Eric Clapton breaks down his tone & technique (1968)

[neatomic]

hah..i could feel my presence being summoned from the dinner table!!! haha

gatemouth brown is the guitarist...on the old rickenbacker capri guitar...gatemouth was the musical director of the beat tv show!!

hendrix's future bassist billy cox was also in the tv band often as well

thanks for the confidence mark! merry merry

gatemouth-



cheers

ps- the show was indeed filmed in dallas..the host was blues lover dj hoss allen

[neatomic]

one of the great clips on u-tube


hound dog taylor with immortal little walter...walter is not playin thru an amp as was his harp style..he's goin thru the pa on this clip..but still great...hound dog and bassist playin cheapo dept store guitars...kawai guitar and st.george bass..but still soundin cool!


wild about you baby

cheers

[neatomic]

clapton was hugely influenced by freddie king...later he always did his best to help freddie ..got freddie signed to rso records..robert stigwood!...& together on tours etc




cheers

[Eck]

I could never really lock into the Bluesbreakers or the Yardbirds. And until 2 weeks ago I had something against Fenders, especially Strats. But 461 Ocean Boulevard is my most played album, I always go back to it. So I seem to like his Strat sound more. And to say he never got the level of his Gibson time, I cannot see that at all. Indeed 2005 Cream is way up there. I’ve mentioned Old Love played in Hyde Park before but also a great performance of I Shot The Sheriff at one of his Crossroads concerts show to me that he has long kept his brilliance. He is also quite honest about having to shape up already in Yardbirds time. But he has said a few dumb things every now and then. One time he expounded a bit about how he hates his voice. The interview got pulled in no time. Two (?) years ago he said he doubted he would be able to do more concerts because nerve pains (probably due to past drugs use), I wonder if that got pulled too.


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[MarkRhodes]

I'm kidding of course. That's Billy Cox on bass. Gatemouth Brown on the other guitar behind Freddie.
That has to be Texas. Teamwork. Maybe not. IDK.

Yes, it was Texas. Videos from this TV series have popped up before. Mid-late '60s, I think. And Neatomic seems to know EVERYONE on EVERY ONE of 'em! I hope he's writing a book or two.

[MarkRhodes]

I was a big Cream fan as a kid. I still listen to some of those old songs. But I think for the long haul, the Strat was the right move for him. It's more versatile and he stopped being "heavy" over 50 years ago.

I don't really think of Eric as a great songwriter but he gravitated to more of a singer/songwriter style. I like the way he did this Don Williams song. (Really fun song. I can see Eric he loved JJ Cale so much: simple-but-just-right is not as easy as it seems.)

[MarkRhodes]

clapton was hugely influenced by freddie king...later he always did his best to help freddie ..got freddie signed to rso records..robert stigwood!...& together on tours etc




cheers

I remember an interview with Eric in which he said all he was doing was shuffling around Freddie King licks.
He did a great job on Freddie's "I'm Tore Down."

[MarkRhodes]

Eric and JJ. They definitely had a good thing going.

[citizenk74]

clapton was hugely influenced by freddie king...later he always did his best to help freddie ..got freddie signed to rso records..robert stigwood!...& together on tours etc




cheers

What ever else may be said about Eric Clapton, it cannot be denied that he always gave credit to his sources, and took every opportunity to come to the aid of those sources. For instance, the royalties for "I'm So Glad," which EC made sure Nehemia "Skip" James got, really helped James with his medical bills when he was suffering with cancer.

[Stevebol]

Yes, it was Texas. Videos from this TV series have popped up before. Mid-late '60s, I think. And Neatomic seems to know EVERYONE on EVERY ONE of 'em! I hope he's writing a book or two.

Long ago a doorman overseas used to say to me- Steve, if you haven't talked you haven't lived. Must have said it 50 times. I guess I needed college later in life.
I want to do a certain kind of blues in Vegas. Buffalo was all style over substance. First it was Chicago blues like Little Walter. Down the road it was SRV. I want to do the more aggressive dance blues from 60's-70's Chicago. It's rust belt music. So is Techno but that's Detroit.
Guitar players are pimping themselves with the virtuoso playing. JB Hutto had the best bassists and drummers I've ever heard in blues. An earthquake couldn't throw them off.

This brings back some memories. Shakin Smith was a Buffalo icon but it was all Little Walter all the time. I think I was in the Steady Rollin Band for a minute but I was like 18 years old. I wasn't into it. I liked jam bands more. The first times I ever sat in might have been with another band but I forget their name. I was maybe 16. Here's Shakin Smith;

Lot's of drama at the Bona Vista.
I want rust belt music in Vegas. I'm used to failure but I should probably try.
Sorry to derail.

[Stevebol]

Never saw him live. Love to hear him do this.

JB working the crowd;

We were a scream therapy crowd when I saw him. A bunch of 19-20 year olds.

[Peter C]

You may want to skip this post if you're a hardcore fan.

I had enough Clapton discussion on other non-jazz foums in the past.....

I was aware of Eric Clapton as a kid (literally) and basically lost track of and interest in the guy although, over the years, you couldn't help hearing tracks like Wonderful Tonight & Tears in Heaven because your girlfriend used to put them on the record or cassette player on a Sunday, or a friend insisted on playing you Eric's last offering on his car stereo. As far as pop went, I always preferred what Steve Winwood was doing, as it happens. I did have a cassette of a Clapton album, now that I think of it....the one with Slow Down Linda(?) on it....., meh.

Anyway, one night in a jazz club many years later I remember this blues track came on the sound system and I didn't pay any attention to the rather generic sounding vocals but those lead guitar breaks! I stopped chatting for a while to appreciate it, saying something like if you're gonna play electric blues guitar, play it like that etc etc. Who was it? Eric Clapton, the barman informed me.

Just goes to show, (me, at least) that Clapton at his very best was very good, but that was probably less than 5% of the time, so definitely overrated as a musician, and overrated in the clip posted in the OP, and yes I can definitely say that on a jazz forum

[Eck]

Hutto’s timing is sloppy. Clapton has tremendous skills especially in precision, timing, lyricism, build up. He just doesn’t play that style of blues. His reputation is completely deserved.


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[Stevebol]

Hutto’s timing is sloppy. Clapton has tremendous skills especially in precision, timing, lyricism, build up. He just doesn’t play that style of blues. His reputation is completely deserved.


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I don't care what Hutto was doing so much. He had a knack for finding musicians that can play with intensity and switch gears.

[Thumpalumpacus]

When it comes to EC, I love his Beano tone. It's alive, like it's about to explode.

[Doctor Jeff]

When it comes to EC, I love his Beano tone. It's alive, like it's about to explode.

Agree. He has had so many great tones during his career. In terms of pure tone, this might be the best. Late 50’s LP through a Marshall Bluesbreaker.

The Anatomy of Eric Clapton’s Guitar Tone — Pro Audio Files

As I recall with Derek and the Dominos he also played an LP through small Fender amps.

The Guitar Gear Behind Derek & the Dominos' 'Layla' | GuitarPlayer

I happen to like the sound he got on his first albums—kind of a parody of his Bluesbreaker tone—extremely bright—with his Brownie Strat. Very different from earlier tones though.

[CarlD]

...
As I recall with Derek and the Dominos he also played an LP through small Fender amps.

The Guitar Gear Behind Derek & the Dominos' 'Layla' | GuitarPlayer
...

Not quite. Duane played an LP, Eric played a strat on that album.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Agree. He has had so many great tones during his career. In terms of pure tone, this might be the best. Late 50’s LP through a Marshall Bluesbreaker.

The Anatomy of Eric Clapton’s Guitar Tone — Pro Audio Files

As I recall with Derek and the Dominos he also played an LP through small Fender amps.

The Guitar Gear Behind Derek & the Dominos' 'Layla' | GuitarPlayer

I happen to like the sound he got on his first albums—kind of a parody of his Bluesbreaker tone—extremely bright—with his Brownie Strat. Very different from earlier tones though.

I can hear so much in his Bluesbreakers tone that got stripped out over the years -- those harmonics getting the amp to singe (singe, not sing though it could do that too), the sensitivity to picking attack, and a better full-range response. When I play blues, it is certainly a reference tone, not the only one, but important all the same for me.

I should say right now that I'm not a big fan of most of his Strat tones, though there are a couple I dig. I'm pretty sure that says more about me and my preferences than it does about him and his ear. I've got no doubt that, sitting in the same room, he could probably make a cigar-box sound pretty damned good too.

Also, if you might know -- the LP on D&tD, was that the red one George gave him, or another one?

[Doctor Jeff]

Not quite. Duane played an LP, Eric played a strat on that album.

Yes I misread one of the articles. Here are the isolated guitar and vocal tracks on Layla:

Eric Clapton's guitar, amp and equipment set up (historical 1963-2014)