[Slowhand] Couple of Comments

[deltanick at aol.com]

Just a couple of comments related to a couple of recent posts by others:

1. Melvin To Selvin: Regarding Mel’s response to a “SF Chronicle” 
review by Joel Selvin, I and many others think that Selvin is spot on. 
Selvin writes what I’ve been saying all along. It’s not a putdown of 
Clapton, but it is a criticism, and I think Mel misses Selvin’s point 
entirely. My opinion is that Clapton cooked full dinners, from scratch, 
way back in his Mayall/Cream/Blind Faith days, while today he merely 
pops TV dinners into the microwave, and lets others (Trucks) do the 
cooking. Today he also sets the table, which he didn’t do back then, 
but every once in a while, he gives us a sandwich that hasn’t been 
microwaved, and it’s pretty good.

Selvin’s not putting Clapton down, but is criticizing him (Selvin’s a 
critic, and writes critiques) for not doing better. As I’ve written 
before, I still like Clapton, but I’ve seen him when he’s done so much 
better, played so much more passionately. I believe that he’s 
shortchanging us; it appears that he’s not trying very hard. Many 
others have written here in the Slowhand Digest this past year that EC 
seems to be merely cruising on auto-pilot, mailing in his guitar solos, 
getting others (Bramhall & Trucks) to do the heavy lifting. I think 
they’re both fine guitarists. But I want to see and hear Eric Clapton 
play, because he’s SO much better, although he usually doesn’t show us 
how good he is.

I believe that Clapton’s best days were when he concentrated on playing 
guitar, and had a bluesier overall sound to his music. Too much of his 
music today, in my opinion, is middle-of-the-road (MOR) “Adult 
Contemporary.” Now, who else is Adult Contemporary”? How about Celine 
Dion, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow ... yuccch!

Clapton still plays long fairly solos today, such as during “I Shot The 
Sheriff, but he seems to be merely “noodling” 99% of the time, not 
trying very hard at all ... too ”balanced,” with little passion. I 
don’t want to see and hear Clapton play “balanced” music. I want him to 
rock! I want him to play with passion, not balance, to show emotion, 
not restraint. The “balance” is the problem, and causes Clapton to hold 
back! While I still enjoy much of EC’s music, I find that he releases 
his crappy stuff (“Back Home”) rather than his better music (“Nothing 
But The Blues”). And he’s way too self-conscious about his singularly 
unique talent: playing the guitar.

Why do I still go see Clapton? Because I like his music. I went to the 
10 October 2006 performance in Washington, on this latest tour and I 
enjoyed it immensely. But I enjoyed his performances 38 or 40 years ago 
so much more, because I watched and listened to real artist creating 
magical, musical scenes through the sound of his guitar. It has nothing 
to do with nostalgia, and everything to do with his guitar playing.

On “The Road To Escondido,” there’s a wonderful guitar solo on track 1, 
“Danger,” that is inventive, soaring, and passionate. If Clapton played 
like that a lot more often, I probably wouldn’t be typing right now. 
But no, we’ve got to settle for less than his best. In general, his 
music is good, but it could be SO much better. So, I believe that Joel 
Selvin and I are stating the same: Clapton fails to live up to his 
potential. An incredibly amazing talent, Eric Clapton decides to share 
it with us only once in a while, perhaps only by mistake, when he 
forgets to remain “balanced” and allows his passion to come through.

2. Slowhand Sidekicks: Roel Hendriksen asks about John Mayall and Jack 
Bruce. Yes, musicians who complement and push EC don’t have to be 
guitarists. In fact, Clapton earned his initial fame as THE solo guitar 
player. True, in the Yardbirds, Chris Dreja played rhythm guitar. But 
Chris Dreja really DID play rhythm guitar, and didn’t share the solos 
with Clapton. However, Clapton’s enduring reputation as a musician -- 
as THE guitarist -- was mostly earned while with John Mayall And The 
Bluesbreakers and Cream. These bands had just the one guitarist: Eric 
Clapton. People such as John Mayall -- a superb musician (keyboards and 
harmonica) and bandleader -- and Jack Bruce provided a frame for 
Clapton, showcasing his unique talent, allowing him to flower as a 
musician. And let’s not forget, if he didn’t become the world class 
guitarist that he is, then today Eric Clapton would be laying bricks or 
installing new windows.

                DeltaNick


________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free 
from AOL at AOL.com.
=0