EC turns 80 tomorrow, and from 20:15 on BBC2 tonight there is lots of Slowhand stuff.
10 Likes
Heâs been my biggest music idol for 59 years.
As I suspect most peopleâs favourite musician does, hearing a Clapton song when Iâm down makes most things a little better & when Iâve reason to celebrate an EC number always adds to the occasion.
Hard to believe he is 80 but his musical abilities are still much as they always were.
Quite surprising how many big name artists of the 60s/70s are still performing to such high standards. Itâs hard for me imagining any of todayâs biggest names performing to packed houses 60 years from now.
Ericâs âLife in 12 Barsâ, his autobiography a few years ago & a Tom Petty documentary around the same time, illustrated that a rock stars life is not what most of us would imagine it to be. A lot of it being far from glamorous.
Still, a very happy birthday EC with, hopefully, many more to come.
11 Likes
Yes Iâve read much, a troubled life in so many ways, but found his equilibrium in later life.
8 Likes
My top guitarist from a list of many, a musical genius in guitar technique terms.
Troubled life and much misunderstood, but he came out of that when he straightened out.
Spanspeak drivers on full party mode via the Naim.
10 Likes
ProAcs doing the same here!
I have been lucky enough to see him live three times at the NEC Birmingham.
My late wife was not a fan but came with me & when we were leaving the arena the first time said to me âI see why you like him now. He makes the guitar talkâ.
She was keen to accompany me on the two further occasions
11 Likes
Iâm currently visiting Dubai and saw this vinyl version in the Virgin Megastore. Any views here on 1) the performances and 2) pressings to avoid/aim for?
2 Likes
Performance - Unplugged Vol 2,itâs very good imo.
Pressing - mine is spot on.
2 Likes
Buy the Blu-ray disc and watch it as well as listen to it in Hi-Def video and Dolby ATMOS, DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM Stereo.
3 Likes
I canât comment on the vinyl version but would say that this performance, along with his recent other albums, is superb. I marginally prefer it to âUnpluggedâ. SQ is excellent. His voice would be good for a man half his age.
Anyone would think he has done this before. He has a team around him who clearly know what they are doing.
On the CD sleeve notes it stresses that as the recording was during COVID lockdown âonlyâ 50 or so people were involved in the recording!
4 Likes
Great intimate performance, backed sympathetically by longstanding participators. Superb sound quality.
2 Likes
Yes, he sounds like someone who has done this before.
I will be 70 in September & canât believe, since first hearing him when I was 11, that he has been with me for 59 years!
2 Likes
Roughly the same for me, I will be 68 in September. I remember reading the ârumourâ that he played on âWhile My Guitar Gently Weepsâ, so that will be Christmas '68 for me. I checked out Cream thereafter, but was not overly impressed by their debut 
. For me, it was 461 and hearing âMotherless Childrenâ on the Old Grey Whistle Test and then the popularity of âSheriffâ too. Then there was no looking back, saw him live first in '77 and then a further 16 times after that. A massive part of my musical path.
6 Likes
Funnily enough, it was Cream for me.
I worshipped the Beatles & a friend said ârubbishâ & said âlisten to this, in a different leagueâ.
It was the âWhite Roomâ single & I had never heard anything like it, particularly the guitar playing.
Iâve seen him live just 3 times, the first not until 1998. As we came out of the concert my late wife said to me âI always though you & everyone else were talking rubbish when saying so & so could make the guitar talk. I know what you mean nowâ.
A genius of a performer. His last albums have been outstanding in my opinion. Good material & wonderful recordings, Lady in the Balcony, To Save a Child & Meanwhile.
I donât understand why they have been largely ignored by all but existing Clapton fans.
3 Likes
Agreed
Agree about the quality of his recent output, but I suppose EC is just the same as any legacy act that is still currently producing material. It appeals to longstanding fans, but is nothing out of the ordinary to entice new listeners. He is never going to write another âLaylaâ and I am fine with that, however, he is still one of the finest interpreters of othersâ songs and enjoy these songs when he covers them. When you buy a Clapton album, you know what you are getting.
3 Likes
thank god, terrible track, excruciating
Martin
I think you make a very important point.
He has a way of presenting other artists material that makes me, & many others, listen to it, having ignored the original artists version. Unplugged being a great example of this. I loved it from the first listen, not realising that I had had most of the tracks for years on a set of original blues CDs stretching from the 40s to the 70s. Listening to the original versions still did nothing for me.
It is much the same with his playing. He doesnât sound as technically proficient as, say SRV, but when you listen to his playing it doesnât sound as âflashâ, but invariably says a lot more.
As this is a Hi-Fi forum, I am surprised his recent output is not featured more as music to demonstrate SQ/test the system with.
2 Likes
Had to chuckle when I saw you were posting this. I donât think Iâve seen one positive reaction to a post from you on the forum in the recent past.
I hope itâs just because youâre a cantankerous old git and not going through tough times.
.sjb
5 Likes
I have always loved Clapton, I remember being in grade school whenâ I shot the Sheriff â was a big hit. I later grew to like his work with Cream, and anything he has done solo, or guest appearances with other bands are awesome IMO. I have a DVD of the concert he did at MSG with George Harrison, really excellent. Also the Crossroads Blue rays are really good.
The guest appearance at Ronnie Scottâs with Jeff Beck I canât get enough of, kind of a duel between the two as Tal Wilkenfeld looks on in awe. I like Layla too.
2 Likes