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Post by leerummey on Sept 30, 2011 12:06:38 GMT -5
ive been a fan of eric clapton for a while and i USED to think he was the best but it dawned on me that he is more of a brand than a player and that there are better guitarists out there eg jeff beck ?? so what do you think ? do people hear the name clapton and just assume its gonna be good or the best  i think so but on the other hand i dont think he gets enough credit for other things he does eg he is a great singer and i think his singing is under rated as is his song writing so what do you think guys ;D |
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Post by 469roadking on Sept 30, 2011 19:55:25 GMT -5
Good thought. I suppose there could be some truth in that. And that it could apply to a lot of artists. Of course, seeing that EC was famous for his stylings in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s and now the 10s, I also guess that 6 decades of music could make a brand of anyone. ;D I'm sure fans are more forgiving of "lesser" works when you're EC and also more apt to look closely for nuance and so forth in order to justify greatness. Not that you'd have to look that hard with this particular guy. I've never thought of him as a "great" singer in the classic sense but I do think he has a unique and not unpleasant voice. As to a great songwriter.........duh  |
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Post by lesblues on Oct 1, 2011 7:06:16 GMT -5
I agree with RK, I don't rate EC as a singer. Actually I think his singing is quite weak. Just listen to the album Riding with the King and compare Clapton's voice with BB King's.
As a guitarist Eric is great, no question. He has also written some excellent songs and to be honest you have to expect any artist to produce material that is less than brilliant some of the time.
I believe that when Eric Clapton is associated with any musical endeavour the natural reaction is to have high expectations but I don't think it is guaranteed that whatever he produces will automatically be exceptional.
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Post by pwfirst on Oct 2, 2011 17:38:59 GMT -5
I have been a Clapton fan for as long as I can remember. Several of his songs are in my top 20 best songs ever. Is he the best guitarist? Beck does more unique things than anyone else but I have a problem listening to him for any length of time. I can listen to a Clapton album cover to cover with little distraction. He is tru ;)ly the whole package.
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Post by rayden44 on Oct 2, 2011 19:24:41 GMT -5
To kind of quote Joe Bonamassa "I would be a very different guitarist without Clapton, he was 'the guy'". This statement applies to me too, in fact I might not even be a guitarist! There are not many guitarists of Clapton's era who have been as consistently successful, and one of his strengths is certainly adapting his blues style to other forms of music. The only problem I find with him is he has a very capable autopilot mode, and he uses it a lot. I've seen (and posted) some of EC playing among the absolute best blues (and the best guitar!) I've ever heard. Then you hear some of his recordings, and other performances, and they're flat by comparison, he does not often surprise me where he's going - tho this could just be due to lots of listening  I'm not saying they're bad, I enjoy a good number of his albums and live performances, but the fire is often not there. He's not that visual on stage, but he's not alone in that statement. Clapton is not the most technically brilliant guitarist out there tho if that's what you're looking for. There were jazz guys in the same era doing stuff he couldn't even approach. Country Gentlemen Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed would be running him in circles even on his best day but then you have to remember music is not all about technical brilliance. It's an art. Albert Collins is a horrible guitar player technically, yet he remains easily one of my favourites. Beck I've tried a few times, and I can't really listen to him. I hear a lot of people go "I'm sick of Clapton so now listen to Beck!" but too often he goes outside what my ears like. I've heard him get absolutely schooled amongst other players. He's a bit like Steve Vai in this respect for me, who I've seen the same thing happen to. You can end up playing too much in your own way I guess? I can listen to Joe Satriani all day, every day, any time. It's all about listening to as much as you can and finding what floats your boat |
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Post by thedemonslick on Oct 3, 2011 19:11:41 GMT -5
He's BOTH! He's done it all, seen it all, manages his own style that you can recognize anywhere... Dude has influenced just about everybody. Clapton's aLegend for a reason. Guys who are hot today and gone tomorrow are usually that way for a reason.
OT, my choice for under rated goes to Mark Knofpler (I might have spelled that wrong)
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Post by Happy Jack on Oct 7, 2011 14:16:11 GMT -5
Here we go - flame suit on....
Personally although I like him ............ I think he is over-rated
However when he is good he is very very good but alot of the time he is average.
I think Rob's post really sums him up.
I saw him live a few years ago it was a mix of fantastic and total boredom
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I'm not saying they're bad, I enjoy a good number of his albums and live performances, but the fire is often not there. He's not that visual on stage, but he's not alone in that statement.