Clapton discussion (Page 3 of 6)

Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green was the biggest selling outfit in the UK in 1969, Peter's last year with the band. Outselling not just Clapton, but the Beatles and Rolling Stones too!

In the UK maybe....

Here's an excerpt from Peter Green the biography by Martin Celmins which may be of interest:

"Chicken Shack's Stan Web emphasised Peter's unique taste: "Peter always acknowledged where he came from, but that happened in the end is that Peter's style came from himself. He's the only white player I've ever heard that came from himself. He first did everything and everyone, like we all did with Robert Johnson, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Mama Thornton, Buddy Guy, BB King and Freddie King but then Peter's developed into the only white player that ended up totally original. That's not praise, its a fact. Eric Clapton's another matter: back in the early days Eric was far more selfish and self-centred. A few years ago me and Eric bumped into each other at some cricket do and started talking about the old days. He said to me "Do you know I'm really selfish?" I said "Yeah Eric, I know... you never acknowledged Matt Murphy (Memphis Slim's regular guitarist) did you?  And there was nothing Eric could say because he knew I was right. I've got old 1950s records in my collection of Matt Murphy which has stuff that is note for note what Eric played on John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' 'Beano' album."

Maybe someone wants to pull out some 1950's Memphis Slim and have a listen

My belief is that the only reason Green is not revered as much as Clapton is due to a lack of knowledge of his music. To draw a parallel, its like Free and Bad Company.  I'd suspect a larger proportion of Americans would say they preferred Bad Company, when those that were around to see Free (primarily in Europe) would undoubtedly state that they were the better band.

PS Roy, I'm jealous of you getting to see Rory G live. I was aware of him before his passing, but never to know his work before then. Its a big regret of mine.  I think I may be able to guess who that other band is...

Actually it was in jest, as it's kind of pointless to be arguing over which one is best as they all had different styles. But although I am blown away by Greeny's playing Roy....for my money, Rory is the one who flips that switch inside me, and out of the three, Rory is the one. One of the most electrifying performers I've ever seen, and one of the nicest I ever had the pleasure of meeting. And speak of working up a crowd to a frenzy, Rory was the man.

Clapton has had his moments since, but in my opinion after Derek & The Dominoes he lost that spark, the passion that fueled his early work. Now when I hear Eric, technically it's good, but it's like blues under glass, sterile, way too reverent for my tastes. Not to take anything away from his work as he was outstanding. But "Lay Down Sally" is a far cry from "Layla" or "White Room" that's for sure. The players which have that drive and passion are the ones I love, and Rory put 110% into every performance, even at the end of his life when his health was on the wane.

But this is how I remember Rory :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHzOJKn7vnc

Not bad, and as I said. Eric still has his moments. But what happened with Eric was that he stopped wanting to be a guitar hero in the early 70's, got hooked on smack, then came off of it, and fell out of love with guitar playing. Then he switched to Strats from Les Pauls, so his tone is all wrong. It was wrong for the Cream reunion and it's not much better here, although admittedly it's better than the Cream shows. He is playing a lot of notes though, I'll give him that. It just would be great if he were to find the ones again that mattered. If anything, he's lost the fire that once fueled his playing. I didn't say he wasn't good, just it doesn't do much for me. I would love to see him get that passion again, but at this late stage in the game, he probably doesn't have the hunger to, nor does he have to. And the shorts and slippers just HAVE to go....;)

Okay but that doesn't explain away the slippers.

Methinks God needs fashion tips then. Looks like he's going to shuffle off to bed right after the show. Is that why his shows start early now? The elderly usually don't stay up late.

So his wife dresses him? She must have a sick sense of humor