Why does Eric Clapton attract so much negative comment..

Rocker

.. especially on internet forums such as this.

Yet nobody, or very few, criticise guitar players such as Dave Gilmour, Jeff Beck, EVH, Angus Young and so on.  A quick straw poll and I found that nobody had ever heard of Dave Gilmour even though they knew of Pink Floyd.

It seems that guitar players profess hatred for popular songs like 'Wonderful Tonight' by EC,

So, why the anti Clapton vibes?

roberty

I think it's more to do with his questionable views

Hootsmon

^ This I think. It's a bit of the same with that tit from the USA Ted Nugent

Every time his name (TN) comes up on a guitar subject peole nail the bugger...as they should

Eric, although I dodn't know the guy, it's time we gave him a pass for something he said when he was blootered 50 odd years ago

poopot

Hootsmon said:

^ This I think. It's a bit of the same with that tit from the USA Ted Nugent

Every time his name (TN) comes up on a guitar subject peole nail the bugger...as they should

Eric, although I dodn't know the guy, it's time we gave him a pass for something he said when he was blootered 50 odd years ago

Ok… we can give him that than.

what about the antivax nonsense he came out with recently?

plus he’s done nothing of worth since cream…

Snags

You seem to have missed the regular raggings Gilmour gets on here  

And Wonderful Tonight is one of those songs that sounds superficially sweet and inoffensive, but when you actually look at the lyrics and listen to how he sings them you just thing "Hrm ... yeah, OK."

Hootsmon

Anti vax nonsense is some bad shit yeah but it would be some laugh if 5 years down the line he turned out to be right because we don't know shit about this C19, it's still taking us all by sursprise.

I ain't gonna waste my time with your last line

steven70

His personal values are not always aligned with those of the tolerant left and therefore his art can not be tolerated.

poopot

Snags said:

And Wonderful Tonight is one of those songs that sounds superficially sweet and inoffensive, but when you actually look at the lyrics and listen to how he sings them you just thing "Hrm ... yeah, OK."

Clearly sung from the point of view of a fella in a wheelchair.

At the start he's sat in his chair watching his wife get ready and waiting for her to do his hair/get him dressed. 

"We go to a party,
And everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady
is walking around with me.

And then she asks me: "Do you feel alright?"
And I say "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."

This is about his wife pushing him into the party, and everyone staring at him because he's in a wheelchair. She asks him if he's upset by the people looking but he isn't because he's in love with her so it's worth going out with her and that.

"So I give her the car keys,
and she helps me to bed."

Obviously he can't drive because his legs don't work, and she lifts him into bed when they get home. He says again that he doesn't mind being crippled because he loves the woman and she makes it ok.

or

Eric is secretly a transvestite ...and in his home life dresses as a woman ...tonight he is 'coming out' at his works Christmas do ...

Either or really…

CaseOfAce

Snags said:

You seem to have missed the regular raggings Gilmour gets on here  

And Wonderful Tonight is one of those songs that sounds superficially sweet and inoffensive, but when you actually look at the lyrics and listen to how he sings them you just thing "Hrm ... yeah, OK."

You mean there's a sub-text to the lyrics in Wonderful Tonight ?!
It's a heart-felt serenade to his lady ? surely Snags?
the first verse describes Eric reassuring his missus she looks great before they go to a party and he's a proud geezer cos he can't believe there's this gorgeous woman next to him - then they go home and he commends her on being such great company? There's no conceit or arrogance in his delivery?

(I'll add the production and arrangement of the song is superb - what an atmospheric song - the Hammond organ sounds incredible and the guitar work is beautifully understated).

One of the few songs we do in the formal club set we do that is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Never once seen it fail.

BenSirAmos

If you read EC's autobiography, it's hard not to conclude that the bloke is an arrogant wanker

Hootsmon

I always thought it was a 5 year old out with his mum at a friends biffday party

Snags

CoA, I'm not saying people don't like it, just that it can also be read as patronising trite sexist bollocks.

Wouldn't want to call it either way, but given i have friends who think that Every Breath You Take is a romantic love song, not a stalkers manifesto ...

RocknRollDave

My issue is the high esteem he is held in as a guitarist, which I feel is undeserved. 

I intensely dislike his tone, feel and note choice.

Subjective? Of course…but all I have to offer on this is my opinion, so there you go.

Hootsmon

RocknRollDave said:

My issue is the high esteem he is held in as a guitarist, which I feel is undeserved. 

I intensely dislike his tone, feel and note choice.

Subjective? Of course…but all I have to offer on this is my opinion, so there you go.

Man, it's a mad world we live in tae be sure ^ that's the reason I like him

The lesson here today Grasshopper is don't be afraid of that solo you play.....you can't please everybody

RocknRollDave

Hootsmon said:

RocknRollDave said:

My issue is the high esteem he is held in as a guitarist, which I feel is undeserved. 

I intensely dislike his tone, feel and note choice.

Subjective? Of course…but all I have to offer on this is my opinion, so there you go.

Man, it's a mad world we live in tae be sure ^ that's the reason I like him

The lesson here today Grasshopper is don't be afraid of that solo you play.....you can't please everybody

Oh absolutely. There’s no accounting for taste, as they say.  

There are no wrong notes.

monquixote

Even if you don't believe in the concept of cultural appropriation I think it sits very badly with people when someone who owes his career to black culture expresses racist views and it's nothing to do with being drunk. There is no amount of alcohol a non racist can drink to make them say those things it's just removing his filter.

stickyfiddle

steven70 said:

His personal values are not always aligned with those of the tolerant left and therefore his art can not be tolerated.

Most of his music is bloody boring too…

Jimbro66

CaseOfAce said:

Snags said:

You seem to have missed the regular raggings Gilmour gets on here  

And Wonderful Tonight is one of those songs that sounds superficially sweet and inoffensive, but when you actually look at the lyrics and listen to how he sings them you just thing "Hrm ... yeah, OK."

.............It's a heart-felt serenade to his lady ? surely Snags?
the first verse describes Eric reassuring his missus she looks great before they go to a party and he's a proud geezer cos he can't believe there's this gorgeous woman next to him - then they go home and he commends her on being such great company?

Wasn't he actually singing about George's missus?

Funkfingers

RocknRollDave said:

My issue is the high esteem he is held in as a guitarist, which I feel is undeserved. 

In his Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream phase, Clapton was innovative.* To some, he was "God". If that was the top, the only way was down. Eventually, the reputation exceeds the ability of the artiste to live up to it.

It is possible to make similar comments about other artistes who hit the big time while they were very young. 

Should they milk their reputations ever after or try new things that are unlikely to match the commercial success of the early stuff?




* Unwittingly aided by Jim Marshall and Ken Bran. 

thecolourbox

I disliked him long before i heard of his musings on various stuff, just not my thing and I'm sure I'm just not his target audience in fairness. He just seems a largely miserable bloke who makes music that's quite bland under the pretence of being supposedly tasteful, my opinion was mostly formed as a  teenager getting into guitar music and my dad listening to him, largely his 70s and 80s stuff, and it just sounded so cheesy and limp compared to others around the same time

koneguitarist

The point is Clapton was a great guitarist at a time when rock and blues guitar was erupting and he led the way. His work with Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers and Cream would be enough to ensure his legacy but add in Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes and his solo work makes for a very impressive body of work.
personally I preferred his solo work, though patchy at times as he was going through various addictions etc, still some real gems amongst that. 

I don’t like his tone with that mid boosted signature but we all like different tones. 

If we have to judge a guitarists ability on their personality traits I think we need to take up a different hobby!