The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a benefit concert for Clapton’s Crossroads Center, a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation centre located on the Caribbean island of Antigua. This is only the second of these concerts and the first was held at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, Texas back in 2004 and was for three days.

The 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival was only one day, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an amazing day of music showcasing some of the greatest guitarists still playing at the top of their form. Tickets went on sale and sold out the 28,000 stadium in a little over 20 minutes and anyone that was fortunate to go, experienced a once in a lifetime musical event.

If you were unable to attend never fear Rhine Entertainment has released a two disc DVD set, which will give you a taste of what it was like to be there on that beautiful day in July. These two discs include some of the highlights from all the performers including entertaining introductions by local boy, Bill Murray. Murray often introduced every band dressed as a Clapton incarnation from one of his many musical periods.

Disc one includes performances by Sonny Landreth, BB King, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson to name just a few. Eric Clapton even pops up occasionally to perform including “Tulsa Time” with Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill and Albert Lee and “Hell at Home” with Sonny Landreth. Whether Clapton is on stage or watching from the sidelines, disc one is full of great performances by some of the greats.

One thing that surprised me that day was the fact that Clapton never came out to perform with BB King and only watch his set from the sidelines. You would think this was a perfect opportunity to perform say “Riding with the King”, or one of the many tracks they recorded on the album of the same name back in 2000. Perhaps they just didn’t have time to rehearse it, yet it would have been yet another highlight on a day full of so many.

Disc two is probably my favorite because it provides the highlight of the festival for me. On this disc we have performances by John Mayer, Los Lobos, Jeff Beck and a surprise and rare appearance by Robbie Robertson, during Eric Clapton’s set for the song, “Who Do You Love”. But my favorite on this disc and for that day has to be Clapton’s set with Steve Winwood performing the Blind Faith songs. I can’t say I ever thought I would see the two of them together performing classics like “Presence of the Lord”, “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Had to Cry Today”, that are all included here. Along with those tracks, Winwood also performed the classic Traffic song, “Dear Mr. Fantasy”, with Clapton’s band. Wow, sincerely it doesn’t get much better than these moments live and now here on DVD.

So it goes without saying that I finally was able to see Eric Clapton the rock guitar god, which I’ve been waiting to see most of my life. Perhaps Clapton felt it was necessary to step it up and not let all these other greats show him up on his own festival. Or perhaps he has re-energized himself again for his live shows. Whatever the case, I’m happy to have him back showcasing his unique talent once again on the stage.

So if you were there, or are just a fan of great live performances, then this DVD set is for you. The approximate 4-hours is worth every bit of your time and will inevitably make you jealous you weren’t there.

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