Clapton...

57Deluxe

...you had to have been there...

ronnyb

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

randerson

Bridgehouse said:

randerson said:

I think a point to make is, the electric guitar as an instrument has evolved so fast in such a short space of time, and the time an place of the guitarist in question is extremely relevant.

Listen to a solo on a 'barely' electric guitar in 1946 (the year Clapton was born) and one in 1986. Hardly sounds like the same instrument. Yet each learned from what came before. Case in point: Eddie Van Halen's main inspiration? Eric Clapton.

I think that guitarists revere guitarists too much. 

OK, so the instrument developed quickly, but you could argue that the synth developed at a much more rapid pace and invited a much higher degree of innovation without the same revered-labelling being applied to synth players. 

I actually think the “influence” thing has, if anything, held back development of how the guitar could be used in music, and maybe, just maybe, it would be more influential today without the constant stream of historical navel gazing at bygone blooze greats....

I may need to be educated here re. synths admittedly, but to me the sounds synths were capable of certainly evolved quickly, but I'm not sure the approach towards the instrument changed in as many ways.

Sure Herbie Hancock plays synth on 'Rocket' a little different than he does piano on Miles Davis records. But does the approach of Jan Hammer, Rick Wakeman, George Duke etc. to their instrument really vary as wildly as Hank Marvin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tom Morello for example? I appreciate that Brian Eno took things in a new direction, but in guitar world I see more of it. Again, perhaps because I know that world better?

On your second point I top my hat.

soma1975

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

Bridgehouse

randerson said:

Bridgehouse said:

randerson said:

I think a point to make is, the electric guitar as an instrument has evolved so fast in such a short space of time, and the time an place of the guitarist in question is extremely relevant.

Listen to a solo on a 'barely' electric guitar in 1946 (the year Clapton was born) and one in 1986. Hardly sounds like the same instrument. Yet each learned from what came before. Case in point: Eddie Van Halen's main inspiration? Eric Clapton.

I think that guitarists revere guitarists too much. 

OK, so the instrument developed quickly, but you could argue that the synth developed at a much more rapid pace and invited a much higher degree of innovation without the same revered-labelling being applied to synth players. 

I actually think the “influence” thing has, if anything, held back development of how the guitar could be used in music, and maybe, just maybe, it would be more influential today without the constant stream of historical navel gazing at bygone blooze greats....

I may need to be educated here re. synths admittedly, but to me the sounds synths were capable of certainly evolved quickly, but I'm not sure the approach towards the instrument changed in as many ways.

Sure Herbie Hancock plays synth on 'Rocket' a little different than he does piano on Miles Davis records. But does the approach of Jan Hammer, Rick Wakeman, George Duke etc. to their instrument really vary as wildly as Hank Marvin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tom Morello for example? I appreciate that Brian Eno took things in a new direction, but in guitar world I see more of it. Again, perhaps because I know that world better?

On your second point I top my hat.

Synth needs to be viewed in the same context as guitar - it grew rapidly in the 80s and drove music with some massive innovation - then the same into the 90s alongside guitar, and then again reinvented itself in the 2000’s - let alone the synth-led music.

If you consider there’s less than 15 years between Gary Numann and say, the Black Eyed Peas and consider how much synth developed in that time, I’d say it makes guitar look slower than pedestrian. 

ronnyb

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

None of those were written by Eric Clapton. Motherless children was a Blind Willie Johnson composition. SWLABR was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce, as was I feel free. Can't find my way home was written by Steve Winwood.

lovestrat74

2:37 F#

ronnyb

ronnyb said:

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

None of those were written by Eric Clapton. Motherless children was a Blind Willie Johnson composition. SWLABR was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce, as was I feel free. Can't find my way home was written by Steve Winwood.

And i forgot. Duane Allman actually wrote the famous riff on Layla.

soma1975

ronnyb said:

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

None of those were written by Eric Clapton. Motherless children was a Blind Willie Johnson composition. SWLABR was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce, as was I feel free. Can't find my way home was written by Steve Winwood.

We're talking about him as a guitarist aren't we? Unless you think those people wrote his guitar parts?

ronnyb

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

None of those were written by Eric Clapton. Motherless children was a Blind Willie Johnson composition. SWLABR was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce, as was I feel free. Can't find my way home was written by Steve Winwood.

We're talking about him as a guitarist aren't we? Unless you think those people wrote his guitar parts?

I don't think we are. The heading of the topic was CLAPTON... not necessarily as a guitarist but as an artist. It's a good thing we don't all like the same things and type of music. I don't deny he wasn't good but there are many better. The songs you list as creative and inventive were created and invented by other people. 

jdgm

ronnyb said:

ronnyb said:

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

None of those were written by Eric Clapton. Motherless children was a Blind Willie Johnson composition. SWLABR was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce, as was I feel free. Can't find my way home was written by Steve Winwood.

And i forgot. Duane Allman actually wrote the famous riff on Layla.

Don't think so.

Clapton said he got it from Albert King's line on "The Years Go Passing By"....

"There is nothing I can do"......

Danielsguitars

Tone71 said:

Clapton is god........everyone knows that.....he was 19/20 ffs when he recorded on Bluesbreakers......

Led Zep though were shit (to me) unless you like a bloke playing a guitar with a bow and a screeching banshee ruining most songs..........*puts on hard hat and runs away*

Fuck off wait till i see you next, it'll be zep riffs all night because he wrote most of the best ones, the bow is naff though, I'll leave that at home

Oh and schenker was 18 when he recorded phenomenon with ufo and couldn't speak much English, way above crapton imo

soma1975

ronnyb said:

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

soma1975 said:

ronnyb said:

Not a fan here either, never seen the attraction. His most famous songs, Layla, Wonderful tonight and Tears in Heaven were ok but other than that the rest were either covers of other peoples songs or boring blues widdlings. Not that i dislike the blues but it can be a bit samey. 

I Feel Free
SWLABR
Can't Find My Way Home
Motherless Children
etc etc..

Nothing like each other and creative and inventive. 

None of those were written by Eric Clapton. Motherless children was a Blind Willie Johnson composition. SWLABR was written by Pete Brown and Jack Bruce, as was I feel free. Can't find my way home was written by Steve Winwood.

We're talking about him as a guitarist aren't we? Unless you think those people wrote his guitar parts?

I don't think we are. The heading of the topic was CLAPTON... not necessarily as a guitarist but as an artist. It's a good thing we don't all like the same things and type of music. I don't deny he wasn't good but there are many better. The songs you list as creative and inventive were created and invented by other people. 

The guitar playing I listed as creative and inventive. 

Just to clarify are we now saying the likes of Madonna or Beyonce or Michael Jackson aren’t great artists because a lot of people wrote their songs over the years? 

Or that Jimi’s All Along The Watchtower is a lesser track somehow because he didn’t write it? 

Tone71

Danielsguitars said:

Tone71 said:

Clapton is god........everyone knows that.....he was 19/20 ffs when he recorded on Bluesbreakers......

Led Zep though were shit (to me) unless you like a bloke playing a guitar with a bow and a screeching banshee ruining most songs..........*puts on hard hat and runs away*

Fuck off wait till i see you next, it'll be zep riffs all night because he wrote most of the best ones, the bow is naff though, I'll leave that at home

Oh and schenker was 18 when he recorded phenomenon with ufo and couldn't speak much English, way above crapton imo

Normal studio session then

darthed1981

I just realised I haven't expressed an opinion, which isn't like me...

I seem to be contrary here, I like the Cream stuff, possibly because I wasn't there and just see their "greatest hits" as a collection of fun rock songs.

I've never had much time for all the noodly 80s blues stuff Lee Anderton creams himself about, though he can clearly play guitar very well indeed.

He's done some choons though.

rlw

Without Clapton, how many of us would be posting on here.

Skipped

ICBM said:

Assuming the amps at the side of the drum kit are his, Sunn Coliseum Lead heads and a Marshall cab. Not sure what the silver-grille cab to his side is, it looks a bit like a Fender but there's no logo and I think the corner protectors are wrong (yes I know that's at the limit of the pic resolution!). Might be a Sunn cab with the badge missing, possibly.

I wonder if they were using hired backline in the USA?

The live album was recorded on the 23rd and 24th of October 1970 (in New York).

On the 10th October 1970, I saw Derek and the Dominos in The Refectory, at Leeds University.

I am searching my memory hard, and what I am seeing is a Fender head on top of a tall fender cab.....(it might have been on top of 2 Fender cabs). I am 80% sure about this.

The picture below was taken on 22 August 1970 at the Plymouth tour date.

https://i2-prod.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/business/article1378762.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Derek-dominoes.jpg

ICBM

Skipped said:

I wonder if they were using hired backline in the USA?

The live album was recorded on the 23rd and 24th of October 1970 (in New York).

On the 10th October 1970, I saw Derek and the Dominos in The Refectory, at Leeds University.

I am searching my memory hard, and what I am seeing is a Fender head on top of a tall fender cab.....(it might have been on top of 2 Fender cabs). I am 80% sure about this.

The picture below was taken on 22 August 1970 at the Plymouth tour date.

Yes, that's a Bassman, Bandmaster, Showman or Tremolux with two 2x12" cabs. I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures of him with a Showman with the tall cab around that time too, which is actually a 2x15".

I expect the Sunns were hired in the US. Bands very often didn't travel with their own backline then, it was expensive to ship it.

Bridgehouse

rlw said:

Without Clapton, how many of us would be posting on here.

On this forum? All of us. No one single guitarist made the guitar what it is today. And no one single guitarist’s efforts were fundamental to it’s popularity.

On this thread? Again, probably all of us - mostly posting “who?” 

EricTheWeary

rlw said:

Without Clapton, how many of us would be posting on here.

Well he didn’t buy my fecking iPad!