[Slowhand] Comparing Guitarists

[Nicholas Aleshin]

Hey folks,

After reading Fabio's contribution ...

1. Let's not forget that Eric Clapton did more to change the electric  
guitar than anyone else in history, with the possible exception of Les  
Paul. The overdriven, distorted electric guitar sound (incorporating  
sustain and feedback) was first popularized by Clapton. Whenever it  
"happened" by an earlier player, it was a "mistake," a by-product, not  
purposely done, and usually lasted merely a second or two. Clapton  
incorporated the sound into his style, playing this way regularly, and  
he did this all before Jimi Hendrix went to the UK, in late 1966  
("Beano," for example, was released in July 1966). But what I describe  
in this paragraph is merely the electro-technical part.

2. Clapton came armed with incredible technique. However, he is NOT a  
technique-oriented player. His playing was fluid, smooth, and  
extremely neat and tidy, as opposed to "sloppy." He punctuated all  
sentences carefully, which VERY few can do as well (Mick Taylor comes  
to mind as another especially "neat" player). Examples of "sloppy"  
players would be Jimi Hendrix and especially Buddy Guy. This is not to  
demean, in any way, their guitar playing, but merely a description of  
their styles. I consider both Hendrix and Guy to be great players. But  
it's more difficult to articulate everything that you attempt to play,  
to be "neat." The sloppier players, if they're normally sloppy, just  
don't have the technique.

3. Clapton's musical architecture -- by this, I mean the composition  
of his guitar parts: rhythm playing, lead fills, and especially his  
solos -- was near-perfect, and his solos were always textbook-quality  
examples of improvisation. And one who improvises creates new ideas  
and sounds if he does it well, as Clapton did. His solos were normally  
sturdily-constructed examples of tension building, call and response,  
and such explosive, show-stopping release that few other musicians  
have ever achieved. If you wanted to hear the best-composed solos,  
correct and complete in nearly every way, you'd listen to Eric  
Clapton. Speed-oriented guitar "shredders" have no idea what I mean  
here.

4. And finally, Clapton, as I stated above, was not a technique- 
oriented guitarist because he always expressed passion -- heavy doses  
of passion (feeling, empathy, soul) -- as nobody else could via his  
guitar. Again, "shredders" are oblivious to this idea, which goes  
right over their heads.

Notice also how the lower-numbered paragraphs actually feed into the  
higher ones, above. I'm not saying that you cannot accomplish #4  
without doing #3, but including all the above elements makes one a  
more complete and compelling musician. For example, I always hear  
Buddy Guy miss lots of notes. He attempts to play things that he never  
quite gets done. On the other hand, Clapton pretty much always  
"accomplished his mission" with all the above elements included.

A speed-oriented "shredder," on the other hand, seems to be aware of  
just the first two elements. So many -- especially the younger crowd  
-- believe that a guitarist's speed (how many notes he can hit in a  
nanosecond, a subset of technique) is what makes a great guitarist.  
Check out all the 16-year-old speedsters on YouTube! Incredible speed,  
but near-zero musical value. There are plenty of such "shredders," and  
nobody will remember them in 2, 20 or 50 years. Not so with Clapton. A  
NY Times article, just the other day, was titled "Tapping Your Inner  
Clapton." It was not titled "Tapping Your Inner Hendrix, Vaughan, Vai,  
or Van Halen." It takes musical maturity to understand and accomplish  
#3 and 4. And THIS, my friends, is the mark of an artist.

So, in response to Fabio, with whom I do not necessarily disagree, I  
think the above melds together all the elements of what makes one  
truly great, rather than just good. So many, however, have forgotten  
that Clapton accomplished #1 (Fabio wrote, "create 'new-sounds'") more  
than any other guitarist, except for, possibly, Les Paul himself. But  
again, #1 is merely the electro-technical part. While it's true that  
Clapton TODAY plays with primarily a "clean" tone, he doesn't do it  
all the time. But Eric Clapton, not anyone else, was the one who  
popularized the overdriven, sustained guitar sound.

But do not forget that Clapton, an artist, is so much greater than the  
sum of elements #1-4, above. And very few others are.

                 DeltaNick