The Clapton Controversy

jarcher · « **Reply #20 on:** 31 May 2013, 02:40 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 31 May 2013, 01:49 am

Unfortunately, the local radio stations shoved, 'I Shot The Sheriff", and "Layla", and "Cocaine", down our throats, so naturally....I disliked him.
It just got old. He just got old.

It was precisely because of that (and the song Beautiful Tonight) I didn't like him & thought he was overrated - until I was taken reluctantly to a concert and heard how incredible he was. I don't follow him since but have found his more recent "roots" albums decent.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #21 on:** 31 May 2013, 02:52 am »

Yes, thanks. He's got a song called "B Side", or something to that effect, that is just an awesome piece of guitar work.
Should be in the top ten instrumental guitar tracks of all time. Why I never heard that on "prime time" radio, I don't understand.

Delacroix · « **Reply #22 on:** 31 May 2013, 03:06 am »

Overall, I'd say I like the idea of Clapton better than the reality of Clapton

JerryM · « **Reply #23 on:** 31 May 2013, 03:11 am »

Quote from: Delacroix on 31 May 2013, 03:06 am

Overall, I'd say I like the idea of Clapton better than the reality of Clapton

Okay, that's a controversy.

geowak · « **Reply #24 on:** 31 May 2013, 03:18 am »

Here is an interesting video about Clapton and Hendrix jamming (almost) for the first time. Nice comment at about 2:11.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPJgtQwtVVA

Don't get me wrong I like Clapton alot.

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #25 on:** 31 May 2013, 03:29 am »

Quote from: Delacroix on 31 May 2013, 03:06 am

Overall, I'd say I like the idea of Clapton better than the reality of Clapton

Man, that's a great way of putting it. It's not that he "done got old". If anything, technically, he's a better player than he was back in the day. He's certainly a better singer. But I watched that clip of him doing Old Love that got posted early on and yeah, his playing is all fast and fluid, his tone is immaculate and the band is great but it just leaves me cold. It's like he worked at it for years until he finally found a way to squeeze all the dirty, gritty, sexy feel out of a form of music that is all about dirt and grit and sex and feel. Blues for the 'burbs. Meh.
B.B. King has walked that line for a long time too but as slick and Vegas-y as B.B.'s show is, I'd still rather listen to him than Clapton.

D.D.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #26 on:** 31 May 2013, 03:40 am »

Would I offer a new view on the subject?
The e-guitar is a rock instrument, but the best guitarist is not from rock, but from jazz or classical music.
Same thing on the piano, the best pianist are from classical music.
IMO

Warpspeed CE · « **Reply #27 on:** 31 May 2013, 05:32 am »

Gents, you gotta remember Clapton, Mayall and all the other Brit Blues bands brought Blues into white America and the rest of the world's consciousness. Blues was largely for blacks and their radio stations. Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, BBK, etc. finally got due recognition at home when they went to Europe and played with these guys...a way of paying back these American greats for playing/using their music.

Two words for Clapton -virtuoso, versatile.

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #28 on:** 31 May 2013, 11:48 pm »

Quote from: Warpspeed CE on 31 May 2013, 05:32 am

Gents, you gotta remember Clapton, Mayall and all the other Brit Blues bands brought Blues into white America and the rest of the world's consciousness. Blues was largely for blacks and their radio stations. Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, BBK, etc. finally got due recognition at home when they went to Europe and played with these guys...a way of paying back these American greats for playing/using their music.

Speaking for myself, I'm well aware that the British Blues Boom introduced a lot of people to the genre but the fact that ( young, white ) Americans got hip to the blues via having the British regurgitate their own indigenous music back to them probably says as much about the state of American society at the time as anything. Of course, there were also Americans working the same vein at the time - Mike Bloomfield with Paul Butterfield, a young Billy Gibbons and of course Johnny Winter for example. I find Winter in particular to be a lot more exciting as a blues musician than Clapton. There's a real fire in his playing that Clapton rarely musters.

That whole "Riding With The King" thing of working with blues giants isn't just selfless homage to those guys. It also serves to boost Clapton's cred as a
bluesman by association. Symbiosis. I'll say one thing in Clapton's favour though - he never got sued by Willy Dixon. Jimmy Page can't say that...

And if we need to appreciate Clapton because he introduced some folks to American black music even if we don't care for his approach or his recordings, then do we need to appreciate Pat Boone as well? He certainly introduced a segment of American society to a musical genre ( R'n'B ) they would never have experienced otherwise by sanitizing all the nasty aspects and making it "safe" to consume.

D.D.

SteveFord · « **Reply #29 on:** 1 Jun 2013, 12:22 am »

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think that Clapton produced a large body of tremendous music over the years.
Blues Breakers, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes, the Delaney and Bonnie era, Plastic Ono Band - it's all really good.
Each to their own, though.
I'm going to go put on Bell Bottom Blues and call it a night.

pumpkinman · « **Reply #30 on:** 1 Jun 2013, 01:35 am »

Quote from: SteveFord on 1 Jun 2013, 12:22 am

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think that Clapton produced a large body of tremendous music over the years.
Blues Breakers, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes, the Delaney and Bonnie era, Plastic Ono Band - it's all really good.
Each to their own, though.
I'm going to go put on Bell Bottom Blues and call it a night.

galyons · « **Reply #31 on:** 1 Jun 2013, 01:55 am »

Quote from: Diamond Dog on 31 May 2013, 11:48 pm

...

And if we need to appreciate Clapton because he introduced some folks to American black music even if we don't care for his approach or his recordings...
D.D.

IMO....

If real Blues were "Grits", Clapton is "Cream of Wheat". A talented, reasonable musician, but not a "Blues Man". Playing the blues is different from feeling the blues.

Cheers,
Geary

ctviggen · « **Reply #32 on:** 1 Jun 2013, 11:19 am »

I only have newer stuff from Clapton (having heard the older stuff so often I can't listen to it any more). Whenever anyone says about how great a guitarist he is, I just don't understand why. Maybe he's great, but in the music I have, the guitar playing seems to be secondary to the song and in the background. That's not what I expect from a guitarist. To me, comparing Stevie Ray Vaughn and Clapton, for instance, SRV seems on a different planet from Clapton. To me, there's no comparison -- SRV is 1000 times better.

I still like the music I have from Clapton, though.

orthobiz · « **Reply #33 on:** 1 Jun 2013, 11:33 am »

For me 461 Blvd. was the beginning of a steep decline. I hate to say it but after his kid fell out of the window, he became a darling of the media. And that "You Look Lovely Tonight" song is agonizing. Any self-respecting woman would reply, "so, that means LAST night I looked bad?"

Paul

mav52 · « **Reply #34 on:** 1 Jun 2013, 01:45 pm »

I like Clapton as a guitarist and his earlier work was heartfelt and to the point, but if you were a guitar player with the skills of Clapton and have played pretty much every type of music you wanted to play, I think being an artist you start to wonder, playing music that you might not have played when your were , say, younger... Your audience changes as you go older and he appears to be following his own direction and not his audience. But he is Clapton, has made enough money to live comfortably, has a strong following all over the world and now does his own thing.

Bob2 · « **Reply #35 on:** 24 Jun 2013, 04:59 pm »

I enjoyed much of Clapton's work. Naturally grew tired of I shot the sheriff and the others radio beat into the ground, ( can't stand to listen to radio anymore because of that). Seeing him at the Crossroads festivals was great. Seeing how much he thought of Sonny Landreth was an eye opener............ And he was right! Watching Landreth and Clapton play Hell at Home was very nice. I hope we see more good music from Clapton.

rajacat · « **Reply #36 on:** 24 Jun 2013, 05:18 pm »

OT here.....

Bob2 Is that your sailboat grounded on the reef?

pslate · « **Reply #37 on:** 24 Jun 2013, 05:36 pm »

Quote from: Delacroix on 31 May 2013, 03:06 am

Overall, I'd say I like the idea of Clapton better than the reality of Clapton

+1

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #38 on:** 24 Jun 2013, 06:01 pm »

Quote from: geowak on 31 May 2013, 03:18 am

Here is an interesting video about Clapton and Hendrix jamming (almost) for the first time. Nice comment at about 2:11.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPJgtQwtVVA

Don't get me wrong I like Clapton alot.

Great clip; thanks!

lokie · « **Reply #39 on:** 24 Jun 2013, 06:11 pm »

If you don't like him then you still should respect him. He has earned it and has grown old without embarrassing himself. I have to agree with some of the comments though regarding sometimes finding him a little boring. I've seen him many times and unless it's a unique circumstance, I won't be traveling too far to see him again. Having said that...

Regarding respect: every musician that enters his orbit shows nothing but the utmost respect and thrill at being on the stage with him. That includes people like Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Duane Allman, BB King, Paul McCartney and the list goes on and on. Ever see the tribute Keth Richards does for Chuck Berry? Chuck treats Kieth like a hack and just goes gaga over Clapton. Not only do the old masters love him, the young guys absolutely worship him. People like Robert Randolph, John Mayer, Derick Trucks, Warrem Haynes. So, if that's not enough for you to understand his greatness then there is just no reason to further the discussion regarding respect.

He has put out some really great stuff in the last 10 years. Here's a few of my favorite nuggets.
1. The concert for George DVD is just phenomenal. He was the music director and did the most tasteful job of rangling a bunch of super talented individual's into a coherent show. His "Something" duet with Paul McCartney is spine tingling. The context of the song (Harrison wrote the song about his wife that Clapton fell in love with and eventually married) and Eric and Paul trading lyrics is some of the most compelling rock video I have ever seen. And Clapton's performance both Guitar playing and singing is ethereal. The look McCartney's gives Clapton after the performance is priceless. A look that says that was really fantastic and that's from a guy who has seen fantastic.

2. The Guitar festival Erick puts on are full of wonderful Clapton moments. A few favorites is a set with JJ Cale. Never has a guitar looked so comfortable in a humans hands then Clapton playing those JJ's laid back Oklahoma smoldering grooves. And if you look closely, in the back of the stage, John Mayer and Rober Randolph straining their necks to watch these two old souls play. Pretty cool stuff. I also remember a a set with Steve Winwood among others.

3. If you want to hear Clapton play with the passion some say has left the old boy then you should listen to this: http://www.hittinthenote.com/cart/p-945-allman-brothers-band-br-beacon-theater-31909.aspx
Clapton sat in on two shows w the Allman Brothers in the winter of "09. If you like the Allman Brothers and you like Clapton... you will love these ceedees. The version of "Anyday" w Susan Tedeshi is the best version I have ver heard. Warren Haynes said that Clapton turned to him and said, " I haven't played like that in 20 years". Warren went on to say, that he thinks the swelling drive (two drummers, Oteil and greg on the Organ) had Eric all ramped up and was really putting it out there.

And one last thing. my favorite all time Clapton lp is Derick and The Dominoes Live at the Filmore. This two lp set is the pinnacle of his guitar playing prowess. He plays everything in these sets. Blues, wawa, laid back, moody. He just covers all the bases and his solos are face melters. Just the best of the best in my book.