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Have you seen Eric Clapton at his best?

Up until last night I had seen Eric four times and honestly felt I hadn't caught him at his finest. His recent tour gives all of us the opportunity. His set is largely from "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" 'cause he has the greatest living slide guitarist playing with him - Derek Trucks. Their interplay on the Layla album songs is truly magical. Catch the concert when it comes your way. Amazing!
jeff_l

Showing 2 responses by tswhitsel

tswhitsel
126 posts
 
"Seriously, I believe EC to be the greatest guitar player on earth (Jimi, as we all know, came from another planet!)."

When I see statements such as this attributed to Eric Clapton I shake my head in wonder. A more accurate statement would be "I believe EC to be one of the most successful guitar players on earth." Over the years there have been numerous threads here placing EC on a pedestal he hardly deserves if one is looking at the technical mastery of his instrument. This is not to say I have not enjoyed and appreciated EC's contribution to rock and blues, but clearly there are many much more accomplished guitarists on planet earth, particularly in the jazz and classical realms. I've always believed he reached his peak as a musician with Cream, most likely due to his association with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
tswhitsel
126 posts
 
Dweller:

I grew up with Eric Clapton's music beginning with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1966 and saw Cream live during their first US tour. I am not being critical of ECs obvious talent as a blues/rock guitarist, only the silly notion that he is "the greatest guitar player on earth." Clearly his level of skill is beyond the level of amateurs such as yourself, but that does not necessarily make him a "master of his instrument." You say that he may not be as versatile as Chet Atkins, but versatility is a hallmark of mastery. In the 1980's I saw a live performance of the Dixie Dregs during which Steve Morse did I solo I doubt anyone there that night has forgotten. In the course of his solo he played portions of several popular rock guitarist's solos (people like Jimmy Page, Hendrix, etc.) that sounded like the originals. When I think of great guitarists I think of people like Morse, but there are many others I could mention. Eric Clapton, Al DiMeola, and Bireli Lagrene all play guitar, but to suggest that Clapton has even approached the level of mastery of the later two is ludicrous. I still enjoy much of Clapton's playing, but fail to see the need to make him into something he is not.
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