Dear Mr Fantasy – A Celebration for Jim Capaldi

On January, 21, 2007, two years after his death, an impressive collection of musicians got together at London’s Roundhouse to pay tribute to Jim Capaldi.  Originally released in 2007 as a double CD and a DVD, this newly remastered edition contains the full concert on two CD’s along with the video on Blu-ray, available in that format here for the first time.  A diverse array of vocalists, including Paul Weller, Joe Walsh, Bill Wyman, Yusuf Islam, Steve Winwood, Gary Moore and Pete Townsend (many also playing their respective instrument) are backed here by a house band consisting of Mark Rivera , Ray Cooper, Simon Kirke (also singing on one song), Andy Newmark, Pete Bonas, Paul “Wix” Wickens and Dave Bronze.   Capaldi was best known as a member of Traffic, as well as for his numerous solo albums, and the performances here are a nice mixture of both, along with a couple of songs he co-wrote that were recorded by other artists.  “Let Me Make Something in Your Life,” a co-write with Winwood that was on his first solo album is performed here by Stevie Lange with Deep Purple’s Jon Lord on Hammond Organ, while interestingly Winwood sings closing song “Love Will Keep Us Alive”, a song that Capaldi wrote with Paul Carrack and Peter Vale and was recorded by The Eagles.  Winwood also pays tribute to his former bandmate with Traffic’s “Light Up or Leave Me Alone” and “Dear Mr. Fantasy”.  For the most part the performances stick pretty close to the originals, although there are a few little twists here and there including Kirke delving into “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in the middle of “Whale Meat Again” and Islam adding a snippet of his “Wild World” in “Man With No Country.”  Dear Mr Fantasy is quite a fitting tribute to Capaldi and definitely worth checking out.  It should also be noted that the show raised money for the underprivileged children of Brazil, a cause that Jim and his wife had supported for many years.  Another nice addition is the inclusion of the original tour program in the booklet.  (Unfortunately, I do not have the Blu-ray, so I can’t comment on that part of this reissue)

(Esoteric Recordings)