[Slowhand] ... More on EC

[Anthony Plowden]

Hi DELTA NICK,
Very nicely written,i have similar feelings in regards EC's music.we know
that he is still capable but he seems to stay in a comfort zone until
pushed.very much like MCcartney needed Lennon to give him a kick in the
butt! EC'S last album BACK HOME was a major disappointment and a cd i really
cannot listen to.the man has had a superb career but i would like to see
some more risk taking and more of that superb guitar playing i still feel he
has alot more to give.regards tony







-----Original Message-----
From: DeltaNick [mailto:deltanick at comcast.net] 
Sent: March-10-12 11:21 AM
To: Slowhand Digest
Subject: [Slowhand] ... More on EC


>> 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