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I don't "get" Eric Clapton

#81
For the people who said Jeff Beck is better than Eric Clapton...from what perspective you said that?..technique?..is it the only parameter to decide one musician is better than the other one?.. Quality of songs they wrote? how do you measure 'song quality'?....ridiculous..
How about if we use other parameter? for example; money? (from song royalties, concerts, etc)..I believe Clapton is far better than Jeff beck in that aspect. Which -if using that parameter to decide- means that Eric Clapton is far better (guitarist, musician, songwriter, performer etc) than Jeff Beck.
Which is also ridiculous.

Now, that's why like I said in my post in this thread before, There is NO one better than the other, there's no one the best, esp. for musicians at their level.
Both are great musicians. Great guitarists. No matter you like him/them or not.

P.S.:
I'd be much more happy if TalkBass has more positive threads (How I like ......), I like those better than the negative (How I hate ...) threads...
I believe it will give us more positive effect too as a bass player, and as a community.
 
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#82
Give a senior citizen a break. He is an institution. It's OK to not get him or not like him, but there are generations of people that still think he's great (me included). I've liked him from the days of Cream up to the Robert Johnson Transcriptions. When we all get as famous and wealthy as him, then we will have something to talk about. He has endured where others were a flash in the pan.
 
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#84
I emphatically agree. I can't see that he's done anything significant since Derek And the Dominoes. I wrote a piece on my now dormant rock blog that no one ever read.

Talk about starving for your art lol!

http://biggenesrockblog.blogspot.com

And I quote:

!DOG SI NOTPALC
I was listening to Deep Tracks XM40 in the car the other day when Eric Clapton’s Layla came on. Not the pained impassioned plea of a heartbroken tortured lovesick man who really did sound like he was down upon his knees from the Derek And The Dominos album, but the sleepy droney bluesy version of later years. It was raining and between the anemic rhythm, the limp wristed pseudo blues easy listening type guitar solo and the constant “slap,slap,slap” of the windshield wipers I went into a trance….1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4………..I dozed off and awoke a few minutes later. I had driven off the road onto the sandy shoulder. I was getting ready to call the CHP when the next song came on, (it was Twofer Tuesday), Before You Accuse Me. I listened to the first verse and slipped back into the boredom induced coma………….1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4…….zzzzzzzzzzzz.



It was the same strange sensation I experienced reading his autobiography…..”I locked myself in my mansion shooting heroin everyday until Ginger Baker came over and suggested we form a band” …….…..”I locked myself in my mansion shooting heroin everyday until Steve Winwood came over and suggested we form a band”…….. …..”I locked myself in my mansion shooting heroin everyday until Pete Townshend came over and suggested we form an all star band, do a concert, record and release so everyone will understand why you shouldn't do drugs after paying $12.99 for a cd of a concert that barely held together”

(Don't ask me why he looks like Trey Anastasio in this photo, ok?)

I was awakened by 4 buddhist monks who had already wedged 2x4’s under my tires. They instructed me to shove it into reverse. After the customary “domo origato” we all bowed and waved good bye then I was on my way.



That evening I was watching a Rush concert on VH-1 and marveled how, despite being older than dirt, relevant, vital and innovative that band still is. Alex Lifeson launched into the solo for Spirit Of the Radio, then Working Man after that and it just hit me. No Master Card commercials. No designer line of Hawaiian shirts. No half baked anemic remakes of earlier songs. He was just banging away with sincerity, authority and aplomb. My jaw just dropped…and it wasn’t because I was snoring.



“Alex Lifeson, Gene The Local Legend In His Own Mind Cover Band Bass Player Typing On his Laptop From a Non Descript Tract Home From A Non Descript Suburb Of Los Angeles Salutes You!!”
 
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#85
Hey--not every musician will reach every person--there are a lot of musicians that I don't get--but people go nuts over them.

We're all allowed our own musical tastes.

As to whether Clapton is better than another guitarist or not--I would simply word it that I prefer Beck over Clapton, for example, but would prefer Clapton over many others.

I saw him live a number of years ago--and it was a great show-far removed from the 60's stuff he did (Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream-which I prefer) and from the Derek & the Dominoes stuff as well.
But so what--it was a great show.

Musicians are allowed to grow, change, experiment, etc--at least I believe so--even if I don't like it.
 
#86
Clapton has carved his own voice in the musical landscape. He's a legendary rock Icon who's had a long career. That's not to say all of his material is genius. To say one guitarist is "better" than another is really pointless because everyone has their own idea of what they think is musical, relevant, and speaks to them personally. Every guitarist that is compared to Clapton should feel blessed for the comparison. Not all of Hendrix's, Beck's, Page's, or (insert your favorite here), is genius either. Clapton may not be your cup of tea but he's earned his stripes and then some. Technical ability or notes per second does not necessarily translate to the listener as "Better". I'm a fan of all the different guitarists mentioned in this thread, and all for different reasons.
 
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#89
Like air marshal George said: "It's not enough to know which notes to play, you have to know WHY they need to be played".

Blues is not about being "all-knowing fretboard-lord". Blues is pouring out feelings and passion that might be just one note. If you don't feel blue, put the guitar away and stop jerking off the fretboard!
 
#90
hsech said:
Give a senior citizen a break. He is an institution. It's OK to not get him or not like him, but there are generations of people that still think he's great (me included). I've liked him from the days of Cream up to the Robert Johnson Transcriptions. When we all get as famous and wealthy as him, then we will have something to talk about. He has endured where others were a flash in the pan.
Click to expand...
When did he get put in an institution ?? I never read or heard anything??
 
#91
i was a complete ed van halen nut growing up-I loved him not for his flashy technique, but for his tasteful phrasing and tone first.
I was surprised when he said in interviews that EC was the only guitarist that moved him.
I think guys like ed do EC better than EC-
I know it isn't a competition; but still.
 
#97
embellisher said:
I know that Clapton is widely considered one of the greatest guitarists ever, and I will probably get lots of flak for this, but I don't think he's all that.

IMHO, other guitarists of his generation are better, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Page, Phil Keaggy, etc.

As far as his musical output and songwriting, I don't think he's done anything of quality since Cream.

So, let me have it! Tear me up! Or, let me know if you agree with me.
Click to expand...
I 100% agree.
 
#98
The Mighty 'V' said:
Yeah, you're right! Not to mention some of the musicians he's been surrounding himself with! ;) And the story most probably is true, since I had seen this "Get the Wogs out" stuff mentioned somewhere else before (Might've even been the Bowie book I mentioned earlier) - Disappointing!
Click to expand...


Yes, it seems to be true. If indeed it is, it beggers belief how someone who has made a name for himself ( not to mention...a few $$$) through playing mainly blues music, could hold such a viewpoint.
 
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#100
"Best Ever" for anyone for anything is a waste of energy. Best at what? Andres Segovia is considered one of the all time greatest guitarists, but few listen to him and like his style. Ah, style, that's it. Who plays the music I want to hear? is a better question.
I like Claption because of his melodic style. Others I really like are Dave Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, and B.B. King. There are others, of course, but I am just giving examples. A lot of fast notes and sound effects don't impress me. I think Hendrix was the most overrated guitarists ever. What he did he did well and he did pioneer the use of effects, but his playing skills were very limited. His material, to me, is one dimensional.
So, since Mug and Ug were both well known loggers (they beat on hollow logs to make rythmic noise in the early beginning), the tribe members agrued about whether Mug was better than Ug. Mug played some great complex rythmns, but Ug could get some really beautiful sounds out of his log. And on it goes...
 

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