Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton in Toronto!

[TheFeldster]

Wow, Clapton's changed his appearance since I saw him a few years ago.

When I saw him, I was rather impressed by his performance. But your comment that your friend "wasn't hard to impress" probably rings true for me as well; having not lived through rock's golden age, Eric of today is about top of the range still I think.

Could have been having an off night though... who knows

 

[Foxhound]

Wow, Clapton's changed his appearance since I saw him a few years ago.

That unfortunately may be one of the contributing factors behind Eric appearing not to have as much energy as does Jeff Beck. Eric no longer looks the part of a rock star. He looks like your conservative old dad. When his conservative appearance is combined with a playing style that's never really been flashy (he is after all called "Slowhand"), he can come off as looking "tired".

 

[Foxhound]

Here's a few recent videos of Jeff Beck performing live with Aussie bass player Tal Wilkenfeld:

 

[LG]

Don't know if you guys are aware of it or not, but Eric Clapton is about 70% deaf in one of his ears, he won't say which one and has no intention of wearing the new ear protection gear. Saw him interviewed on Larry King and he seemed resigned to the fact eventually he will be like Pete Townshend. I have no idea why he wouldn't take steps to save what he has now.

 

[Foxhound]

Now here's Eric Clapton these days:

 

[Foxhound]

Now here they are together:







You decide which of the two is the the wild "guitar god" and which of the two is the rock star past his prime these days.

 

[Foxhound]

I talked to Dave's older brother Paul today and he volunteered without prompting that he found Jeff Beck's performance to be the more interesting and exciting of the two.

And evidently the reason I can't recall any seering guitar solos being played by Eric is that he turned the instrumental breaks over to Chris Stainton on keyboards while he continued to play rhythm guitar. I wonder if Eric's just sick of playing the relatively few hits he's had after his Cream days time and time again?

 

[TheFeldster]

He could always play his lesser known songs if he was sick of Layla, Cocaine and I Shot the Sheriff.

I'd love to hear him play stuff that he did with JJ Cale on "Road to Escondido" and BB King on "Riding With the King", but he sticks with the old classics for the most part.

But, in all honesty, I don't think Clapton copes with fame terribly well, particularly since he gave up the heroin. That probably plays a part in him starting to lose interest, particularly when there's someone like Beck there to play the solos for him.

 

[rollingstoned]

Clapton always plays his best with other legends.

 

[Foxhound]

Here are some pics of a younger Eric Clapton: