slowhand Digest Volume 01 : Issue 259
Today's Topics:
put on the spot
concert for ny
Beano in Print
Thoughts on "Concert for New York"
NYC Show
Vancouver/Portland 2001 in the mail
MP3 of the Week
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From: "Pat Toth"
Subject: put on the spot
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I believe that Paul McCartney was determined to
not let Eric stand behind everyone during the "encore".
Bet Eric thought; hell fire....leave me alone! hahaha
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From: mangs8@att.net
Subject: concert for ny
hi all:
for those not in US or who missed it, EC appeared in
first hour with paul schaeffer david letterman house
band..... and buddy guy. they did hoochie coochie man
and everythings gonna be alright (intro sounded like
lawdy mama). they tried singing together on the second
song, and sounded funny with buddy's deep growl and EC's
wanna be growl. whole performance better on second
viewing.
concert went almost 6 hours. the who was great. stones
ok. clapton came back on for let it be with whole cast.
very short end solo. then finale of new mccartney song
called freedom with 3 nondescript EC solos.
he had sharp black suit with white shirt, no tie, half
grown in full face beard. sheryl crow appeared on stage
at end but did not see her perform earlier by herself.
going to bed. take care.
sambo#8
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From: "Mark Deavult"
Subject: Beano in Print
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It's pretty difficult to pick up any sort of guitar-oriented publication and
NOT see some reference to Clapton, and likewise when players are
interviewed, the Bluesbreakers "Beano" album is usually cited as a source of
inspiration, even by artists in genres you would never guess.
The new December 2001 issue of "Vintage Guitar" magazine, page 108, in an
interview with Buzz Feiten:
Q: What was the specific thing that made you reach for the guitar?
A: The thing that really made me want to play the guitar was the Eric
Clapton Beano record (John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton). That
was it for me. I heard that and said "Man I wanna do that!". I began to
listen to B.B. King and the other blues players - Albert King, especially.
Also in the same issue, an interview with Tommy Castro:
" ... I didn't like the Doors at all, but I liked Cream, and now I know
why - it was blues ... they were playing basically blues songs - just LOUD,
ya know?"
----
Interesting reading if you are into these artists...
Mark
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From: "Mark Deavult"
Subject: Thoughts on "Concert for New York"
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Interesting watching the much-hyped concert last night.
For someone who's always been quite aware of his image and understands how
important public perception must be, EC really needs to step back and take a
look at what is going on. Not only was his set alloted less time, and moved
further away from the more "important" later part of the show, but what was
really interesting was watching the pre-show and a lof of interviews - when
asked who was performing, or who people were looking forward to, most
rattled off "Paul McCartney, The Who , Billy Joel" etc. - I didn't catch any
mention of Clapton, perhaps once.
This is something that's been obvious starting really after the NBtB tour,
accelerated in 1998, and became a real epidemic with this tour - the fans,
the diehards, are aware of his work, but he's fallen off the radar screen of
a lot of people. Whereas especially from the mid 80s, starting with Behind
the Sun (and especially Live Aid), and then through the success of August
and Journeyman, and then onto capturing a completely new audience with
Unplugged, really through the mid 90s, he was quite a public fixture. But
now that's changed, and one wonders how he will approach the problem.
Now, he's got only himself to blame - he intentionally targeted "Pilgrim" at
a different audience, and then followed up with "Reptile", which is a
perfectly inoffensive James Taylor album, but the problem here is that he's
not James Taylor - and James Taylor proved last night, that he's mcu better
at playing James Taylor type songs than Eric Clapton ever will be. I think
he's pretty much made the statement on the
relative worth of the new material - he's taken it almost completely out of
his setlist, and that really tells you all you need to know. *HE* knows
it's not captivating audiences.
Now, dont' get me wrong, I was tickled to see Buddy Guy on stage with Eric
last night (is it me or has Buddy gotten a GUT?). But here he really had a
chance to make an emotional statement, something relevant to the night - I
mean, this wasn't your average benefit concert. Privately, I was hoping for
an acoustic, solo performance of "Broken Hearted" which would have been in
the tenor of the night, and then perhaps something like "Crossroads". Or,
as much as I'm sick of it (), "Tears in Heaven" would also have been very
appropriate to the show, and moved a lot of people.
But instead, EC decided to coast through a couple blues numbers, and the EC
autopilot, in my opinion, was fully engaged. There are 10,000 third rate
blues players all across the world who could have pulled that performance
off. Granted, they sounded underrehearsed, and he was not playing with his
band, but folks, he's PROVED that there is no one else on the planet who can
step up to the plate in those curcumstances like he can, and knock the ball
out of the park. He's said it himself, he works BETTER under pressure. I
dunno, but after seeing that I'd guess there were a lot of folks watching
the tube and saying "THIS guy is the best guitar player in the world?"
Eric's never had tremendous stage presence, but what happened to the Eric
who prowled the stage at the Prince's Trust concerts, who blew the roof off
the place at the Garden at the Bobfest show in 1992? Where is the Eric that
about set guitars on fire with the passion and total control of the
instrument he shows during the blues tours? Is he on holiday? Apparently
so, because maybe it's me but he looked visibly annoyed when Paul McCartney
tried to pull a few solos out of him during his set - he almost acted like
he didn't want to be there, it felt grudging. As we know from the recent
shows, "those" moments are getting farther apart, it's like EC is in his
"safe zone" much of the time - and it's true that lukewarm EC is better an
95% of what's out there - but when he DOES move out of that box, and takes
chances, there's still no one that can touch him.
I dunno, maybe I'll warm up to it with repeated viewing - but at this point
I don't have any real enthusiasm to watch it again, at least not Clapton's
set. On the other hand, The Who put on a great set, and Pete, is Eric's age
or thereabouts - and he actually seemed to put forth a little effort. And
ultimately, that's what it is all about - WANTING to be there. If EC can't
make that jump any more, if he doesn't have the fire in the belly to
perform, it probably will be better, if he simply puts down the guitar and
retires. I hope that doesn't happen - but it's probably better than seeing
him fade away...
Cheers,
Mark Deavult
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From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Gazza?=
Subject: NYC Show
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Any idea of how we can get VH1 to re-broadcast the NYC
show?
I couldn't be at home, so I programmed the VCR, but
somehow it didn't record.
I managed to tape the last two hours, but I missed
EC's set, and The Who.
Bye,
Gaz
____________________________________________________________
Nokia Game is on again.
Go to http://uk.yahoo.com/nokiagame/ and join the new
all media adventure before November 3rd.
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From: "Monte Tourville"
Subject: Vancouver/Portland 2001 in the mail
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Greetings,
Vancouver/Portland shows mailed 10/22/2001. Thanks for your patience. Just
beginning trading, don't have a lot and I'd be so appreciative of any help
from SD'ers.
CD from vinyl boot "An Eclectic Mix. Tour 1974 part one"
Copy from Gen. Pub. "Live in Japan" (EC & GH) and "24 Nights" with bonus
cuts. Video-boot complete "Unplugged" with outtakes 2hrs.
Video "60 Minutes" 8/27/2000. Video from"VH1 Legends" 6/16/2000.Lots and
lots of sheet music w/tab.
Best Wishes,
Monte
ddsnw@attglobal.net
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From: "Josh Ritter"
Subject: MP3 of the Week
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Howdy Digest Fans,
This week's Mp3 of the Week is "Third Degree" from July 4, 1997, taken from
the "God's Meeting" boot. If you've never had the pleasure of hearing this
beauty, stop by my site. Alternately, if you're like me and have not heard
this in awhile, stop by for a refresher course in how to play the blues.
Eric lays it all out on the table with this solo, and the backing horns add
a nice jazzy feel to it. Certainly one of my favorites. Enjoy!
www.msu.edu/~ritterj3
Take care,
Josh Ritter
End of slowhand Digest V01 Issue #259