It’s been so long since I wrote a whole album of songs about Eric Clapton that I hardly remember why I did it in the first place. I guess the idea germinated when I was living in Seattle and teaching guitar there. I had a whole spate of middle-aged dudes, successful white-collar types, coming in and confessing their love for Old Slowhand. I started wondering what my students saw in him. I think they liked his boring music and bought into the Clapton-is-God hype. But I think they also saw a kindred spirit–a schlubby white guy with a guitar, neatly put-together with nice clothes and a tidy haircut–and they dreamed.They related. So, I wrote a song about it, and the original thrust of my song was that you, desk-jockey, actually have far less in common with Slow Oldhand (who, after all, was a ’60s icon) than you think. “It’s not very likely that he shares your point of view,” I sing in the refrain.
I’m not immune to Clapton’s good points. I like “Bellbottom Blues” and “Lay Down Sally.” “Presence of the Lord” is just the kind of thing you’d come up with if you didn’t write “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” but wish you had. His version of “I Shot the Sheriff” is unjustly maligned; it’s pretty good! Bob Marley was courting a wider audience with his cleaner, warmer original. If anything, Clapton’s grittier version sounds more like a Studio One classic.
But I have always found Clapton’s guitar playing dull, dull, dull. As the ’70s wore on–and, no doubt, heroin began hollow him out–he took on the style of B.B. King in Las Vegas: by-the-numbers, pentatonic-scale wankery. (I have a friend who can play Clapton-style licks at me until I am clutching my sides with laughter.)
Shortly after that, I began having thoughts about the music of the ’60s and ’70s. I hit upon the idea of using stations of Clapton’s life as a way to write about that period, the creche of the sort of art-rock I had been writing and performing since the ’90s. When I researched him and discovered he was kind of an asshole and probably a racist, I had a volte-face and thought, “You know, those desk-jockeys might have been onto something.” They may indeed share a point of view with Clapton.
On 7 Songs about Eric Clapton, I include songs about Robert Johnson and one about guitar teachers and one about Pattie Boyd, stirred in with others about heroin addiction and the mad zeal of irrational fandom. Does that about cover it? Well, it was enough for me. So, my band Constant Velocity toured the Midwest playing it and then recorded it.
7 songs about eric clapton by Constant Velocity
Have I piqued your interest? Well, now my offer to you. I will donate all of the proceeds of the sale of this album over the next week to the Act Blue thermometer that splits the funds between all of the eventual candidates. But if you’d prefer not to have Great Art in your life then you could just contribute directly. I suppose.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
I was going to engage in some dancing about architecture, but instead I managed to sync up the stream of “It’s Not Very Likely” with the kid across the street practicing drums.
The Moar You Know
Thank God, there’s someone else out there that doesn’t like Clapton. Can’t stand most of his work. Dull, as you say. And yes, I’m a musician, did I really need to tell you that?
Peter
I agree 100 percent; Clapton is the most overrated guitarist in rock history, with Trey Anastasio a close second.
Death Panel Truck
He peaked on the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton LP in 1966. It’s been pretty much downhill ever since.
Yeah, I said LP. I’m an old.
cmorenc
Hey, what’s wrong with the Pentatonic scales?
Someone who IS a great guitarist, but who far too often has far too much a taste for snooze-rock songs is Mark Knopfler. His “Sultans of Swing” is an absolute masterpiece, but far too much of Knopfler’s work simply puts me to sleep with its languid dullness, however technically good the composition and guitar work.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Peter:
Please tell the neighbor kids. The 11-year-old drummer was just joined by his bass player (also 11) and 13-year-old guitarist and they are Stratocasting “Sunshine of Your Love” all across the cul-de-sac.
ETA: I actually love that song, and the kids are rockin’ it.
joel hanes
Have I piqued your interest?
Rather the reverse.
Baud
No pet pics? Feating fail!
efgoldman
What happened happened to your imaginary friends, Ionean Steel and Mixolydian Steel? Haven’t seen them around these parts in ages.
rm
I have always maintained that Clapton does not understand Robert Johnson’s lyrics.
Peter
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Stratocasting ftw. That was the song that launched a million bands when it came out; funny that it’s still doing it. At least they’re playing actual instruments and not making EDM. Silver lining?
In related news, a friend of mine recorded a version of “Sunshine…” but changed into a 6/8 Moroccan Sha’abi groove and with the lyrics sung in Arabic by Hassan Hakmoun. It’s pretty awesome.
Peter
@efgoldman: They’re hanging out with Dorian Gray.
cmorenc
Someone who IS one of the world’s best guitarists who you might not suspect as such, if all you know of him is a (sometimes syrupy) country-ballad singer is Vince Gill.
AliceBlue
I have a soft spot for “Tales of Brave Ulysses” and “SWLABR.” (And Ginger Baker’s drumming too).
Haydnseek
If he’s such a fucking racist, then someone needs to explain to me why he spent a fuckton of money to start the Crossroads rehab clinic in Antigua.
Doug R
Heard Clapton’s a bit of a right wing tool.
chopper
@Peter:
totally.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Peter:
I would LOVE a link to this, if it exists online somewhere.
Amir Khalid
Clapton is the only rock legend I’ve ever seen live. (The others have never played KL.) I’ve always felt he plays like a guitar teacher rather than like a rocker — all neat and proficient, but for me his style never manages to catches fire like some less accomplished players can. As an aspiring guitarist I aspire to play like a Jimmy Page or a Pete Townshend or a Chuck Berry or a Keef or a Brian Setzer. (I already know I can play like Neil Young.)
Haydnseek
@Amir Khalid: No you can’t.
No Drought No More
Maybe you had to be there, but I’ve always considered Cream with Clapton as laying the table for Jimi Hendrix, and pointing the direction the best rock of the 60’s and early ’70’s ultimately took. No band- a trio, on top of that- had sounded like they did before they hit. And before Cream came his Yardbirds work. As to his later work, keep in mind what John Lennon said about The Beatles, i.e., they may have been the flag on top of the mast, but they were moving with the ship along with everyone else. I believe the stars were aligned in the 1960’s for a musical carnival of creativity- and across a spectrum of genres- for reasons that could never be replicated, and has yet to be equalled. That Clapton loomed large that decade is proof enough of his musical virtuosity and contributions. Beyond that, his is a sound like any other when critiqued- you either like it, or you don’t, or it’s hit and miss. Music being an entirely subjective experience, and all..
John Revolta
Clapton burned out on being the Guitar God after Cream, or D&theD at the latest and decided he wanted to be more of a singer instead. Fine.
Nonna my business.
Somebody asked him a few years ago how it felt to be the world’s best guitar player and he said “I don’t know. Ask Prince”.
Amir Khalid
@Haydnseek:
I can too. Well, very approximately.
Peter
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Et voilà. John Medeski on organ and mellotron. This was my wedding band.
Rasputin's Evil Twin
Years ago in Newport someone pointed out his yacht, “Blue Guitar”, to us. Mrs. Rasputin tried to imagine B.B. King writing the “Ain’t Got No Yacht Blues”. We figured Clapton probably his his own spaceship, considering his income.
Ten Bears
Kinda’ hard to not not like his AM pop tunes.
Haydnseek
@Amir Khalid: Look Amir. I like you. Even if you are a Liverpool supporter (c’mon you Spurs!) Everybody here likes you and for the best of reasons. But you’re still at a certain point on the learning curve that Neil Young forgot about fifty years ago. Please, don’t misunderstand or think I’m being dismissive of your efforts. I’m an old fart who’s been playing guitar for forty-five years. I realize your response to my original comment was a bit flippant and funny, but much of what we as players consider mere “technique” comes with wisdom that is hard earned. Please don’t get me wrong. I say this with love, and please, never stop playing and learning.
jazzman
@Death Panel Truck: Exactly. The “Clapton is God” meme started with Blues Breakers, and that album still holds up remarkably well today. John Mayall had a terrific band (England’s answer to Paul Butterfield, you could say) and Clapton was a big part of it.
Cacti
Hey look, it’s an internet guitar virtuoso wanking about how “Clapton sux man!”.
How clever and not at all tired and cliched.
mike in dc
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: Sunshine of Your Love was, as I understand it, influenced by the Cream’s exposure to Hendrix. When the Cream disbanded, Hendrix occasionally played his own instrumental rendition of SOYL as a tribute. With respect to the original post, I have noticed a certain “strain” of guitarists and fans who will praise blues-rock guitarists like Clapton, Beck, Page et al, and then get “weird” when talking about Hendrix. “Well, he, uh, was a great song writer, but, you know, he couldn’t read music, other guitarists have surpassed his feats, etc.” It’s a weird kind of defensive racism, wanting to avoid what to them is an uncomfortable truth: Hendrix is head and shoulders above those guys, and deserves all the accolades he gets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp42JpL08Jg
The Moar You Know
.
@cmorenc: Vince Gill is one of the modern Nashville studio gods. That guy has forgotten more about guitar playing than I’ve ever learned. Simply phenomenal. Guess he wanted the big boy money and so he does what he does, that’s fine. We all gotta make what we can however we can. I’d rather be Gill than Trump, right?
germy
@mike in dc:
True.
Peter
@mike in dc: Especially SRV fans. Jimi was (and remains) sui generis and the GOAT.
germy
“But he was drunk when he said it!”
We can thank Eric for Rock Against Racism, anyway.
Cacti
@Peter:
Which is just bizarre, because without Jimi, there is no SRV.
trollhattan
Can’t discuss Clapton without considering The Yardbirds, but without liner notes it’s challenging to listen and pick out Clapton from Jeff Beck and even Jimmy Page. Then there are the Bluesbreakers live recordings where Peter Green fills in for Clapton and mimics him perfectly.
Lots of talent during that period, phenomenal really.
Mike R
@mike in dc: Whenever I see pictures of Hendrix’s fingers I get green with envy.
joel hanes
@AliceBlue:
I have a weak spot for
the second guitar solo in “Badge”, which is left as an exercise for the listener
and for “Presence of the Lord”
Haydnseek
@germy: Was he drunk when he established the Crossroads rehab clinic in Antigua?
James E. Powell
@Haydnseek:
Just guessing, but standard empire to colony relationship? With both labor and government officials available at bargain prices?
Shana
@cmorenc: Making Movies is one of the great albums of all time. A desert island disc. Except for Les Boys perhaps, and even on some days I like that one.
Haydnseek
@James E. Powell: Just guessing, but do you normally keep your head so firmly up your ass?
scott (the other one)
You know, I hear an awful lot of “Clapton is overrated” stuff these days, so much that I wonder when he’s going to legitimately cross over into the “underrated” category. And there’s no question he does not and never has had the technical abilities of a Hendrix or Beck, much less a Malmsteen or Satriani or Vai.
But I think about the fact that Jimi Hendrix was a huge fan of Clapton’s, that Muddy Waters and B.B. King never had anything but praise for him as a musician and a person, and that he’s one of the relatively few contemporary—meaning more or less the same age—musicians who Bob Dylan has always held in such high regard. And I’m not saying that any or all of those gentlemen are necessarily inherently correct when it comes to their musical tastes. I’m just saying that they clearly have a much greater, much deeper understanding of music, on almost every level, than I. So if they all think he’s great, and I don’t? That I’m almost certainly missing something.
Fortunately, I do think he is, or at least was, great. Although, as someone up above said, by the early 70s, he’d very consciously decided to move away from being a guitar hero and concentrate on being a singer, which accounts for much of his lack of later six-string firepower. Also, anyone who can’t hear that Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is a complete and total masterpiece of an LP from stem to stern—largely but not even remotely entirely due to Duane Allman’s presence, yes—is pretty much automatically disqualified from being taken seriously, when it comes to guitar, music or rock criticism in general, and Eric Clapton in particular.
Peter
@Cacti: Truth, but not exactly bizarre. It’s the same colonial attitude that propelled the entire British pantheon to fame, notwithstanding their talent: repackage African-American music for white people. Hell, it worked for Elvis. Jesus, look at Joe Bonamassa; it’s still a growth industry.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@cmorenc:
I’m not a musician, nor do I play one on TV, but I do agree with you about Knopfler.
He’s done some great stuff, but a lot of his production might as well be Benzo Barry Manilow.
That said, I saw a great (fictional) book title in a Harry Potter fan fiction: From Gabriel’s Horn to Knopfler’s Axe: How Magical Sound Changed the World.
Someone ought to write that book for real. ?
mad citizen
Why is Eric Clapton like coffee?
They both suck without cream.
I’ve never been much of a Clapton fan, and agree with with the boring label. I’ve come around to his 1960s work, but it’s not something I week out to hear. I recall hearing one of his Robert Johnson covers and thinking damn, that’s the thinnest white boy voice I’ve ever heard trying to sing the blues. I remember hearing that dame Lay Down Sally song on the school bus in junior high pretty much ever single morning. And thinking, I thought this guy was a guitar god–this song is fluff.
scott (the other one)
@John Revolta: I remember reading a story in Musician magazine, I think it was, sometime in the late 80s. Clapton was soundchecking at the beginning of a tour and one of the new roadies stopped and just watched, gobsmacked, as Clapton started shredding. “I didn’t know he could still play like that!” the roadie said. “He can,” one of the others replied. “He just doesn’t want to.”
germy
With the originals like Robert Johnson widely available, I find myself listening to those old recordings. Rather than the cover artists.
mad citizen
Well Neil Young is my all time favorite because of the feeling…and Old Black, the Les Paul. I don’t know if it’s the guitarists themselves or the tone of the instrument, but when I don’t like guitar stylings (BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Phish guy, Clapton), I usually find out they are playing a Statocaster. I do make a big exception for Hendrix.
Guitar Gods, the thread could be endless. I do love Nels Cline of Wilco–excellent shredding!
mike in dc
I think Clapton is a great guitarist and excellent blues player, but I also agree with the “a little dull, on balance” assessment. He plays very “clean”, the solos are soulful and technically adept…but if you put a gun to his head and told him, “play as sloppy and wild and balls to the wall emotional as you can”, he’d likely come up a little short. His early work is great, and post-1975 you pretty much have to evaluate him as a singer-songwriter who happens to be a very good guitar player.
Peter
@scott (the other one): I’m a big fan of Bill Frisell; he has incredible chops (that extend to the farthest reaches of jazz) and mostly doesn’t use them any more. But in his case, his playing is so beautiful I don’t miss the virtuosity. In Clapton’s case I do, because his super safe, super clean playing is super boring.
germy
My favorites are Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery. I never get tired of them.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Peter: Thanks! That’s really terrific. I wish they were closer to SF, or I had an excuse to be closer to Cambridge.
Gin & Tonic
@John Revolta:
He only said that because Frank Zappa was already dead.
chopper
@Haydnseek:
wow, somebody loves clapton.
joel hanes
@mike in dc:
play as sloppy and wild and balls to the wall emotional as you can
Later in life he learned the virtue of restraint, and that the notes that you don’t play are as important as the ones you do.
Peter
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: They don’t tour very much. But that track is on a record, and their most recent live album is great.
mike in dc
@joel hanes:
Which is fine. He found his niche. Of course, the best of those “sloppy and wild” players were also highly capable of nuanced, restrained play.
clay
@mad citizen: I think Nels Cline and Nils Lofgren should form a guitar supergroup.
Davebo
@Cacti: Umm.. Ok.
But there’s more to SRV than Voodo Chile and Little Wing.
laura
@Haydnseek: I’ll take a stab at it. Antigua has long been a tropical getaway for British royalty and the wealthy. Favorable taxation. Remoteness, so if getting into recovery is helped by the beauty of the setting and the difficulty pulling a runner, Antigua makes sense.
He may or may not be a racist and a mysoginist, but he sure ain’t a guitar god. Prince was, Keith Richards is, but my money’s on Slash.
scott (the other one)
@Peter: Fair enough. I don’t exactly agree, but I don’t entirely disagree either, and either way, I love Bill Frisell and it’s always pleasant to see his name bandied about in the wild.
Haydnseek
@laura: If you will read my comment, I merely commented on the front pagers link to something that said that Clapton was a racist. I correctly discussed his rehab facility on Antigua. I said nothing about their colonial history. I’m sure the dozens of people who are now sober aren’t as concerned about British colonial history as you are. I doubt if the people who are clean as a result of Mr. Claptons efforts are especially worried about his status as a guitar god as you are. I certaintly ain’t.
germy
@Haydnseek: Clapton is fine with Antiguans, as long as they stay in Antigua.
trollhattan
@Davebo:
The sessions Stevie did with Albert King are both wonderful and testament to his range and versatility. Albert was notoriously prickly and his admiration for Stevie shines through. Like a lot of our “guitar heroes” we’re left pondering the recordings we’ll never hear. Marc Bolan, Tommy Bolin, Rory Gallagher, Dwayne Allman, Mike Bloomfield, John Cippolina…hard to know when to stop listing.
MCA1
@scott (the other one): Amen to your last sentence in particular. One of the underappreciated things about Eric Clapton was his ability to play well with other guitarists (and even take a backseat sometimes). That album is a particularly good example, and has 4 or 5 amazing jams that could continue forever if they hadn’t stopped recording – Tell The Truth, Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad, Anyday, Keep on Growing in addition to the title track. He may have been a little less than advertised as a blues man, but the dude could find a groove and mine the shit out of it when paired with the right partners.
Don’t disagree with some of the “overrated” claims since for a long time it felt like there were oodles of people who would even entertain the idea that Clapton wasn’t in some upper echelon way above all others, that Page, Hendrix, Allman, Vaughn and all the rest weren’t even in his league or something. But the backlash has probably swung the pendulum too far.
Would have been interesting to see whether people had a higher or lower opinion of his talents had he ever gotten comfortable with one outfit and not exploded every promising band he ever started. A 20 year catalog with one band and an eventually evolving sound instead of lurching all over the place while all those legendary bands of the era racked up classic album after classic album. Might have had effects in either direction, really.
germy
@trollhattan: Charlie Christian was only 25 when he died. We lost a lot of music.
laura
@Haydnseek: how about you “mansplain your bullshitting tut tut little lady, a MAN is talking about recovery here” and eat a bag of salted dicks.
And kiss my godamn ass while your at it. And then fuck off.
Rex
It’s still staggers me that Beck, Page and Clapton all came through the same band.
I’ve found that my distaste for Eric Clapton post-1980 makes me forget his accomplishments in Cream, which are substantial. Led Zeppelin was my first true love and Page will always be on a pedestal. But Jeff Beck has crushed the other two in terms of total musical accomplishment and virtuosity, in my opinion. His riffs might not resonate like the opening of Whole Lotta Love or Sunshine of My Love but, at 70 years old, he is still making great albums that sound new. His album Loud Hailer from a couple of years ago is just awesome.
tybee
eric clapton is god
cleek
in his heyday, he was something special. but by today’s standards, Clapton wouldn’t even rate a mention in a local weekly. 40 years of players have studied and digested everything he ever played and now guys with great chops playing blues/blues-rock in front of loud amps are a dime a dozen.
it happens to everyone. there are scores of expressionless teenage Japanese girls on YouTube playing everything EVH ever did. you can learn every classic guitar solo from three different people for free on YouTube. it’s all been figured out.
it takes a real pioneer to stand out as a guitar player, these days.
but, if we’re talking about underrated classic guitar players, let me throw two names out there: Lindsey Buckingham and Elliot Easton (Cars).
Adrian Lesher
Clapton has recently apologized for and expressed shame for his racism. It was a real thing. https://www.thedailybeast.com/eric-clapton-apologizes-for-racist-past-i-sabotaged-everything
germy
@cleek: Bruce Thomas is one of my favorite bass players.
mike in dc
@germy: I still maintain that Hendrix dying at 27 was the single greatest loss for rock/pop music(possibly for guitar or 20th century music generally), among all the early deaths in pop/rock. He produced all that work in the space of 3-4 years! And was still growing as an artist. Would have been a gigantic figure in the 70s, maybe into the 80s, and still influential into his 50s and 60s, most likely. There’s a million different directions he could have gone in.
Wes Montgomery died early too.
2liberal
the crossroads center has 36 beds. His racist outburst was 40 years ago.
racist history
crossroads centre
otmar
I have a soft spot for Clapton’s work in https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pros_and_Cons_of_Hitch_Hiking
germy
@mike in dc:
And I have no idea which direction he would have taken. I’ve had different people give me different opinions about what he would have been playing in the 70s, 80s and beyond.
Anotherlurker
I have nothing but admiration for Clapton, but found the solo years to be a bit dull and middle of the road.
For my $, in Rock and The Blues, I love a raw sound. Think Billy Gibbons, Alvin Lee, Joe Gooch (Alvin Lee’s replacement with TYA, Joe Walsh, J.W, etc. However, Michael Bloomfield still blows me away and you could never call his playing raw..
Branch out into Jazz Guitarists and you are presented with the glorious likes of Eddie Lange, Charlie Christian, Django!, Les Paul, John Jorganson, Stephen Wremble, Wes and myriad others.
There is so much wonder music and so many talented musicians, we really do enjoy an embarrissment of riches.
germy
@Anotherlurker: Eddie Lang was another tragedy. Died too young after minor surgery.
Steeplejack (phone)
@otmar:
Let me run that through the translator for you.
cleek
given Clapton, there’s a plausible timeline where Hendrix would have bottomed out, mellowed out, and started doing ballads and sleepy blues covers with someone else handling half of the solos.
he was burning way too brightly to keep it up for much longer.
or he could have settled into the jazz world and become a peer of John McLaughlin
clay
@mike in dc: There’s a strong argument for Buddy Holly. His career was basically two years. Who knows what he would’ve done next?
The Fat Kate Middleton
Ask Paul Westerberg and his ‘Mats to “play as sloppy and wild and balls to the wall emotional as you can”, and you’ll get it. Probably the sloppiest, drunkest concert I ever attended was Drive-By Truckers. It was awesome. Some of the new kids I like nowadays are July Talk – esp. “Guns and Ammunition.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU5qp-cAtOU&ab_channel=SleeplessGroup ( I don’t do this often – hope it works.)
ETA ’cause I can’t type.
mike in dc
@cleek: Even 3-5 more years of output at that level would have been spectacular. My guess would have been leveling off a bit around his mid-30s, having a bit of a slump in his late 30s/early 40s, and then a renaissance, producing interesting stuff into his 50s and 60s.
James E. Powell
@cleek:
Hendrix moving toward jazz was likely as he & Miles Davis were talking about getting together at the time just before Hendrix’s death.
Magda in Black
“by-the-numbers, pentatonic-scale wankery.”
Thank you ! I have always used the term ” formulaic” for his music, tho I admit a weakness for “Bell Bottom Blues”
Jewish Steel
@AliceBlue: I like Cream generally. Ginger Baker is definitely one of the architects of rock drumming.
@Haydnseek: Guilt?
@Amir Khalid: Tight but loose. Totally.
Jewish Steel
@Ten Bears: He’s a good pop song writer!
@Cacti: I’m a virtuoso? Nice! That’s going right on on the press packet.
@mike in dc: Abso-fucking-lutely.
scott (the other one)
@cleek: Well, sure. But I doubt there’s a first-year trumpet player at Julliard—or at Curtis or Eastman or Hartt or…—unable to flawlessly play every solo Miles Davis ever played, only much cleaner and with far superior intonation. Same goes for anything Satchmo ever played, despite the fact that he was a phenomenon at the time. Hell, the same goes for anything Hendrix ever played. (Although in that case you might need to test the third years and not the first.)
You’re spot-on with your two underrated guitarists.
Jewish Steel
@germy: Yup! The Guardian had a great set of pictures from that era recently. I think this was it: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/06/rock-against-racism-book-syd-shelton-clash
@mad citizen: Classic Clapton zinger!
@otmar: God, how I love that album. Not to everyone’s taste to be sure.
Jewish Steel
@cleek: I’ve had the same thoughts about Hendrix. Or maybe he would have come up with some third, unexpected thing? Ugh. What a waste.
Jewish Steel
Looks like a pretty even split between Clapton haters and likers. Maybe haters have the slight edge.
The iso of While My Guitar Gently Weeps truly is a thing of beauty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVxPdA6TxCI
Now, let us never speak of him again.
Caphilldcne
Dang. I’m always late to these threads. My parents are sort of pre-60s and were really conservative til I came out as gay (we had a rough two years with that but they’re cool). We listened to a lot of stuff like Peggy Lee and Glen Campbell back then. Anywho Dad really got turned on to Clapton maybe 10 years ago. They live in Alabama these days (Doug Jones voters!) I got a real laugh when he asked me if I’d ever heard of some Clapton guy. Pretty sure it was Tears in Heaven that they heard first but then he went deep into their catalogue. Anyway they went to see him at like the upper tier of some arena show in Birmingham about 6 years ago. Not good! “All these kids (pretty sure that means 50 you) were yellin’ and drinkin’ couldn’t hear anything and the seats were concrete and it took 2 hours to get out of the parking garage”. Anyway the upshot is he’ll stick with Willie Nelson thank you.
As for guitar heroes I’m all about Elmore James and Buddy Guy and Albert King for good measure.
John Revolta
@Jewish Steel: I’d like to think G Baker is an architect of what you said-he was part of my Holy Trinity growing up (along with Moon & Mitch Mitchell)- but sadly, the guy who influenced the most people was Bonham. His plodding emphasis on the backbeat did nothin for me but that’s the style that won out over the freestyle way those other guys played. Come at me, Bonzoheads.
@Caphilldcne: Yeah well, speaking of guitar players who would rather be singers, Glen Campbell could play rings around half the guys mentioned here. FWIW.
Captain C
@The Moar You Know: I first heard this side of Vince Gill on Mark O’Connor’s album The New Nashville Cats. Gill does some absolutely scorching solos on “Restless.”
Jewish Steel
@John Revolta: As we were recording today our new drummer laid down the beat from Fool in the Rain. So groovy! I think that’s a JP Jones one, so the rhythm section is super locked down.
Caphilldcne
@John Revolta: good point! Actually I like Glen. It just wasn’t too hip to say that in the 70s and 80s.
debbie
No love for Jorma??? Chumps.
john fremont
@mike in dc: Interesting that a lot Hendrix’s guitar solos are in the minor pentatonic scale. What he could improvise out of that one scale is still incredible.
john fremont
@cleek: Hendrix wanted to study guitar out in LA with session great and Jazz virtuoso Howard Roberts to expand his musical knowledge. Jimi also was a fan of Chicago and especially their guitarist Terry Kath. Hendrix heard things that he wanted to do in Chicago’s style.
As far as Eric Clapton goes I think he deserves the accolades although at times throughout his solo career from the 461 Ocean Blvd days he does get set in his comfort zone with his guitar playing. Then again, he said he wasn’t so inspired with the guitar hero thing after when he started listening to the Band’s Music From the Big Pink and JJ Cale. Still, In the early 70’s , he was invited to play on so many albums by many different artists so I think that says something about his musicianship. He appeared on albums by George Harrison, King Curtis, Leon Russel, Stephen Stills, Aretha Franklin and so many more to give that Clapton touch. The Band invited him to guest at their farewell show documented in The Last Waltz.
Julia
Dead thread, but I believe Vince Gill is going out on tour with the Eagles soon.
marv
@scott (the other one): One hell of a post – followed you from start to finish
J R in WV
@Gin & Tonic:
@John Revolta:
He only said that because Frank Zappa was already dead.
cleek
@Jewish Steel:
he could have just fizzled out like EVH – still making records, but to an ever-dwindling audience.
all kinds of depressing possibilities!
grubert
I’m a semi-pro, and while I don’t come to Balloon Juice for music writing and will skip anything that smells of fan-boy, it’s good to see someone not bow down to the White Blues Pope Eric Clapton.
grubert
Aaand after reading the whole thread, guess I could reconsider my attitude toward him..
scott (the other one)
@marv: Aw…thank you! That’s really nice to read!