Clapton makes himself even more popular

bertie

influence and legacy aside, of course he's good - but I dont think many "pragmatic" people would argue that "he was in the right place at the right time"   like quite a few in the 60s   

RocknRollDave

RobDavies said:

I’ve always said that just because the artist is flawed, it doesn’t mean that the art is, as well.  

(I’m not a Clapton fan btw, but it helps to justify my liking of Pantera and Gary Glitter).  

I agree. It’s purely coincidence that Clapton’s music is also rubbish.

tone1

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

Greatape

VimFuego said:

Offset said:

fob said:

Offset said:

What I really DON'T get is his revered status (in some quarters at least) as one of the world's guitar greats.  He just isn't in my eyes - he's a decidedly  average guitarist who's had his best moments playing other people's songs.  Doesn't mean I don't like a fair bit of his output - I do.  But as a guitarist?  Meh.

This feels like the oddest comment in the whole thread. His capability and influence are almost objectively beyond reproach.

It's not really 'odd' - I just don't happen to rate him and I don't get the esteem in which he's held by others.  He has been influential, yes - but I'm not sure his capability is 'beyond approach'.  Clapton's ability has often been the subject of pub conversations and I know others (non-musicians as well as players) who think he's grossly overrated and can't understand why.  It's an opinion I've held for over four decades and I didn't express it to be controversial, even if it does come over as a bit iconoclastic.

I think it's a bit like when people discuss many a popular guitarist. Lots of people, even back then, could do what EC did, but they didn't and he did. It's about more than technical ability, or musical ability and any easily identifiable and quantifiable ability. There's something (or things) more, something that's hard to put your finger on, as to why EC achieved all he did and others didn't.

I don't rate players by number of notes, speed, etc. But time feel is everything, and his is poor. There's just no comparison between him and say, Otis Rush. 

Yes, we should honour his status as an inspiration. Yes, the early stuff was played with passion. But he's been phoning it in since the early 70's. 

ICBM

CaseOfAce said:

Hang on, hang on...

Common sense would dictate that if the lady in question put the bootleg on ebay and then was asked by Clapton's reps or ebay to take it down (due to it's unauthorised nature) then ... seems reasonable - no harm, no foul right? Anybody would say ok... I will not sell this on this website...

But this went to court - so was the original 'don't sell' request to the seller ignored - prompting legal action -at which point anybody would know lawyers cost money and there's risk involved in going down this route? She appealed against the intiial ruling...the fees stacked up...
etc..

Yeah - I can see how this happened. It's crazy (and not particularly advantageous PR wise for Clapton) but ....

Reading this...

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/17/eric-clapton-wins-legal-case-against-woman-selling-bootleg-live-cd-for-845

... it seems that they did indeed simply ask for the listing to be removed, but then:

"In response to a standard letter from Clapton’s German legal team, the woman replied: “I object and ask you not to harass or contact me any further”, and told them “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands”.

So they did.

Moral of the story - don't be flippant with lawyers. They don't (at least professionally) have a sense of humour.

Rocker

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

I may be mistaken but did Rory Gallagher do exactly that?

bertie

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

good job I use 5 heavy duty springs then.....................  trems = meh

randella

bertie said:

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

good job I use 5 heavy duty springs then.....................  trems = meh

Four springs pulled tight, bridge screwed flat, arm put in a safe place never to be seen again. Recipe for happiness

tone1

Rocker said:

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

I may be mistaken but did Rory Gallagher do exactly that?

I may have to rethink my whole belief system 

randerson

I find Robert Cray's comments in the article very hard to understand. Could someone please decipher them?

“I’d just rather not associate with somebody who’s on the extreme and being so selfish,” Cray said.
- Clapton had a bad reaction to the vaccine and told people about it - is this extreme and selfish in 2021?

“We started playing a music that wasn’t particularly popular to start off with at the time we started playing. 
- Blues wasn't popular in 1980 when he released his first album?

"We’ve gained some notoriety, and I’m fine with that, but I surely don’t need to hang out with Eric Clapton for that to continue.”
- Notoriety means 'the state of being famous or well known for some bad quality or deed'. Why is he fine with this and why would he want gain more, independently or otherwise?

Sassafras

ICBM said:

... it seems that they did indeed simply ask for the listing to be removed, but then:

"In response to a standard letter from Clapton’s German legal team, the woman replied: “I object and ask you not to harass or contact me any further”, and told them “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands”.

So they did.

Moral of the story - don't be flippant with lawyers. They don't (at least professionally) have a sense of humour.

Apparently, neither do Germans.
She certainly won't see the funny side of this little episode.

CaseOfAce

Good grief. Clapton overrated.
Really?
I'm fairly certain, if I by some miracle, I ever sat down to play blues with the gentleman, after 2 minutes (I'm being EXTREMELY generous) my ass would be so very firmly handed to me as I was shown the door after exchanging my standard stock pentatonic meanderings with weak vibrato and phrasing against his playing.

This is before you even consider his songwriting (he co-wrote Layla !) and vocals.

ICBM

Sassafras said:

Apparently, neither do Germans.

She certainly won't see the funny side of this little episode.

She must be having a laugh though...

"The woman’s lawyer told Bild that they intended to appeal again."

bertie

randella said:

bertie said:

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

good job I use 5 heavy duty springs then.....................  trems = meh

Four springs pulled tight, bridge screwed flat, arm put in a safe place never to be seen again. Recipe for happiness

hallelujah 


oh hang on,  got in trouble on another thread for that...................... 

Bellycaster

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

I'd trust that person more than someone who blocks one with a wedge of Lemon Drizzle Cake.

  

richardhomer

Bellycaster said:

tone1 said:

I can’t trust anyone who blocks a Strat tremolo with a block of wood.....

I'd trust that person more than someone who blocks one with a wedge of Lemon Drizzle Cake.

  

I use blocks of Yorkie Bar - where does that leave me? (‘Not blocked’ is the answer in the Summer, because it bastard melts…)

Limehouse_Blues

CaseOfAce said:

Good grief. Clapton overrated.
Really?
I'm fairly certain, if I by some miracle, I ever sat down to play blues with the gentleman, after 2 minutes (I'm being EXTREMELY generous) my ass would be so very firmly handed to me  

Maybe. But is this really how a 'gentleman' of some hundreds of millions of net worth would have handled the situation? And yes, I know, lawyers etc. But he is the client. Lawyers follow the instructions of their client....

And as for his guitar skills, the guy is just such a sad imitation of Freddie King it hurts. Give me Freddie King all night long please....

artiebear

Limehouse_Blues said:

CaseOfAce said:

Good grief. Clapton overrated.
Really?
I'm fairly certain, if I by some miracle, I ever sat down to play blues with the gentleman, after 2 minutes (I'm being EXTREMELY generous) my ass would be so very firmly handed to me  

Maybe. But is this really how a 'gentleman' of some hundreds of millions of net worth would have handled the situation? And yes, I know, lawyers etc. But he is the client. Lawyers follow the instructions of their client....

And as for his guitar skills, the guy is just such a sad imitation of Freddie King it hurts. Give me Freddie King all night long please....

So, as you understand it, the artist monitors copyright infringements and instruct legal representatives to act in each case ? It is very obvious that you do not make a living based on your creative output. Regardless of the stature of the artist, the same protocol is followed, otherwise those of us who rely on close adherence to royal recovery protocols are screwed , just like the guys who can afford to lose,  whose cases would set a precedent for the rest of us.

As for your critique of the guys creative output ( not a fan ,but sensible enough to see his contribution to the UK scene and then back to the States in the 60s and beyond ) ?  FFS

Strangefan

steven70 said:

Contrary to popular belief, it was actually me who played guitar on much of the 'Beano' album (Hideaway, Steppin' Out, Ramblin' on my Mind, to name a few.) 

Clapton was having an 'off' day and I happened to be knocking around the studio at the time, so I offered to help out.

The fact that he has never acknowledged this only goes to prove that he is a despicable human being
(unlike Robert Cray, who serves as a shining example to us all.)

If this is true I can't understand why this comment got  ignored , thats a truly exceptional bit of info  

Smellyfingers

artiebear said:

Limehouse_Blues said:

CaseOfAce said:

Good grief. Clapton overrated.
Really?
I'm fairly certain, if I by some miracle, I ever sat down to play blues with the gentleman, after 2 minutes (I'm being EXTREMELY generous) my ass would be so very firmly handed to me  

Maybe. But is this really how a 'gentleman' of some hundreds of millions of net worth would have handled the situation? And yes, I know, lawyers etc. But he is the client. Lawyers follow the instructions of their client....

And as for his guitar skills, the guy is just such a sad imitation of Freddie King it hurts. Give me Freddie King all night long please....

So, as you understand it, the artist monitors copyright infringements and instruct legal representatives to act in each case ? It is very obvious that you do not make a living based on your creative output. Regardless of the stature of the artist, the same protocol is followed, otherwise those of us who rely on close adherence to royal recovery protocols are screwed , just like the guys who can afford to lose,  whose cases would set a precedent for the rest of us.

As for your critique of the guys creative output ( not a fan ,but sensible enough to see his contribution to the UK scene and then back to the States in the 60s and beyond ) ?  FFS

To add to this, I think in law 'precedent' may br crucial, that is if an admittedly small but blatant copyright infringement is allowed to continue... it may then signal to and open the doors for much more serious commercial chancers/ pirates - who are then more difficult to nail in court because of the initial permissiveness.

Also I don't think anyone else was doing with the guitar what Clapton and Cream did in the mid 60's. I haven't much liked his later work - I thought 'Cocaine' though catchy was a really nasty piece of glamourixation.