[Slowhand] 'Clapton'

[Dr Grant Abt]

Hi Mel,

I'm sorry to hear that you don't like 'Clapton'. I quite like it. And here's why...I'm listening to it as a collection of 'songs' rather than a collection of 'guitar songs'. It is obvious to me that EC has changed as he has aged. Don't we all? Who wants to listen to the stuff you listened to when you were 14? (That's Wham! for me :-). His taste in what he wants to put on record and how he plays has changed. That means we either throw our hands up in the air and say "What the hell is he doing?!", or we can take from this record something different than what's he's given us before. For me, those different things are (1) the style of songs, and (2) his voice. Some of these songs (e.g. My Very Good Friend, When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful) are vastly different from what he's done before. You know, the blues can get monotonous...standing around playing 'E' for two days (as Keith Richards once said), so these songs with their different tempos, melodies and styles are very interesting and have opened my ears to more than traditional blues. My second point about his voice is also something new. EC once said that his voice sounded really thin. Well, I think this album shows he has matured into a very good singer. Is he a Pavarotti? of course not, but then who is? 

So, I'm liking this record more and more as i listen to it more and more. As you listen, I'm sure you'll find something different than what he's given us before. Some of these things are subtle, and maybe we miss the subtle because we are expecting the 3 minute blistering solo at the end. As i said at the start, if you listen to 'Clapton' as a 'guitar' album then i think you *will* be disappointed. We all know from his live shows that EC *can* do the blistering solo, but maybe he *chooses* to do something different on record. Studios give you the freedom to do stuff that you can't do live (just ask The Beatles!). 

Just my opinion of course, so feel free to disagree back! ;-)

Cheers,

Grant.