Quote
stonesrule
Is there anyone posting here who feels they are a better guitar player
than Eric Clapton?

Absolutely not (as far as I am concerned). A couple things about Eric...

Cream was the first band I had an obsession over. To me at the time, the live Goodbye version of Sitting On Top of the World was the finest piece of guitar work I have ever heard.

While I did see him live quite a few times all the way up to the mid 80's, attending his live shows became less important to me, as he became all about hearing as opposed to seeing. I know that many of you are totally board by his playing, but to me his playing has a certain character I just love.

I do feel that, especially these days, Eric is a much better guitar player when challenged, probably one of the reason's I really enjoyed the Clapton-Winwood Concert.

Quote
stonesrule
Is there anyone posting here who feels they are a better guitar player
than Eric Clapton?

Do you get into beauty contests asking those bunch of chubby balding men and aging wrinkled women some call "judges" if they think they can beat the loosing contester in a bid for being the new poster face of... lets say.... GAP?

I also Clapton-Winwood in 2009 and they were excellent. That is the only time I have seen EC and it was well worth it.

Quote
DandelionPowderman
The criticism agains Clapton is a little unfair, imo.

He still plays very well, at a much higher level still than our boys (including Mick Taylor), compared to their respective peaks.

I never thought of Taylor as the only british blues player that kept his chops on the three Taylor solo shows I've seen.

None of them are as good as when they were in their 20s, end of story. We should be grateful that they're all out there playing for us.

And Clapton plays like this (4:26) today:

This video is a good example of the self-indulgent crap he plays lives. Listening to the backing band just loaf through it providing a sound platform for him to play. He could just do what those guys on city street corners do with an ipod and an amp. Play the click track and rythem then solo non stop.

Pitiful.

Have seen Clapton a number of times and enjoyed him, except for the last time.
Liked him especially with Winwood, saw that show twice.

However, even though I love Jeff Beck, I didn't like their pairing so much. Someone
had seen that show the week before when we saw them at MSG, and he said Clapton
is getting tired. I didn't care for him that night.

But--I would still jump at the chance to see Clapton now, four years plus down the road.

~"Love is Strong"~

Look I enjoy some of Claptons 70s songs, not that theyve aged well but that's alright. Some of his sleazy 70s songs, his guitar playing in the late 60s and mid/late 70s is good. And I understand why he was looked upon as a great guitarplayer in the 80s and 90s even if i despise the songs he recorded, the suits he wore, his hair, and that idiotic smile of his.

Sometimes he's good but in reality he is a very boring (white) guy (nothing wrong in that) with one foot in the autistic boyhood dream of noodling in front of an audience and being praised and payed to do that.

Keith was the same in many ways, a quiet shy little boy Berry who only knew and wanted one thing and that was how to play like Chuck Berry. Nothing wrong in that when you're a teen. Or maybe there is somthing wrong in that.

Enormous boyband fame, Brian, Anita, ALO, Mick, heroin and real artistic groundbreaking work and an open mind and lots of stealing changed Keith. Clapton changed too but since his fame was built on the idea of the great guitarslinger, he's stuck in that room.

He has to be a solo guitarist, that's what people pay him for. He should try something else.

Quote
Redhotcarpet
Look I enjoy some of Claptons 70s songs, not that theyve aged well but that's alright. Some of his sleazy 70s songs, his guitar playing in the late 60s and mid/late 70s is good. And I understand why he was looked upon as a great guitarplayer in the 80s and 90s even if i despise the songs he recorded, the suits he wore, his hair, and that idiotic smile of his.

Sometimes he's good but in reality he is a very boring (white) guy (nothing wrong in that) with one foot in the autistic boyhood dream of noodling in front of an audience and being praised and payed to do that.

Keith was the same in many ways, a quiet shy little boy Berry who only knew and wanted one thing and that was how to play like Chuck Berry. Nothing wrong in that when you're a teen. Or maybe there is somthing wrong in that.

Enormous boyband fame, Brian, Anita, ALO, Mick, heroin and real artistic groundbreaking work and an open mind and lots of stealing changed Keith. Clapton changed too but since his fame was built on the idea of the great guitarslinger, he's stuck in that room.

He has to be a solo guitarist, that's what people pay him for. He should try something else.

Dulcimer perhaps? Harp?

Seen EC about 6 -8 times now and first gig was just great.
Apart from the 2 Cream get together gigs at RAH, the others were not at all memorable.
If I saw a gig with Steve Winwood, I imagine that would have been a good one.

Great guitar player, but gotta say it................getting so boring.

Quote
RoughJusticeOnYa

Quote
BluzDude

Quote
Milan
Saw him in 2010, 2 hours 10 min, great gig, but then again he had Steve Winwood with him so we got this setlist -- [www.setlist.fm]

That was a great tour...and Steve did some real impressive guitar work.

...I completely agree!
I must say: I didn't even know Steve 'W' was that much of a guitar player - he really impressed me on that tour!

same here. i thought steve could strum song stuff and that was about it. no idea he was that good

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
crholmstrom

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
crholmstrom
Having seen Eric several times since the 70's, I've always found he's better with another guitar player kicking him in the butt. The tour with Derek Trucks was really good, as were the ones with Steve Winwood & Jeff Beck. At least what I've listened to. I did enjoy his brief set for the Hurricane Sandy benefit.

He's been uninspired in his twilight. He has always been the guy changing bands and updating his sound but he no longer has that momentum. Other than Cream he can't do a proper oldies show as his career is so scattered. I'd seen every tour from 461 Ocean Blvd. until the 90's. Every special tour like ARMS and Roger Waters. Last concert I saw him was with The Stones at Shea. I'm even credited on his biggest selling record, my greatest honor. He's brought me great pleasure.

That's pretty cool! I don't want to give the impression I don't like Clapton. He has been transcendent at times. The first time I saw him was on the Slowhand tour when I was in high school. That show was in a small theater & magical. I do have to admit that as far as guitar gods go, I'm way more of a Jeff Beck guy. I've never left a Jeff Beck show anything less than blown away. I got to sit front row in Vegas for the Brian Wilson/Jeff Beck show last October. I have another Beck show coming up in August (with ZZ Top). Pretty excited about that. Jeff has lost nothing with age. Cheers.

I love Jeff in the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck Group but beyond that I rarely listen to him. Seen a few tours and they were great but not always my cup of tea. At the Arms show in NY Page blew the other 2 off the stage. I left having no doubt that Jimmy was the superior showman. I saw EC at the Cream reunion and watched him bend a string so slowly and perfectly it appeared he wrapped it around the neck itself. That's what The Brits meant by "Time Standing Still" and Eric invented it. Mick Taylor is just about there right now. His tone in Rome made me think of this historic Les Paul sound. Reportedly Jimmy Page was in the control room for many of these Bluesbreaker recordings keeping the engineers from "cleaning up" the guitar sound...

Any kids out there you need to listen to this album before trying to understand Clapton.

I hate it when people talk about music like this.Like doing things others can't is something to be impressed with..

The only question is...Did it sound good?.. The rest of rubbish.

Quote
stonesrule
Is there anyone posting here who feels they are a better guitar player
than Eric Clapton?

if they are its a shame they are posting here instead of playing guitar

Those Cream Reunion Concerts were the canary in the coal mine for what became geezer rock; an expected return to past glory but really only uninspired reaching in 1/2 time. It continued with Zeppelin, and the Stones are real, real close. The only thing keeping them halfway relevant is they haven't been apart for 30-40 years like the others.

Jeff Beck, who never achieved the superstar status of the others, is now the only one standing with his full gifts intact, playing at supersonic speed. Somebody mentioned that he disappeared into fusion. Yeah, for a while. And he'll even play a few of those choice numbers from the 70s to remind you. But then he'll shoot off into something totally modern. Clapton is God, and God is Dead.

Back to the topic... here's the vid.

^ He did comment after the Cream shows what "hard work" it was being back in a trio, having to "stretch" himself again, and he did play more dynamically and with greater animated movement on stage, performing, as he was, with peers of equal caliber.

Quote
24FPS
Those Cream Reunion Concerts were the canary in the coal mine

I loved that tour. It was one of the highlights of my concert going life. While I imagine you were disappointed that it was not a replica of the reckless Cream I loved it's economy and huge song selection. Bruce and Eric sang great and there were many magic jamming moments.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-25 05:52 by DoomandGloom.

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
24FPS
Those Cream Reunion Concerts were the canary in the coal mine

I loved that tour. It was one of the highlights of my concert going life. While I imagine you were disappointed that it was not a replica of the reckless Cream I loved it's economy and huge song selection. Bruce and Eric sang great and there were many magic jamming moments.

I didn't want reckless, but I was shocked by how slowed down everything was. If you can't produce that spark, that magic, that made anybody give two cents about Cream to begin with, then what's the point? To say you actually saw Cream? They were obviously doing it for the money, with Eric giving a boost to his broke former mates.

I saw the Police in 2007, and that was horrendously dull. The same group I saw in 1982 was just a shell, going through the motions for the bucks. The Foo Fighters opened for them and blew the Police off stage. They want a ton of money out of our pockets for these reunion tours for a lot less quality then we got when it was cheap. I saw the Stones for $13 in 1978, with two opening acts, Kansas, and Peter Tosh. They don't even have opening acts now and they're charging 20, 30, 40 times as much as that $13 ducat for the Some Girls tour. And there was a hell of a lot more magic too.

Hasn't Eric Clapton made enough money to stay off the road? He doesn't like it, don't go on the road, because it's certainly obvious to the audience that he's lost his passion to play for people. At least the Stones seem to be getting some kind of enjoyment out of showing up and taking people's money personally.

Quote
treaclefingers

Quote
Redhotcarpet
Look I enjoy some of Claptons 70s songs, not that theyve aged well but that's alright. Some of his sleazy 70s songs, his guitar playing in the late 60s and mid/late 70s is good. And I understand why he was looked upon as a great guitarplayer in the 80s and 90s even if i despise the songs he recorded, the suits he wore, his hair, and that idiotic smile of his.

Sometimes he's good but in reality he is a very boring (white) guy (nothing wrong in that) with one foot in the autistic boyhood dream of noodling in front of an audience and being praised and payed to do that.

Keith was the same in many ways, a quiet shy little boy Berry who only knew and wanted one thing and that was how to play like Chuck Berry. Nothing wrong in that when you're a teen. Or maybe there is somthing wrong in that.

Enormous boyband fame, Brian, Anita, ALO, Mick, heroin and real artistic groundbreaking work and an open mind and lots of stealing changed Keith. Clapton changed too but since his fame was built on the idea of the great guitarslinger, he's stuck in that room.

He has to be a solo guitarist, that's what people pay him for. He should try something else.

Dulcimer perhaps? Harp?

C'mon I was serious! He could try to just play chords for two hours. A, D, B minor. Over and over. Like an artist.

Quote
24FPS

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
24FPS
Those Cream Reunion Concerts were the canary in the coal mine

I loved that tour. It was one of the highlights of my concert going life. While I imagine you were disappointed that it was not a replica of the reckless Cream I loved it's economy and huge song selection. Bruce and Eric sang great and there were many magic jamming moments.

I didn't want reckless, but I was shocked by how slowed down everything was. If you can't produce that spark, that magic, that made anybody give two cents about Cream to begin with, then what's the point? To say you actually saw Cream? They were obviously doing it for the money, with Eric giving a boost to his broke former mates.

I saw the Police in 2007, and that was horrendously dull. The same group I saw in 1982 was just a shell, going through the motions for the bucks. The Foo Fighters opened for them and blew the Police off stage. They want a ton of money out of our pockets for these reunion tours for a lot less quality then we got when it was cheap. I saw the Stones for $13 in 1978, with two opening acts, Kansas, and Peter Tosh. They don't even have opening acts now and they're charging 20, 30, 40 times as much as that $13 ducat for the Some Girls tour. And there was a hell of a lot more magic too.

Hasn't Eric Clapton made enough money to stay off the road? He doesn't like it, don't go on the road, because it's certainly obvious to the audience that he's lost his passion to play for people. At least the Stones seem to be getting some kind of enjoyment out of showing up and taking people's money personally.

i just watched the dvd of the cream reunion RAH stuff and i don't agree at all. yes the songs were a bit slower but the entire band was on their game. maybe its becaues i don't expect anyone in their 60's to do things the way they did in their 20's.

<<i just watched the dvd of the cream reunion RAH stuff and i don't agree at all. yes the songs were a bit slower but the entire band was on their game. maybe its becaues i don't expect anyone in their 60's to do things the way they did in their 20's.>>

Totally agree. And I think we should also be grateful that they didn't do the Cream reunion in the 80s when they were in their 40s--could you imagine the Cream reunion soundtrack being produced by Phil Collins?

Quote
keefriffhard4life

Quote
24FPS

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
24FPS
Those Cream Reunion Concerts were the canary in the coal mine

I loved that tour. It was one of the highlights of my concert going life. While I imagine you were disappointed that it was not a replica of the reckless Cream I loved it's economy and huge song selection. Bruce and Eric sang great and there were many magic jamming moments.

I didn't want reckless, but I was shocked by how slowed down everything was. If you can't produce that spark, that magic, that made anybody give two cents about Cream to begin with, then what's the point? To say you actually saw Cream? They were obviously doing it for the money, with Eric giving a boost to his broke former mates.

I saw the Police in 2007, and that was horrendously dull. The same group I saw in 1982 was just a shell, going through the motions for the bucks. The Foo Fighters opened for them and blew the Police off stage. They want a ton of money out of our pockets for these reunion tours for a lot less quality then we got when it was cheap. I saw the Stones for $13 in 1978, with two opening acts, Kansas, and Peter Tosh. They don't even have opening acts now and they're charging 20, 30, 40 times as much as that $13 ducat for the Some Girls tour. And there was a hell of a lot more magic too.

Hasn't Eric Clapton made enough money to stay off the road? He doesn't like it, don't go on the road, because it's certainly obvious to the audience that he's lost his passion to play for people. At least the Stones seem to be getting some kind of enjoyment out of showing up and taking people's money personally.

i just watched the dvd of the cream reunion RAH stuff and i don't agree at all. yes the songs were a bit slower but the entire band was on their game. maybe its becaues i don't expect anyone in their 60's to do things the way they did in their 20's.

The DVD is great, imo, but I can't ignore the fact that Clapton's sound and tone isn't what it used to be.

Hello,

I'm not a guitarist or a musician by any stretch so basically I don't my ass from my elbow but I did enjoy the EC show that I saw last year...I think even the man himself might have enjoyed it?

video: [www.youtube.com]

Cheers,

Simon.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-25 10:40 by SimonN.

Quote
TurkuStonesFan

Quote
DandelionPowderman
The criticism agains Clapton is a little unfair, imo.

He still plays very well, at a much higher level still than our boys (including Mick Taylor), compared to their respective peaks.

I never thought of Taylor as the only british blues player that kept his chops on the three Taylor solo shows I've seen.

None of them are as good as when they were in their 20s, end of story. We should be grateful that they're all out there playing for us.

And Clapton plays like this (4:26) today:

This video is a good example of the self-indulgent crap he plays lives. Listening to the backing band just loaf through it providing a sound platform for him to play. He could just do what those guys on city street corners do with an ipod and an amp. Play the click track and rythem then solo non stop.

Pitiful.

I suspect you're talking more about the quality of the song than of Clapton's actual playing. Do you find what he does from 4:26 and on "self-indulgent crap"?

I don't like the song either, but his playing is still good.

Quote
DandelionPowderman
The DVD is great, imo, but I can't ignore the fact that Clapton's sound and tone isn't what it used to be.

Well, Strat in not SG (or LP), but I know you are very well aware of that. Or were you rather referring to his technique? I know that a lot of people complain about the Strat sound on the Cream tunes. It is different, but I personally like both.

A question to anybody who has seen him in the past few days - at what time does Eric start to play? Is Snowy White opening for him as he did the last year? If I remember corretly, the last year he started at 8 p.m. and Eric at 9 p.m. Is it the same? Gonna see him tomorrow, so just to know what to expect and what time to be there.

The arena opens at 7, so I guess that is a good time to come. I have a GA ticket and there are no FOS tickets. Of course I want to be close, but I guess it is not necessary to wait for 5 hours like for The Stones.

Quote
Happy24

Quote
DandelionPowderman
The DVD is great, imo, but I can't ignore the fact that Clapton's sound and tone isn't what it used to be.

Well, Strat in not SG (or LP), but I know you are very well aware of that. Or were you rather referring to his technique? I know that a lot of people complain about the Strat sound on the Cream tunes. It is different, but I personally like both.

Well, I play Strat on lots of songs myself, but that suits me. I think Clapton's main problem has more to do with his amp and its settings.

The thick ES-sound back in the late 60s with Cream was fantastic.

Layla is one of my favourite albums, but it also loaded with Stratocasters

Quote
24FPS

Quote
DoomandGloom

Quote
24FPS
Those Cream Reunion Concerts were the canary in the coal mine

I loved that tour. It was one of the highlights of my concert going life. While I imagine you were disappointed that it was not a replica of the reckless Cream I loved it's economy and huge song selection. Bruce and Eric sang great and there were many magic jamming moments.

I didn't want reckless, but I was shocked by how slowed down everything was. If you can't produce that spark, that magic, that made anybody give two cents about Cream to begin with, then what's the point? To say you actually saw Cream? They were obviously doing it for the money, with Eric giving a boost to his broke former mates.

I saw the Police in 2007, and that was horrendously dull. The same group I saw in 1982 was just a shell, going through the motions for the bucks. The Foo Fighters opened for them and blew the Police off stage. They want a ton of money out of our pockets for these reunion tours for a lot less quality then we got when it was cheap. I saw the Stones for $13 in 1978, with two opening acts, Kansas, and Peter Tosh. They don't even have opening acts now and they're charging 20, 30, 40 times as much as that $13 ducat for the Some Girls tour. And there was a hell of a lot more magic too.

Hasn't Eric Clapton made enough money to stay off the road? He doesn't like it, don't go on the road, because it's certainly obvious to the audience that he's lost his passion to play for people. At least the Stones seem to be getting some kind of enjoyment out of showing up and taking people's money personally.

Was the 1978 Stones show in Boulder, CO? I was there! I don't know how I pulled this one off but I conned my parents into letting me drive there from Seattle @ age 17. Eddie Money was on that bill also. It was a life changing experience in many ways. Most good, some not so much. I thought they were going to put Keith in jail in Canada & had to go. Of course, I didn't share that with the parental units, haha. That was my first Stones show & is still way up on the list of best Stones I've seen. Definitely top 5. Best = "Sticky Fingers" night @ MGM Grand on the 40 Licks tour. I saw them the night before @ the Hard Rock in Vegas & while that was great, the next night @ MGM was magical. "Brown Sugar" on the small stage...need I say more!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-25 11:40 by crholmstrom.

Quote
DandelionPowderman
Well, I play Strat on lots of songs myself, but that suits me. I think Clapton's main problem has more to do with his amp and its settings.

The thick ES-sound back in the late 60s with Cream was fantastic.

Layla is one of my favourite albums, but it also loaded with Stratocasters

Even better (IMO) is Live At The Fillmore, which is a Strat through a pair of Dual Showman stacks - it sounds stunning. I think the change in Clapton's sound since then has a lot to do with playing technique as well as his gear. For sure, playing Les Pauls, SGs and ES-335s into overdriven Marshalls was very important to his tone, but it also had something to do with his pick attack and his vibrato. Loads of people have tried to emulate Clapton's Cream-era tone. Many come close to it, but don't nail it outright, because they focus on the gear and not on his technique. He used to use very wide vibratos and pick very hard. These days, he tends to pick much softer and without the kind of mathematical rhythmic sense he had in his early days, and his vibratos are less dramatic (although still very fluid and technically impeccable). So he'd sound different even if he was still using his Bluesbreakers setup.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-06-25 12:03 by Stoneburst.

I liked his Strat tones in the 70s, "Blackie" & "Brownie"... before all that mid-boost bollocks.
Listen to Just One Night for a beautiful sounding live album with an intimate feel.

(To be fair to EC, he's on a hiding to nothing with appraisals of his stage act on a Rolling Stones message board

I've seen Clapton a few times over the years, always enjoyed the concert, however the last time I saw him, 2003 or 4 in Birmingham, I was dissapointed, he seemed as if he was doing the audience a favour and didn't even acknowledge the crowd once.
Haven't bothered since

@Happy24
Saw him last night at Mannheim/ Germany. Eric went onstage at 20.55 and left about 22.35.
And: he is still playing superb in my opinion.
Cannot tell if he enjoys it or not - but we enjoyed the show!