, Clapton was touring in support of his “From the Cradle” album. Filming and recording sessions were done over two November concerts at the Fillmore, in San Francisco. A year later, a documentary of the event was shown one time on PBS. That’s all we’ve heard and seen from these shows…until this weekend.

Twenty-seven years later, you can now hear the music from these legendary two concerts on Clapton’s new album, “Nothing but the Blues.” Backed by his regular band of Andy Fairweather-Low, Chris Stainton, and Andy Newmark, this is a spectacular album of, as the title says, nothing but the blues.

Over eighteen songs, Clapton pays homage to the bluesmen he idolized. Among the legends whose songs are covered include Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Freddie King and Howlin’ Wolf.

There are many highlights on this record, but if I’m picking one standout song, it’s “Smuggler’s Blues.” You can feel the angst in both his voice and his guitar.

Clapton’s guitar stands out throughout the album. His soaring solos remind you of his early days when his playing earned him the nickname, God.

I’ve been a fan of Eric Clapton’s music for more than five decades. After only two listenings, “Nothing but the Blues” ranks near the top of all his albums. If you’re a fan of the blues and guitar, check it out. It’s well worth your time.

Related Post: Eric Clapton turns seventy: Fifty years of great music

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Yet another of the brewers that helped kick off the craft beer revolution has been snapped up by a multinational. This past week, Stone Brewing of San Diego was purchased by the U.S. subsidiary of Sapporo Breweries, Ltd., for $165 million. With the sale, Stone’s “anti-sell-out” founder Greg Koch announced he would soon be retiring from the company. Sapporo, which had previous bought out Anchor Brew, announced it plans to double capacity at Stone’s San Diego and Richmond, VA in order to brew Sapporo in the States, bringing production onshore from Vietnam and Canada. Goodbeerhunting.

While I don’t normally stray far from the Chicago-NW Indiana metropolitan area, I am posting Tuesday’s opening of online ticket sales for Toppling Goliath’s Mornin’ Delight release. Pickup for the imperial stout “whale” will be August 5 & 6 at TG’s Decorah, Iowa brewery.

Apologies for those who might have gotten a security warning trying to access my calendar articles a few days earlier. I found one of my security certificates was expiring and tried to renew it. Ended up making my entire hosted content inaccessible. Finally I banged at my Control Panel settings until everything came back.

Wednesday, June 29

Thursday, June 30

The stinging pain in my feet has a name and it’s called peripheral neuropathy. I did a little research on the subject such as its origin. There are various reasons why a person would suffer from it but in my case, lupus is the culprit.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system gets confused attacking its own tissues. With that said, lupus may cause potential or permanent damage to internal and external organ systems.

Major organs are compromised whenever there is a flare up. Currently, I’m experiencing a pins-and-needles discomfort in my feet in addition to numbness. I read that there’s no cure for peripheral neuropathy because it’s a chronic condition.

I use gabapentin for my symptoms but sometimes the pain is still unbearable, especially at night for some reason. If you’re experiencing similar issues, please consult your doctor as they may have a different treatment plan. Hope for a better treatment plan for myself is on the horizon.

(Washington, DC, Special to More about Les) In a surprise but unsurprising move, the Supreme Court today invalidated the 13th Amendment, returning to each state the right to declare slavery legal within its own borders. The Court also declared the Fugitive Slave Act, an 1850 law requiring all states to return runaway slaves to their owners, as the “law of the land.”

Although no legal case involving slavery was before the court, Associate Justice Sam Alioto told reporters “we are merely reestablishing this great nation, the nation that the Founding Fathers created. We feel this Court has that right, and that responsibility.”

The majority opinion, written by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, stated that since nowhere in the original Constitution was slavery banned, Congress did not have the right to do so.

In a supplement, the Court stated they would be reviewing and potentially discarding all Constitutional amendments, except for the short portion of the 2nd amendment dealing with the right to bear arms, which the supplement states is a “God-given right inadvertently left out of the original Constitution by an inebriated James Madison.”

The majority opinion and supplement were signed by Associate Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. The minority opinion, written by Associate Justice Sotomayor, and signed by Sotomayor and her fellow liberal appointees Associate Justices Kagan and Breyer read in its entirety “These guys are f-ing crazy.” Chief Justice Roberts signed neither opinion and was seen wandering the halls of the Supreme Court Building babbling incoherently.

Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett stated that though their confirmation hearings were contentious, no one had asked them their views on slavery, so no one could complain about their opinion on this ruling.

Former President Donald Trump speaking at an NRA convention in rural Mississippi praised the move, stating “It was Giuliani’s idea, but I made this possible, I get all the credit. Hang Pence.” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre announced the organization would consider changing its name to NRSA, the Nation Rifle and Slavery Association.

In an immediate response to the ruling, Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas announced they will offer tax incentives to any company within their states operating with slave labor. Other state governors and legislatures will likely follow suit.

In a possibly related event, a giant tear was seen on the cheek of the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial.

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

———————————–