The Clapton Controversy
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Eric Clapton has always been a guitarist who has incited strong feelings from music fans worldwide. Almost immediately after he started appearing with the Yardbirds in the mid-1960's, fans began hailing Clapton as the greatest guitarist ever, and the "Clapton is God" graffiti became a common sight on walls throughout London. Critics loved him (read the 1968 Newsweek article), and fellow rock guitarists praised him endlessly. Over thirty years later, Clapton's followers are just as passionate about the guitarist, and his music. They've stuck with Clapton through a rocky career, that included several years of inactivity due to a well-documented substance abuse problem, a generally perceived fallow musical period stretching from the mid 70's to mid 80's, and, most recently, a streak of surprisingly guitar-free recordings rather flagrantly targeted at adult-contemporary radio. |
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Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for the music of Eric Clapton, however. There are whispers of dissatisfaction from many fans of traditional blues, many of whom have accused Clapton of not befitting the label "blues guitar hero", charging that he often simply recycles Freddie and B.B. King licks, instead of taking his own direction. Over the past several years, many of Clapton's critics have taken a slightly different target when expressing their dissatisfaction with the guitarist's music. Many have proclaimed that Clapton's recent catalogue of recordings proves the guitarist is no longer interested in making great music. Indeed, it is interesting to note that between 1989's "Journeyman", and 1998's "Pilgrim", Clapton did not release one album (under his own name) featuring new original material. The merits of Eric Clapton as a musician have been hotly debated, even here on Guitar at About.com. An angry member of the Guitar Forum wrote "The Case Against Eric Clapton", and posed this question to others: I'm supposed to idolize some guitar player who hasn't practiced enough in the last 20 years to sound like he's developed as a guitarist... (Read the thread, and respond)Not to be outdone, another poster, in another thread entitled "Slamming Clapton is Quite Foolish", voiced an opposing viewpoint, mentioning that: I saw him two nights ago in the White House concert playing resonator and slide...it took me to my knees...(Read the thread, and respond)Whether you enjoy his music or not, it is important to realize Clapton's contributions to our society. The guitarist is responsible for the creation of The Crossroads Center at Antigua, a facility that provides help for those addicted to alcohol and narcotics. In 1999, the guitarist auctioned off 100 of his guitars, raising over five million dollars for the Crossroads Center. Clapton is also highly appreciated by many blues musicians, and can claim at least partial responsibility for the revival of some of their careers, through speaking out about these artists during interviews, appearing on recordings with them, and more. |
 CLAPTON IN THE NEWS |
ROLLINGSTONE.COM An archive of all stories pertaining to Eric Clapton, with new stories added regularly.
| TAB AND LYRICS |
MORE LYRICS By no means complete, but offers an archive of lyrics to about 80 of Clapton's tunes.
TAB ARCHIVE Approximately 140 tabs available at this no-frills, FTP-style site.
MORE TAB About 60 more guitar tabs in the archive of the 461 Ocean Boulevard site.
| MAILING LISTS AND DISCUSSION GROUPS |
SLOWHAND DIGEST A discussion group run by Dan Hillman that focuses on everything Clapton.
| ABOUT CLAPTON |
CLAPTON FAQ A very thorough FAQ that includes pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about Eric Clapton.
| GUITAR SPECIFIC SITES |
CLAPTON STYLE GUITAR LESSONS Tips on how to learn to play, or improve your guitar playing, through the study and performance of Clapton's music.
| AUDIO RESOURCES |
GUITAR SOLO This is all that's left of what used to be a big MP3 archive; an live Eric Clapton solo guitar clip, in what sounds to be the intro to "Pretending".
MP3 REQUESTS E-mail the webmaster your request for an Eric Clapton tune, and he'll e-mail you the MP3 of that tune.
| CLAPTON ON TOUR |
SLOWHAND TOUROGRAPHY An entire site devoted to Clapton's tours, both past and present. Site tends to be a little slow, so be patient.
| CLAPTON FAN SITES |
ERIC CLAPTON ON REPRISE The official site at Clapton's current label, Reprise. Not much here, just an album-selling site.
ERIC CLAPTON UNCOVERED A freely downloadable tribute CD, in MP3 format, created by members of the Slowhand Digest Mailing List.
SLOWHAND FTP SITE A ton of great Clapton articles and resources on this basic FTP site.
WHERE'S ERIC! Ezine style site devoted to Clapton. Concentrates on current EC happenings, including concert dates, album releases, etc.
