[Slowhand] Slowhand sidekicks

[Richard Batty]

Mel,

It's an interesting discussion - whether EC plays better when pushed
by others.  But of course, it doesn't have to be by a second guitar
player, although that can happen too.  I doubt if anyone would dispute
the influence of Duane on the Layla album - although we will neve know
how much EC's pain over Patti would have fuelled that one even on his
own.

Jack and Ginger obviously pushed EC and I think the band with Nathan
and Greg did too.

For interplay with Knopfler, I like the trading of lines on I Think I
Love You Too Much from the Knebworth 90 show.  Also the great
interplay with Albert Lee on the 1983 live versions of The Shape
You're In.

Some of my favorite EC playing is in charity shows ike Knebworth 1990,
Hyde Park 1996 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame shows.  I think,
understandably, EC "gets up" for one-off shows, especially if there
are other big name acts on the bill.

Rick

On 3/25/07, Mel Boss <darmel at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>

> The current thread and debate of Derek&Duanne got me to consider

> Clapton-band guitar-ensembles over the years. I only saw one show this tour,

> but I thoroughly enjoyed the guitar lineup: Clapton-Trucks-Bramhall (and

> Cray adds a beautiful contrast). If I had been to several shows, I would

> have likely grown a bit tired of (the quantity of) Trucks' contribution, but

> for the one show that I saw, I enjoyed it. THANKS for a very memorable

> experience. The setlist was amazing for me...WOW. Thanks again!

>

> Now that I got that out of my system (for the moment), let's get back to the

> original premise, Clapton's best guitar-sidekicks. I know what Rick Batty

> would say, and I would be hard-pressed to argue with his response to this

> question - "none" because as I am writing this, "Remastered at the RAH" is

> playing in the background that features the four-piece ECband. Hard to beat!

>

> I like Mark Knopfler. We were watching/listening to the Shoreline

> performance from 1988 yesterday evening (who needs cable when you have boots

> like this?). I have to digress here. I purchased the released

> "AfterMidnight" video DVD (one disc), and a great-slowhander-buddy,

> PeterGordon, sent me the bootleg DVD version of this performance (2 discs),

> and the latter is a superior product. I presume that the material was

> compressed to fit on one DVD for release.

>

> Back to "Knopfler" as best EC guitar-sidekick: I like contrast. I like it in

> relationships (who wants to marry ones self - like

> matrimonial-masturbation?). I like it in art. I like it in music, and MK's

> style provides a lovely contrast to Eric's in tone and style. Back in 1988

> pickless Mark's fretwork, finger-pickin stood out yet contributed a warm

> "fill" for any gaps in Eric's lead. When they traded leads, the camaraderie

> and mutual respect was evident as they also traded warm smiles and toothy

> grins. Very cool. In the current tour, I enjoyed most the Robert Cray

> contributions for the same reasons that I appreciated Mark's... I also like

> Buddy Guy with Eric, but for different reasons. It was so much fun to watch

> them misbehave at Ronnie Scotts (off the wagon that night, I think).

>

> Anyone else on this topic?

>

> Mel

>

>