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Explain Clapton to me...

freak show

By freak show
in The Gibson Lounge

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charlie brown

charlie brown

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Leave SRV out of it and I'll won't get started on the Beatles. How can a Band with No Singers or real virtuosic talent become so popular. [biggrin]

 

 

OT - Clapton knows how to put on a Show' date=' he knows how to arrange songs to fit his audience. He's one of the fines Lead Players of the last 50 and his rhythms are Impeccable. He has a nice character in his voice and he never sings out of tune or overpowers his vocal chords. Most of all, he knows how to surround himself with musicians that Compliment his abilities, not lesser musicians that would make him "Shine" by comparison. The music comes before ego, and he's earned an Ego the size of Axl Roses, he doesn't use it. Axl , on the other hand.......

 

So there you have it. [/quote']

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zigzag

zigzag

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Zigzag..Pete Townsend 'over-rated!!' ...he is the best British song writer ever..no doubt...then Ray Davies...I'm not talking Guitarist....I'm talking song writing.....Just check out 'Endless Wire' the last Who album....sounds like they made it in the 70's...eg still has edge' date=' great lyrics, hooky riffs..etc. etc..yet is relevant to today

 

Pete has not mellowed with age...he has just got better and better...[/quote']

 

Boyvay! I've heard all of PT's stuff dozens of times, and some hundreds of times, including his solo stuff.

 

I'll take Ray Davies over Pete Townsend any day, but for my money, Richard Thompson is the greatest British song writer and a better guitar player than Ray or Pete. That's just my opinion...

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BoyVader

BoyVader

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hhhmm..I'll beg to differ with you on that one...funny thing is, very few people who live in Britain have even heard of Richard Thompson...or his songs...I worked in the music 'business' for 6 years...touring, playing, crewing, etc...not once did anyone play one of his songs on the tour bus, mention his name, even recommend listening to one his albums. That is not the mark of a great songwriter in my opinion...but maybe I (and the rest of the UK population) just don't 'get' him...

 

There is no question he is a great guitarist though....shame about the beret!!! :-

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zigzag

zigzag

Posted
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hhhmm..I'll beg to differ with you on that one...funny thing is' date=' very few people who live in Britain have even heard of Richard Thompson...or his songs...I worked in the music 'business' for 6 years...touring, playing, crewing, etc...not once did anyone play one of his songs on the tour bus, mention his name, even recommend listening to one his albums. That is not the mark of a great songwriter in my opinion...but maybe I (and the rest of the UK population) just don't 'get' him...

 

There is no question he is a great guitarist though....shame about the beret!!! [lol

 

Yeah, like many musicians, some sound better if you don't have to look at them. And the thing about RT is that he's not a head banger, more of a folk ballad kind of guy, which doesn't attract a lot of attention. He's not real popular in the states either except in small circles and on college stations. Still, a great talent, IMO.

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retrosurfer1959

retrosurfer1959

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retrosurfer1959 wrote:

Clapton is like the Blues you gotta feel it to appreciate it, and if you don't then nobody else can explain it to you.

 

 

You mean feel like a middle aged, suburban, white guy?

 

 

(I kid, sort of).

 

---

 

 

So you think middle aged, suburban, white guy's can't understand the blues - trust me we are the new minority most of us understand the blues well and those that don't are learning.

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freak show

freak show

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Very interesting discussion. A lot of points have been made which are worth considering. Who knows? Maybe I'll learn to appreciate Clapton. Like I said at the outset, I really am curious about my "blind spot" regarding him.

 

To those who say: "Everyone's got an opinion. Some like coffee, others tea."

 

That's entirely true, but I never really intended to question the fact that people could like Clapton. Hell, my girlfriend likes Madonna! I don't understand it, but: "Different strokes", right?

 

My question pertained more to Clapton's godlike status. For example: A week or so ago we had a thread to the effect of "Page vs. Hendrix". Which of these two is "better" is a matter of opinion, but most would agree that these guys are in the same league. It would have been different, if the duel had been "Hendrix vs. Billy Joe Armstrong" -- or even against a really good guitarist for that matter, such as Billy Corgan. As much as I like the Smashing Pumpkins, I would never consider putting Corgan in the same league as Hendrix or Page. So my question was not: "How can you people like Clapton?" My question was: "Why do you think Clapton is in the same league as people like Hendrix and the others?"

 

The answer to this seems to be that Clapton was one of, if not the first person to bring the electric blues to the masses. The Yardbirds video that "evol" posted made this very clear to me: In my opinion the song sounds "hoaky" and outdated except for Clapton's solo there. He really did manage to introduce a modern touch.

 

I do understand that "time and place" can play a role in determining the status of an artist, but on the other hand, the greatest artists usually create timeless works: IMO Hendrix, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Sabbath, etc. sound extremely current. I wasn't around to listen to them while they were making their best music, but I find these bands very "modern".

 

One thing I did notice, while watching the video that "Cruzin" posted: Clapton does in fact make playing guitar look much easier than it actually is, so now I understand the nickname "Slowhand"...

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Hall

Hall

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If you have to have Clapton "explained" to you...you don't and won't get it' date=' anyway.

And..that's OK! I've never gotten (among others) SRV, really. I understand where

he was coming from, and...He was a great player, but...just didn't do anything spectacular,

to me, on a gut level. Hendrix and Albert King, did it so much better, to begin with.

So..."different strokes, for different folks!" EC, on the other hand, I've always loved!

But, that's just me! People like who they like, and don't who they don't! That's all.

 

CB[/quote']

 

 

+1.

 

And, Clapton just doesn't show off anymore. He likes to sing. And, he is, "content". The few times he decides to take over, that is exactly what he does.

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dbreslauer

dbreslauer

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Yeah, like many musicians, some sound better if you don't have to look at them. And the thing about RT is that he's not a head banger, more of a folk ballad kind of guy, which doesn't attract a lot of attention. He's not real popular in the states either except in small circles and on college stations. Still, a great talent, IMO.

 

i liked Richard Thompson until i saw him live: THEN i became obsessed. his performance blows away his recordings, easily. and because he's not one of the most popular guys in the US, its relatively easy to get great seats in small places (when he comes over here.)

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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I like Clapton's phrasing and sense of melody, but I don't consider him "god" by any stretch of the imagination. He's a good, strong player, and as many, I like his early work the best.

 

Put him next to a Jeff Beck and IMHO his technical chops pale by comparison.

 

But as I said before, I still like his playing, I'm just not awed by it.

 

? Notes

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brundaddy

brundaddy

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He doesn't deserve the status. I've got all his records' date=' seen him live twice (which was dull) and read his biography (which was quite interesting), but he's just a good guitarist. His playing during the 60s was very impressive and influencial and he had 5 very good years. But then he seemed to loose his edge during the 70s and 80s and produced some unremarkable, almost easy listening albums and living off past glories. I don't respect him for that and albums like Journey Man only reinforce this.

 

He was a good guitarist in his time, but he doesn't deserve his status.[/quote']

 

Well put.

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charlie brown

charlie brown

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"Clapton is God" was written by a "fan!' That myth, is perpetuated by "Fans," or Sycophants.

 

Eric is, for all his fame, pretty down to earth...and amazingly honest, with his faults. He's never

claimed to be "God," in any serious manner. In fact, he has said, many times, he'd prefer to be

a "Side man," more than a "Front man," or leader. He, to me, is still one of the best, at what he

does. Like him, or not.

 

CB

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Laaz

Laaz

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"Clapton is God" was written by a "fan!' That myth' date=' is perpetuated by "Fans," or Sycophants.

 

Eric is, for all his fame, pretty down to earth...and amazingly honest, with his faults. He's never

claimed to be "God," in any serious manner. In fact, he has said, many times, he'd prefer to be

a "Side man," more than a "Front man," or leader. He, to me, is still one of the best, at what he

does. Like him, or not.

 

CB[/quote']

 

+1 :)

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tazzboy

tazzboy

Posted
Posted
"Clapton is God" was written by a "fan!' That myth' date=' is perpetuated by "Fans," or Sycophants.

 

Eric is, for all his fame, pretty down to earth...and amazingly honest, with his faults. He's never

claimed to be "God," in any serious manner. In fact, he has said, many times, he'd prefer to be

a "Side man," more than a "Front man," or leader. He, to me, is still one of the best, at what he

does. Like him, or not.

 

CB[/quote']

 

Yes that is 100% correct.

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Quietly

Quietly

Posted
Posted

Album sales of 38.5 Million in the USA, a lifetime career in music and making a good living doing it shouldn't need explaining. God certainly not but one of the all time greats without any doubt. I'll take Jeff Beck any day of the week over EC when it comes to playing but maybe this article will explain Clapton a little if he really needs explaining.

 

http://www.guitarnoise.com/artist/eric-clapton/

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cookieman15061

cookieman15061

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Fact is whether you like him or not has no bearing on his status with his contemporaries.

He is admired and respected by all those that came after him. (read Beck and Page)

His biggest crime is he makes it look too easy.

 

I don't look at any guitarist as God (sorry Axe) but I know what I like and E.C. is one of em.

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milod

milod

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For a number of reasons my head was in several different musical directions and frankly, I didn't really listen to, or identify music with, Clapton until a few years ago.

 

But frankly I envy him and Mark Knopfler, BB, the late Carlos Montoya and Segovia and Chet Atkins and a number of other musicians, especially guitar pickers, who managed to make playing guitar a life they could enjoy.

 

As with all of us, I think the younger years are somewhat more frenetic and filled with tales of error and such; the later years after a "name" is made, with better music since it's a matter of heart they wish to do, as opposed to emotion they wish to let out.

 

Again, the "criticism" in terms of poetry by T.S. Eliot is, I believe, equally valid in music such as done by most guitarists regardless of style: it's best in retrospective reflection of the emotion rather than from the immediate emotion.

 

That's why older musicians tend to have phrasing far better than they did themselves in their younger years even if the physical side of their playing ability might have suffered a bit from the years. The same is true even vocally. Sinatra was much better in his 60s, from my perspective anyway, than when he was the hot young singer in his 20s. Johnny Cash could barely croak out words from some vids I've seen of his last recordings and yet... the phrasing and subdued passion...

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