| In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre at Antigua | |
| Director: | Joel Gallen |
| Producer: | Joel Gallen |
| Starring: | Eric Clapton |
| Cinematography: | Kevin Mazur |
| Editing: | Bill DeRonde |
| Distributor: | Warner Bros. Records |
| Runtime: | 108:00 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre at Antigua is a live concert film featuring performances by the British blues musician Eric Clapton and invited friends, such as David Sanborn, Sheryl Crow, Mary J. Blige and Bob Dylan. The DVD and VHS formats were released on 26 October 1999 under license of Warner Bros. Records. The concert tickets revenue was donated to the Crossroads Centre Foundation. It was the first Crossroads Guitar Festival, although titled differently at the time.[1] The release reached various national charts and sold more than 225,000 copies worldwide.
In Australia, the video album release was awarded a Platinum disc for shipments over 15,000 DVDs in 2005 by the Australian Recording Industry Association. In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre at Antigua reached position two on the official music DVD chart compiled by the Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos in Brazil and was certified with a Gold disc commemorating the sale of more than 25,000 copies in the country. In Denmark, the concert film reached number five on the Hitlisten Top 10 music video albums chart and was awarded a Gold status for DVD and VHS shipments of 25,000. The 1999 release peaked at number one on the Portuguese music video chart, selling more than 16,000 copies while on charting. It was certified double Platinum by the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa in January 2000. In Sweden, In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre at Antigua reached number nine on the Sverigetopplistan-chart. It was certified with a Gold disc on 28 October 1999 – two days after its release and quickly achieved a Platinum award on 29 October the same year. In the United Kingdom and the United States, the release was awarded a Gold and Platinum presentation by the British Phonographic Industry and the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of respectively 25,000 and 100,000 units. In Portugal and Brazil, the video reached the year-end music DVD charts of 2000, where they placed themselves on rankings thirty-one and forty-five.
The Portuguese music journalist João Santos calls the video album "a great picture with great sound" for his review in the daily newspaper Público. He also notes "Eric Clapton having a fantastic performing ability", which is presented "in full circle" in the music movie. Santos also likes the "various special guests either singing or playing" on In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre at Antigua. He rated the release with five out of five stars. AllMusic critic Heather Phares calls the track listing "a somewhat routine selection of Clapton's hits" and adds that "his collaborations with the aforementioned guests add some interesting twists". For his review, Phares notes "the unusual combination of Blige and Clapton […] works surprisingly well". Coming to the conclusion, the AllMusic critic thinks the release "is not Clapton's most inspired concert video and the disc offers little in the way of extra features, [but] still may please his hardcore fans". Phares awards the concert film three out of five possible stars. Critics from the music website Guitar Nine liked the Dolby Digital surround sound.[2] Music journalists from Examiner.com called the release "great".[3]
| Chart (1999–2002) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Brazilian Music DVD (ABPD)[4] | 2 | |
| Danish Music DVD (Hitlisten)[5] | 5 | |
| Portuguese Music DVD (AFP) | 1 | |
| Swedish Music DVD (Sverigetopplistan)[6] | 9 |
| Chart (2000) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Brazilian Music DVD (ABPD) | 45 | |
| Portuguese Music DVD (AFP) | 31 |