anrynike Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I sometimes wish Clapton had stayed in one great band his whole career, I feel like we would have heard even better chit from him. Anyone else ever feel that way? What if he joined the Beatles way back when, not instead of George, but if they decided to have dulling axes? It could have happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anrynike Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 .. It wouldn't have to be the Beatles, just one band, the way Paige was with Zeplin after leaving Yarbirds, and the way Townsand was with the Who. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Namvet Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 "dulling axes" ? You jest of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I sometimes wish Clapton had stayed in one great band his whole career, I feel like we would have heard even better chit from him. Anyone else ever feel that way? What if he joined the Beatles way back when, not instead of George, but if they decided to have dulling axes? It could have happened. Funny you say that. What if, as was the original plan, Whitlock had gotten George and Dave Mason to be up front of The Dominos, and not Eric? Personally, I wish he had stayed with Whitlock and Radle, and worked it out with Gordon. That FREIGHT TRAIN rolled for hours with EC trying desperately to keep up, Let It Rain on the live record is a great example. Best Band That Almost Never Was EVER. So my vote would be the Dominos. After that, George Terry and them mooks including Radle from the mid 70's stuff on up to EC Was Here and the next couple. GREAT band. rct rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 ...... What if he joined the Beatles way back when, not instead of George, but if they decided to have dulling axes? ..... Guitar Gently Weeps Badge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbreslauer Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 i think Clapton ultimately became who he is because of the changes in bands. He did some great stuff with Delaney and Bonnie for example, not to mention Albert Lee. Personally, I wonder what would have happened had he been able to collaborate with Duane Allman longer... the stuff on that Dominos album was very promising. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I actually like his solo stuff and in some ways better than his band stuff. But the two are just different so I enjoy it all. However, I think if EC was able to write and produce albums the way he wanted to and NOT have the record company execs interfere then his sound and albums would be considerably different and probably better. I think most of them would be less pop oriented and more blues sounding. I think record companies get in the way of artistic freedom. Sometimes, that's good but often I think it can hinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Many things affect one's life. Any small variation in one's experience, any seemingly small decision can make a complete change in one's life direction. So... you can sit around and regret, or you can do with what you are when you are. That's true of Clapton who just hit 66 (older than I am by several months) or me - or the youngest teen on this board. Would I do things differently were I to have taken some different directions at 18? I could say, "Absolutely," but the bottom line is that it doesn't make any difference. I am where I am, and what and who that I am because of those decisions of my own and others I came into contact with. Ditto Eric. BTW, he did "Nobody knows you when you're down and out" on acoustic when? The 90s? I don't know the date, but I'd been doing it since the '60s and I'll wager he was too. But I can tell you, nobody cared about such stuff in the '60s except a tiny market segment. So... again, right, wrong or indifferent, what happened is what happened. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahKeen Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 What if Tiny Tim had joined Led Zep, and Jimmy Page had played Tiptoe Through The Tulips on his double neck?.... Fascinating! :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 "If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas!" What if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly? Clapton did what he wanted and, I would wager, with little interference from record producers. (No, I haven't read his book.) I think if he had stayed in any one band longer, he'd have been unhappy and less productive. It's hard to predict what might have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I doubt Mr. Clapton has many regrets about it all. I know I sure don't listening to his plethora of music he plays. And I'm only a recent Clapton fan, I didn't grow up on his music, I just started listening to it and it grew on me fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anrynike Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 I doubt Mr. Clapton has many regrets about it all. I know I sure don't listening to his plethora of music he plays. And I'm only a recent Clapton fan, I didn't grow up on his music, I just started listening to it and it grew on me fast. I love Clapton, don't get me wrong. I don't think he regrets anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 What if he joined the Beatles way back when, not instead of George, but if they decided to have dulling axes? It could have happened. Actually, it did...in the studio, at least. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," (Beatles) and "Badge," with George playing with Cream. George's "All Things Must Pass," had Clapton, among other's, all over it. EC's done just fine, really. I really like the diversity, of his choices, along his entire musical journey. Kept him, and the music, fresher, that way...IMHO. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 i think Clapton ultimately became who he is because of the changes in bands. He did some great stuff with Delaney and Bonnie for example, not to mention Albert Lee. Personally, I wonder what would have happened had he been able to collaborate with Duane Allman longer... the stuff on that Dominos album was very promising. Don Not sure if "hey man, put some slide on this" is collaborating. Whitlock was by far the major writer, with Clapton getting credits where maybe even he should not have. No Duane writing credits on that record. In fact, short of Little Martha, I don't think Duane has any even on the Allmans stuff. Stand Back maybe? And if you listen to, frinstance, Gordons half of Layla, the song would definitely be a lot better off without the maudlin slide meanderins. Serously. But I am a Dominos Nerd, so I am not to be trusted. No offense to any fans of Duane, I myself have more than 50 Allmans ticket stubs, though he was departed before I ever saw them. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 This may sound silly in ways, but I'd love to just sit and talk to EC over a coffee about our parallel childhood years in the center of the US compared to the UK, given that we're born the same spring and summer. Yeah, what music we heard likely would be a topic, but... I don't think too many of us on the board remember what a different world it was in the 1950s... Even my little sis, 2 years younger, has a lot more gentle sort of memories than I do and my little brother, only 5 years younger, a completely different set of memories of the 50s and early 60s. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Natural Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 What if Tiny Tim had joined Led Zep, and Jimmy Page had played Tiptoe Through The Tulips on his double neck?.... Fascinating! :o Imagine Tiny Tim with a double-neck uke.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FarnsBarns Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I can personaly assure you all that Clapton has zero interference from his publishing company or label. His A+R manager and any producer he works with will offer input but he gets the last word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbreslauer Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Not sure if "hey man, put some slide on this" is collaborating. Whitlock was by far the major writer, with Clapton getting credits where maybe even he should not have. No Duane writing credits on that record. In fact, short of Little Martha, I don't think Duane has any even on the Allmans stuff. Stand Back maybe? And if you listen to, frinstance, Gordons half of Layla, the song would definitely be a lot better off without the maudlin slide meanderins. Serously. But I am a Dominos Nerd, so I am not to be trusted. No offense to any fans of Duane, I myself have more than 50 Allmans ticket stubs, though he was departed before I ever saw them. rct yep, that's exactly what i mean. :) The Layla record is certainly great, and that band as a whole could have been so much more... we'll never know, of course. Clapton gives Duane Allman major props in his autobiography, which is what got me started wondering. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I can personaly assure you all that Clapton has zero interference from his publishing company or label. His A+R manager and any producer he works with will offer input but he gets the last word. I would have no doubts about that now, but I wonder about the early days either in one of the bands or early solo stuff. How about some of the stuff from the 80s? Although I enjoy even that 80s stuff it is definitely below par for what I think he is capable of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I would have no doubts about that now, but I wonder about the early days either in one of the bands or early solo stuff. How about some of the stuff from the 80s? Although I enjoy even that 80s stuff it is definitely below par for what I think he is capable of. EC, in the '80's, was just EC trying to stay viable, as a recording artist. He adjusted, to the times. It wasn't his usual fair, for sure, but within the context of that time, it was still better than most of the other stuff. I was glad, though, when he got away from all that, and back to what he does best...IMHO. Still, like you, I like some of his '80's stuff, just fine. One just has to put it, in context. Cheers, CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 The Eric Clapton story has kept me enthralled for 40+ years And as well mentioned earlier, one's life follows it's own path for better or worse I feel the need to mention John Mayall, who possibly initiated Eric's major rise to stardom after the(at the time) relatively mediocre Yardbirds Who also 'provided' the mega talents of Page and Beck IMO Eric has done things just right.... Friends with the Beatles, Hendrix, Steve Winwood, Bruce, Baker, Lee, Stones,+ all those American dudes I can't remember the names of... There is strength in staying with one great crew(ie Beatles) Or spreading it about a bit....or both..... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I'd say that Clapton, either by his own instinct or that plus good counsel, had managed quite a career in music. He needn't worry whence comes his next meal, nor whether a roof will protect him from the vicissitudes of weather. Changes in musical eras and pop music tastes have taken down more than a few musicians of various styles. Clapton managed to survive, and to survive better than most. What more might one say? I'd still love to talk not so much about musical fame, but about childhood influences from circa 1950 to 1960 to see how different his were from my own in that period. As a mid 60s folkie, then part-time rocker, then part-time country picker myself, I know how one makes certain adjustments to changing marketplaces - his simply at a far higher level. It's not, I think, a matter of selling one's soul as one changes with marketplaces, but more a matter of showing one's horizons may be broader than some other folks - cuz you can make it work and enjoy it. There may be some guitarists/musicians who can play but one style because of fences around their mind, but I think a lotta the really talented players have far more capability and interest but have channeled it for making a living. A lady friend of my Dad's whose career was in symphony orchestras was also a heck of an "old time" fiddler who had little or no audience for it as she saw things. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I'd say that Clapton, either by his own instinct or that plus good counsel, had managed quite a career in music. He needn't worry whence comes his next meal, nor whether a roof will protect him from the vicissitudes of weather. Changes in musical eras and pop music tastes have taken down more than a few musicians of various styles. Clapton managed to survive, and to survive better than most. What more might one say? I'd still love to talk not so much about musical fame, but about childhood influences from circa 1950 to 1960 to see how different his were from my own in that period. As a mid 60s folkie, then part-time rocker, then part-time country picker myself, I know how one makes certain adjustments to changing marketplaces - his simply at a far higher level. It's not, I think, a matter of selling one's soul as one changes with marketplaces, but more a matter of showing one's horizons may be broader than some other folks - cuz you can make it work and enjoy it. There may be some guitarists/musicians who can play but one style because of fences around their mind, but I think a lotta the really talented players have far more capability and interest but have channeled it for making a living. A lady friend of my Dad's whose career was in symphony orchestras was also a heck of an "old time" fiddler who had little or no audience for it as she saw things. m Milod...you're a journalist...go interview him! ;>) Won't hurt, to Try, anyway. Maybe you could freelance an article for one of the "trades," or industry magazines? Go For It! (Smile) PS...I'd be glad to come along, and do the photos! (Even though I know you do that, as well.) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 CB, I'd love to do either an interview or just a coffee conversation - for publication or otherwise. Alas, my passport expired ages ago... <grin> And you don't wanna know my work schedule through July 4. If Eric's reading... Hi... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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