A little while ago when I was watching the Pearl Jam Under Review disc, I felt that it was boring, predictable and almost pathetic, even for an unauthorized examination of the band. I think that for me this was due to the familiarity I had with the subject. However, on other bands I might not be as familiar with (or whose details have long since left my mind), such a documentary might actually be useful and even entertaining. That is the case with this more recent installment, which focuses on guitarist Eric Clapton and his work within the 1960s.

To say the least, his contribution not only to the British music scene but also to the rock music scene in general has been outstanding and well appreciated. Maybe he was not as cute as Lennon or McCartney, or as dangerous as Keith Richards, but he was the first that seemingly generated his charisma from his accomplished music playing. Guitarists tended to bring more personality than polish to the stage, and Clapton inverted it. At times, he would take steps NOT to be flashy, like performing at times with his back to the audience. Not many people were familiar of Clapton at the beginning of the '60s, but his impact at the end was noticed by anyone following music.

Clapton joined the famed English group the Yardbirds, and their English takes on some American blues artists' songs grew in popularity during Clapton's time in the band, playing with singers like Sonny Boy Williamson. Soon Clapton would become tired of the Yardbirds and joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers to seek out more of the blues music that he was craving and maintained a connection to. Clapton's talent grew to such a point during this time that the iconic "Clapton is God" message sprung up and was captured in a famous picture. Before long Clapton decided to leave the band and formed Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, and the group's success and fame grew to unknown heights, with songs like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room" remaining popular classic rocks to this day. The band's infighting and drug use eventually resulted in their dissolution in 1968 with a well-received album and concert. Clapton and Baker moved on to Blind Faith, where they met Traffic frontman (and later successful solo artist) Steve Winwood for an album and tour before moving on to Derek and the Dominos and a solo career of his own right in the '70s. But his impact on music in the previous decade could not be ignored.

That era is what Under Review focuses on. Compared to the Pearl Jam installment, there is far more participation by those who worked with Clapton in one form or another, including former bandmates like Mayall and former Yardbird Chris Dreja. The requisite contributions from biographers and music historians are also present. However, I guess with Clapton's breadth across music being so wide, there was going to be a person or two who could provide valuable information that might have filled a gap or two in Clapton anthology, particularly in lieu of his recent autobiography. And unlike the Pearl Jam installment, the Clapton version was more entertaining to watch, combined with the requisite mix of vintage Clapton performance footage, along with some old Clapton interview video to boot. It makes for a far more complete look at the time than I was expecting.

I can only hope that with this disc that the Under Review gang can show critical analysis and independent thinking and still come off as putting together a pretty good product on the subject they're covering, and the Eric Clapton episode does that, and keeps its 2-hour runtime going by smoothly. Here's hoping they put together similar consistently decent examinations on other musicians in the future.

Full frame video, which I can honestly say I wasn't surprised by considering the wealth of older footage of Clapton's performances, stills and slightly less older interviews. I couldn't notice any edge enhancement or picture touch-up during the feature (despite the ragged nature of some of the interview subjects), and the old footage is as good as it's going to look here.

Like the video, I can't really fault the two-channel stereo presentation because a good portion of the material is older and was done before the wonder of surround and such. But the feature's sound is in front of the viewer and is replicated accurately and without concern.

The incorrectly spelled "Sony Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds" (5:48) starts the bonus material with Dreja recalling the tour the Yardbirds did in support of Williamson. Next is "Paul Jones on 'Eric Clapton's Powerhouse'" (5:29), where the former Manfred Mann singer recalls the studio all-star group comprising himself, Clapton, Bruce and a slightly younger Winwood and talks about his memories from some of the sessions. "Bill Halverson on Cream's 'Badge'" (4:02) includes the engineer from the album as he talks about how the song came together. Biographies of the subjects of the piece complete the disc.

Eric Clapton Under Review certainly possesses more detail and relevance than the other installments in the Under Review series, and help to paint a picture of one of rock's best guitarists. Technically and supplementally it's underwhelming, but you're here to learn about Clapton, and that's what this feature does, and surprisingly ably at that.