Quote:
Originally Posted by bradpdx
As much fun as this tune is, subtle it ain't.
Yes, Cream was a great power trio and Clapton was busting a nut on lots of tracks. But it's pretty much relentless testosterone that works only within its limited parameters. It's only one kind of blues.
I feel that Clapton made a very concrete decision to pursue music with a much greater focus upon songwriting and structure, and to leave the guitar heroics to young bucks. After Cream, Clapton's guitar serves the song, even if that means playing very little. For me, that makes for much better listening and guitar work.
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I don't disagree at all - I guess I just felt the need to celebrate this "testosterone filled" period of his career, because for whatever reason, we both agree it's just not sustainable, whether for reasons of physical prowess, or artistic idealism. As for listening to Clapton I wholeheartedly agree with the poster that sez he still turns up "Laydown Sally" as do I.
In fact, I love most of his songs better after Cream. I just love this cut because they are simply playing - no singing, not really even a song in the true sense. Oh it's got structure for sure, and I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "jam" either. In fact calling it a "jam" is in a way disrespectful to what it actually is and the genius behind it. If it's a "jam" it's a damn structured one.
I'm not a big fan of etheral jamming, even though I'm a casual fan of the Geateful Dead, if not a fervent one, when it comes to specific tunes.
But I was never into the whole "X-Factor" thing that dead heads and later Phish heads like to ascertain. Oh I've been involved as a participant in that kind of playing, but it's a largely self-serving agenda except with the most ga-ga-ish band groupy-heads-LOL! Or, for people that just want to zone out on their favorite mind trip.
No. I totally get and respect the fact that thi music (at least at first) motivated and moved Clapton as a vehicle for excitement. But I think saying that this music is now an established genre nobody under 20 can embrace, is over simplification. I think we can all agree that nothing can remain the same.
It's like my History Prof used to always say: "the only thing we can be assured of throughout history is change". That is so true.
Video and accessibility has changed everything forever. Heck, freedom has changed - it's whole concept as a reality. Having grown up in the period I did, I would feel smothered as a child today, or even 10-15 years ago. We had freeedoms up until my late 20's that are no longer part of the American relaity. Kids are tethered to their parents these days to the point, we might as well have been raised on a different planet. When I was a kid we roamed around totally free......I mean totally free. Our parents weren't worried about us much, and we certainly weren't worried either.
The workplace later is the same way - once the beeper, then later cell phone and computer were intorduced to the workplace, the majority of my freedoms were lost. All the promise of a better life through technological gadgetry went out the window with the bosse's first proclamation that productivity and profits would now also increase exponentially with all the new creaqture comforts of techno-gadgetry. It has only increased knowledge, it hasn't done almost anything to improve our lives - I mean really. Not our every day lives anyway. Not our work lives and certainly not the world's existence. The more we can see, the more we can meddle, the worse things seem to get.
The human race is doomed-LOL! At least I can laugh about it. But hey, profits keep going up with every American job lost and technology just continues increasing exponentially. Machines have steered us wrong at every turn so far. They are now running us instead of us running them, just like Terminator movies suggest. They are the new evolving life form.
Because as a species, we're no different from the guys that carried swords, or bow and arrows. But now we have all this stuff.