50 years ago: Blind Faith “Can’t Find My Way Home” released on debut album

Can’t Find My Way Home Blind Faith

Writer(s): Steve Winwood (see lyrics here) Released: August 9, 1969 (album cut) First Charted: -- Peak: 4 CL, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 30.76 video, 49.31 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 1969, Eric Clapton had already established himself as one of the world’s premiere guitarists via his work with John Mayall, the Yardbirds, and Cream. Steve Winwood had developed similar credentials with stints in the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. When they united forces as Blind Faith – along with drummer Ginger Baker of Cream and bassist Ric Grech of Family – it made for “an unprecedented and arguably unmatched collection of talent and rock stardom.” UCR The collective made for one of rock history’s greatest supergroups, but they only recorded one album and ventured out for a one summer tour before splitting. Nonetheless, the album topped the UK and American charts and “the strength of its songs and performances have made it a lasting favorite for rock fans.” UCR Like British contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, and the Rolling Stones, Blind Faith “seemed to discover a similarity between American blues and soul music and the folk traditions of their own United Kingdom.” AMG While Clapton, Winwood, and Baker all contributed to Blind Faith, the “striking, dreamy piece” AMG “Can’t Find My Way Home” “stands out as the definitive statement.” UCR Winwood, “in a dreamy falsetto, sings a lyric that on first glance seems to be a simple love song, but in actuality might be intended to reflect a spiritual journey of some kind.” AMG He was also “blessed with amazingly soulful vocal abilities and an innate sense of American roots music.” AMG The song showcases his “sweet vocal floating atop the intricate acoustic guitar work,” UCR an uncommon role for Clapton, SF “while bassist Grech and drummer Baker provide subtle but effective rhythms to drive it along. Jimmy Miller’s warm and inviting production helps make the song all the more essential.” UCR Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Blind Faith DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eric Clapton DMDB encyclopedia entry for Steve Winwood AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (6/20/2013). “Top 100 Classic Rock Songs” WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/16/2022; last updated 7/22/2022.

50 years ago: Blind Faith released its only album

Blind Faith Blind Faith

Released: July 21, 1969 Charted: August 16, 1969 Peak: 12 US, 12 UK, 14 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK, 8.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Had to Cry Today (Winwood) [8:48] Can’t Find My Way Home (Winwood) [3:16] Well All Right (Alison/Holly/ Mauldin/Petty) [4:27] Presence of the Lord (Clapton) [4:50] Sea of Joy (Winwood) [5:22] Do What You Like (Baker) [15:18] Total Running Time: 42:01 The Players: Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, etc.) Eric Clapton (guitar, vocals) Ric Grech (bass, etc.) Ginger Baker (drums, percussion)

Rating: 3.971 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “When you look back over time at the various rock ‘supergroups,’ the one that really started it all was Blind Faith.” NO Eric Clapton, along with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker were part of Cream, a “massively popular blues-rock power trio.” TM The latter two “were frequently arguing, and there was considerable tension about their future musical direction.” AZ Clapton “jumped right back into another overhyped supergroup.” JR-25 He “wanted space to be a little adventurous” AZ and “sought out [Steve] Winwood for some informal jamming in early spring 1969.” TM The pair had “worked together briefly in the short-lived Powerhouse project” SW and Winwood had, while still a teen, “demonstrated deep appreciation of soul and R&B on several hits with the Spencer Davis Group” TM before fronting his own group, Traffic. After Baker turned up uninvited TM and Family’s Rick Grech (who later worked with Winwood in the reformed Traffic) was added on bass, “rock’s first supergroup was in place.” TM “Concert promoters rushed to book the band before any material had been completed, hence the band’s eventual name, Blind Faith.” SH With so little repertoire, the group relied in part on Cream songs in concert and while crowds went wild, it was exactly what Clapton wanted to avoid. “Refined through jamming, Blind Faith’s music was less dense and more transparent than that of Cream” TM by merging that group’s “heavy riffing and outsized song lengths” AMG with Traffic’s “soulful blues.” AMG Vocally, Winwood “sings like he’s got one last chance to redeem himself.” TM “Surrounded by Eric Clapton’s questioning lead guitar, the herculean drumming of Ginger Baker, and oceans of reverb, his voice became almost celestial.” TM “His performance on Sea of Joy, one of several originals he wrote for Blind Faith, is a marvel of optimism – at once perfectly formed and utterly spontaneous. His ecstatic vocals connect the rhythm section’s galloping roar to moments of placid, lakeside-at-sunset calm.” TM Highlights include “the virtuoso electric blues of Had to Cry Today, the acoustic-textured Can't Find My Way Home, the soaring Presence of the Lord (Eric Clapton’s one contribution here as a songwriter, and the first great song he ever authored) and Sea of Joy.” AMG “Not all of it works.” AMG “The band doesn’t do much with the Buddy Holly song Well All Right; and Ginger Baker’s Do What You Like was a little weak to take up 15 minutes of space on an LP that might have been better used for a shorter drum solo and more songs. Unfortunately, the group was never that together as a band and evidently had just the 42 minutes of new music here ready to tour behind.” AMG Aside from the music, there was “the controversial original cover with the 12-year-old girl and her airplane.” NO A later version “featured a black and white photo of the group taken at Clapton’s home in Surrey.” NO The group’s “self-titled debut, released in the summer of 1969, was a hit, but the extreme pressure on the group” SH and “Clapton’s greater interest in Blind Faith’s opening act Delaney & Bonnie & Friends” WK “led to their breakup even before the end of the year.” SH “Despite the crash-and-burn history of the band itself,” AMG “Blind Faith’s first and last album…remains one of the jewels” AMG in its individual member’s catalogs and “one of the true landmark albums of the rock era.” NO Clapton said of the album, “I think it’s a lovely record…It’s like it’s looseness. It’s like a supersession record.” JR-25 Notes: The 2000 Deluxe Edition adds “Sleeping in the Ground,” an electric version of “Can’t Find My Way Home,” an “Acoustic Jam,” and “Time Winds” to the original disc. A second disc of material includes four lengthy jams and another version of “Sleeping in the Ground.” It “is loaded with extra material. There are new expanded liner notes, rare session photos, and the cover art from both versions of the album.” NO

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eric Clapton DMDB encyclopedia entry for Steve Winwood AMG All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder AZ Amazon.com band bio SH Steve Huey All Music Guide bio on Steve Winwood NO TheNightOwl.com review by Steve Marshall TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. JR Jan Reid (2006). Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. Rodale Inc.: New York, NY. SW SteveWinwood.com bio WK Wikipedia bio on Steve Winwood Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 7/21/2012; last updated 11/9/2021.