I was slow to dig Clapton. Probably because I was already enamoured of Hendrix and my first exposure to EC was a live Cream album, which I found rambling and 2nd rate compared to the JHE.
Much later on I started to appreciate what a soulful player he is. I like his songwriting and singing and the whole package.
My favourite music video was a live show that I recorded from TV, of Clapton playing a straight blues show at the Albert Hall, with Robert Cray & Buddy Guy. God that was a good tape. Earlier this year I read an interview with EC, where he stated that the idea for Cream was heavily influenced by the Buddy Guy trio approach. And he felt that he was in over his head with Cream from the beginning, which was a very candid thing to say.
I'd love to hear him play live in a blues setting. The BBC showed the John Mayall 70th birthday anniversary concert earlier this year, with Clapton guesting on a number of tracks. Walter Trout was the main guitarist and he impressed me. Trout was playing pretty full-on intense guitar and it was interesting to watch the guest guitarists and how they fitted in alongside Trout. Mick Taylor started real slow and let it build, very laid back. Same with EC. Let's just say, these guys have nothing left to prove
There was a moment where Clapton repeated a riff over and over, that grabbed the audience. Sometimes the simple things....
All this talk of blues makes me wanna go and hear some live blues music tonight. Yeah.
SC