Wonder why you feel so strongly about the “blandness” to write such disparaging comments. I have never understood why some people have the need to put musicians down.
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Sorry, I’ll go happy clap somewhere else.
It’s a view. If you don’t like it then ignore it; offer a counter or whatever. You like him. I don’t. I didn’t know the forum didn’t allow me to say that.
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My post was garbled; I’ve seen EC 2 or 3 times. Once with Robert Cray opening, and Derek Trucks in EC’s band. It’s JJ Cale I wish I’d gotten to see!
I’ve been a Clapton fan for over 50 years. I first saw him live in the mid 70s when I think he was off heroin but drinking heavily, and it showed. I have since seen him many times including one particularly memorable occasion when Muddy Waters and his band opened for him. Clapton has always seemed to me best appreciated playing live and in the smaller venues rather than arenas. I rarely listen to his studio work, except for the D&D Layla album, which is one of my desert island discs. He can improvise around a melody like no one else.
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I heard he’s on the verge of remixing the entire B. Gentry catalogue, Kev!
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is was
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I have been listening to Clapton since I was a teenager. He is a giant of the rock guitar. What was the argument again? Whatever it was, he is still a giant.
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Ha. That might be an upgrade from his recent duties.
Whatever. Clapton is still the MAN in my guitar book.
Well, it invited a quick fact check. Which reveals he is vaccinated and has views against various lockdown related issues. So clearly not anti-vax and is expressing views about lockdowns and freedoms, which seems to be quite a reasonable thing to discuss in a free and liberal society.
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People sometimes see only what they want to see. You may want to widen your fact check. Yes he got vaccinated. Attributed the vaccine with symptoms that he’d previously disclosed many years earlier and blamed on a neurological condition. Has since used many platforms to attribute numerous discredited conspiracy theories about vaccines. Has made his position quite clear i.e. that he is explicitly anti these vaccines if not all.
He’s entitled to his opinion on so-called freedoms and like us all he has every right to have a wrong opinion. Presenting opinion as fact and aligning himself with platforms which set out to confuse, misinform and explicitly sow discontent? Whole other discussion.
More interesting perhaps are the series of articles which detail all this and give cursory acknowledgement to his musical history, often describing him as having experienced a long slow decline from the late 1960s.
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I think the OP intended this thread be about his music, nothing else.
Even after a warning from Richard, its slipping again .
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Yes, again, please could we please stick to just discussing the man’s music here. Thanks.
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Thus my last para.
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This looks like it would be a very fun blu-ray to stick on the Christmas list. I live barely 4 miles from Cowdray and the park is somewhere we occasionally walk the hound - I wish I’d been walking the dog on their grounds that evening!!
I’m not a huge Clapton fan but love the classic stuff and he led me to JJ Cale for which I will always thank the man! My favourite Clapton related discs are his Crossroads concerts on bluray especially the 2004 one with Jimmy Vaughan, Robert Cray, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy and Clapton duelling it out on ‘Sweet home Chicago’ - that’s musical magic right there!!! I love the way Buddy Guy is pushing all of them to raise their game and the keyboard player behind is laughing and loving every second of it - an essential purchase on DVD!! Check out from 15.15 here: CROSSROADS GUITAR FESTIVAL [2004] - YouTube
Jonathan
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I was a big fan of Cream but since then the only Clapton album I’ve enjoyed was Ocean Boulevard.
His acoustic playing is very limited to the point of embarrassment.
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Agree for Ocean boulevard.
I can’t agree with you here John, but I can’t categorically say you are wrong.
For me, one of ECs great strengths, particularly since ‘Unplugged’, is his ability to arrange & record ‘standards’ in a way that makes then far more captivating that most earlier versions by other artists. I would contend that the huge sales of ‘Unplugged’ showed that many people heard it the same way I did.
I don’t think EC intended the new release to be ‘Unplugged’ 2. It was intended to be what it is. Songs stripped back to a minimum of players for a professional ‘at home’ feel. Without a rhythm guitarist EC was forced/chose to play a much sparser guitar part, sort of less is more, & allow his voice to be the main focus of the recordings.
I think he has succeeded admirably in what he wanted to achieve with this album.
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Listen to Bert Jansch or John Renbourn and then you’ll see what I mean.
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