[Slowhand] ... More on EC

[DeltaNick]

>> I think that would be *461* apparent lurkers ... <<


Hi Gang!

Greg, maybe "461" is a better answer than 466, but "461" never resounded with me, so the number holds little significance in my opinion. That being said, Sol Fischler reminded me of something I'd forgotten: a number of subscribers STILL cannot post, or can post only sporadically ... been a few years, hasn't it?

Anyone remember EC's album "Back Home"? I couldn't remember the title, had to look it up! But I do I remember that Ollie from Finland LOVED it. I don't think anyone else would admit to this.

I didn't expect much with the Clapton-Marsalis recording, but found it pleasantly surprising. I liked EC's participation in it. If you've heard only the CD, my suggestion is to watch the DVD, as the video puts another perspective on the performances. I'm usually a sound-only guy, but in this case, the video paints a bigger picture. I also liked EC's single "Diamonds Made From Rain," but was a bit disappointed when it turned out that he hadn't written the song. The words seemed so meaningful to him, as if he HAD written it. So, I guess his interpretation was spot on. I think Doyle and someone else wrote it.

But I am getting tired of Doyle and Derek Trucks becoming so much of EC's music in the past few years. They are fine artists and guitarists, but I see EC employing them, in his lazy way, as crutches, much as Nathan East and Greg Phillinganes had become crutches. They too are fine musicians, but, in my opinion, made EC's music sound stale and, at times, boring. I want to hear Eric Clapton, NOT them! Yet Steve Winwood seems to have the opposite effect, and brings more Clapton out of that Eric guy.

Willie Weeks on bass and Ian Thomas on drums are wonderful. And check Ian Thomas' drumming on Robbie Robertson's album, "How To Become Clairvoyant," another album, with EC's participation, that I enjoy. But I think most credit goes to Robertson on that one, whose previous solo albums were clunkers, again, in my opinion. One criticism of RR's album: it's WAY overproduced, but I still like it.

EC's been performing with Steve Winwood, again, latest in Japan, and maybe some more live recordings will surface. And then there's the recent tribute to Hubert Sumlin in NY. Maybe we'll get to hear some of that too.

So, a new EC album is in the works? Switch guitars, Eric, as your tone is also stale. You told us that playing your Strat felt like jumping into a pool of warm water. Eric, I agree; the Strat also makes you SOUND like you're playing in that pool of warm water: your tone is SO indistinct and muddled, and becoming moreso with each new recording! It sounds like 5#!+.

As Fabio wrote earlier, EC has given us so many decades of good music and guitar. But where I disagree with Fabio is that I want MORE good music and guitar, and not the mediocre stuff with which so many seem to be satisfied. He can do it, but he's lazy. 

Eric Clapton is still my favorite guitarist. When I saw him in DC in June 2009, his solo on "Tough Luck Blues" was one of the best I'd ever heard, simply stunning: he was flying! And the version of "Double Trouble" on the Clapton-Winwood album was from the night I attended, again stunning (but the official recording was so "pure," it eliminated the ambience of the venue: they could've left a bit in the mix, and made it a better recording). So, he's STILL got it! I just want MORE of it!

                DeltaNick