Members larry50 Posted December 24, 2006 Members Share Posted December 24, 2006 Bear in mind that SRV (and Mayer for that matter) was playing riffs that Clapton originated. SRV was great, but he was not around long enough to register the same mark that Clapton has. Plus, it seems to me that Clapton was (and is) much more versatile than SRV. It may be debatable whether Clapton was the greatest guitarist ever, but he is certainly top five. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markas214 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by larry50 Bear in mind that SRV (and Mayer for that matter) was playing riffs that Clapton originated. five. Clapton was playing licks he picked up from listening to records by Buddy Guy, BB King, Freddie King, Albert King, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Johnson and other black blues artists. His playing was not a unique style but a style learned from listening to the great bluesmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by aclarke I caught his show in Sapporo last month, and I was really blown away. I wouldn't accuse him of losing his edge. He put on a seriously memorable show, and gave a bit of a new treatment to some old material. The backing of Trucks and Bramhall really seemed to give him inspiration - those are two extremely solid players, and he made sure that he took them both to school by the end of the night. I don't think he's guilty of "losing his edge" by a long shot. I saw him in NYC this fall. He certainly hasn't lost his edge playing wise. He was ripping on the guitar, and sang well. The band had energy - it seemed like he really enjoyed being out there. Which is sort of an accomplishment in itself, because after that long I would think just about any job gets pretty tiring. But man...I'm not quite so sure if Clapton could take Trucks to school. I walked out of that arena completely convinced that Trucks was by far and away the best player in the building, hell, possibly the world. His playing gave me chills. He's, what, 27 years old, tops? Damn!!! Bramhall? Not impressed at all. He fit with the band nicely, but I didn't see him do anything remotely special. I'm pretty dubious about Clapton being the "best white blues player" as well. Just because I don't really think of him as a pure blues man. His best work was acting as a bridge between blues and rock, not really playing the straight blues. SRV was much better at just sticking to the tried and tested blues formula, albeit on steroids and speed. Edit: and by the way, I'm 20 and went to this show with my friend (non-guitar player, just a big fan of Clapton). So I wouldn't say it's an exclusively middle aged event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members book_of_lies777 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 actually it was Clapton himself that said he could tell he wasn't as capable as he used to be... I read the article on the some website a month or so ago... judging by the Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD, I'd say he was doing just fine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by book_of_lies777 actually it was Clapton himself that said he could tell he wasn't as capable as he used to be... I read the article on the some website a month or so ago... judging by the Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD, I'd say he was doing just fine!! Obviously I never saw him live back in his prime as I was not alive. But judging by what I saw at the show I went to I'd say that he certainly plays faster than anything I have him doing on recording from back in the day. Of course speed isn't everything, but his vibrato and phrasing were still pretty killer too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Panopticon Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Clapton never had an edge to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members book_of_lies777 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by Panopticon Clapton never had an edge to lose. your ignorance is noted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phishmonkey Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by larry50 Bear in mind that SRV (and Mayer for that matter) was playing riffs that Clapton originated. SRV was great, but he was not around long enough to register the same mark that Clapton has. Plus, it seems to me that Clapton was (and is) much more versatile than SRV. It may be debatable whether Clapton was the greatest guitarist ever, but he is certainly top five. I don't see clapton as a versatile guitar player. Just because hes not playing a straight blues doesn't mean he's not using the same old tricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members markas214 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by book_of_lies777 actually it was Clapton himself that said he could tell he wasn't as capable as he used to be... I read the article on the some website a month or so ago... judging by the Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD, I'd say he was doing just fine!! I watched that on PBSHD the other night. Excellent. John Mayer was the only part I didn't care for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Clapton is to be admired if for nothing else than his longevity. Very few artists have lasted as long and remained as relevant and vibrant as Clapton (his new album with J.J. Cale can be cited as an example among others). You may not like it all, but many of us will listen to his new material simply because Clapton performs in it. You can count the others who have been around that long on one hand - Pete Townsend, Jimmy Paige (where the heck has he been?), Keith Richards(?), are guys who have been around since the 60's and can still bring it. I'm 56, and I have vivid memories of Clapton, Baker and Bruce at Winterland in SFO God knows how many years (er, um, decades) ago, (the concert where they recorded the live version of Crossroads). I saw him a few years ago again, and he was the same old Clapton, never flashy, but never a note out of place and brilliant phrasing and tone. Even Clapton admits, in fact points to and emphasizes, the influence of Robert Johnson, Lonnie Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Blake, Son House, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy and all the others. How could you not listen to them if you wanted to learn how to play the blues. But he brought his own interpretation and phrasing to it all, and was, together with perhaps Hendrix, the first to really electrify the blues and make it popular and contemporary in a way that still prevails today, although he remains an awesome acoustic blues player. Remember, Crossroads was actually a cover of Robert Johnson's Crossroad Blues. But with the Clapton interpretation. Pretty much everything since has been derivative, with a few exceptions such as SRV who brought his own style to it (but obviously heavily influenced by Clapton and Hendrix). aClapton deserves more respect on this thread, IMHO. We are talking about one of the seminal players here. BTW, I agree that Clapton is not generally known as a pure blues player, and that he acted as a bridge- perhaps the bridge - between blues and rock; I think that was part of his genius - he brought rock to the blues, and the blues to rock. As far as his early blues credentials are concerned, listen to his work with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Pretty killer electric blues (using a Les Paul, by the way, he was pre-Strat). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rambleon223 Posted December 25, 2006 Members Share Posted December 25, 2006 Originally posted by Panopticon Clapton never had an edge to lose. NICE! Two of the three dumbest things I've read on any of the HC forums today have come from you!!!! Congrats on being a moron, I bet your parents are super proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboCop00 Posted December 26, 2006 Members Share Posted December 26, 2006 god damnit, Clapton kicks ass and we all know it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.