Eric Clapton is what he is. He is in a class by himself.
Over rated... depends on the type of music you like.
Estaban comes to mind.
Pete Townsend, great player
Actually, its very difficult for me to say who is over rated.
I enjoy Oasis' music.
I like Black Label Society and Megadeath. My father calls it "noise" (he is 84). He likes Tommy Dorsey and Glen Miller..so who is to say.
I've been a guitar hacker for 40 years. My kids say I'm "over rated".

I didn't say that EC or page are gods, but i do say that they do help set the bar when it comes to rating players. Granted there are single minded fans out there who will argue the god point. With me to this day alot of the gutairists made there impressions on me not just with there playing ability but with the atmosphere and emotions in which the music was played.

besides I saw God play back in the 70's he ain't all that:buds: :buds:

Hendrix, Clapton, Page......and then there is the rest! I am a huge SRV fan and I might even give him that lofty status....others might disagree! However I have seen SRV play live about 8 times and all 8 shows were the best concerts I have ever seen! Seen Clapton play live about as many times if not more......my opinion.....SRV would blow him away in a guitar duel!!!:rocketem:

Anyone here ever mentions Malmsteen in the same post with any of these guys.....your butt belongs to me!:bsod: :laugha:

Larry they are great players for sure but only 1 genre. There are so many other types of music out there with guitar involved with players that are equal to or miles ahead of those three., IMO. Which is only my opinion. It goes back to the you like what you like thing again. They are good though, I wouldn't say they stink that's for sure.

The E.C. defense:

Want proof Clapton was truly great?-- not "god"... (that was Jimi, even Eric admitted! Beck, Gilmour, Santana, & Lifeson were better too)... You must follow your ears to the right evidence! :grins:

You have to listen to the right/ best E.C. stuff! Yes, he was very inconsistent, & later commercial/ boring... but his best stuff is as good as anybody's except Jimi:

--"Layla (and other Love Songs)"... One of the 10- best studio albums ever-- simple! (& thankfully it's a double- album!). Amazing/ stupendous/ untouchable!! True, Duane Allman contributed equally as Eric... but whether he was "on the stuff" during the sessions or not, Eric's playing there was mind- blowing too! (never "sloppy!" Master blues- rock guitar, totally heartfelt & soulful... electric & acoustic). Very easy to pick out Erics' leads from Duanes' slide: please listen & judge for yourself. Huge credit too to Carl Radle, Jim Gordon & Bobby Whitlock-- all All- stars themselves!! (bass, drums & keyboards/ vocals, respectively)...

--"Disraeli Gears" and "Wheels of Fire"-- the Cream works most mean, when they say Cream was among the best bands ever! (IMHO they blew away the Beatles if what turns you on is instrumental brilliance, & poetic/ "psychedelic" themes/ lyrics... So many killer cuts/ Eric riffs just from these two records alone: "World of Pain," "Tales of Brave Ullysses," "Deserted Cities of the Heart," "Crossroads," & the solo esp. at the end of "Dance the Night Away!" :claps:

-- E.C. (double- live) "Just One Night"... One of the "top-3" Live guitar/ rock albums ever!! :boots: You won't get past the first cut ("Double Trouble") without agreeing E.C. is surely a "top- 5" rock- guitarist all- time! In fact, if you're like me you'll play that track 5 times before continuing on to the rest of the album! :faga:

Pretty much all E.C.'s other work, esp. solo albums were forgettable... except every now and then an awesome song or two would appear among 6-8 other weak/ filler ones... among these were: "Let it Grow" and "Mainline Florida" from "461 Ocean Bvld"... "Let it Rain" from "E.C."... and "See What Love Can Do" & "Just Like a Prisoner" from 1987's great "Behind the Sun" solo effort (w/ Phil Collins on 3 songs-- killer drums on "Just like a Prisoner")... :smokin:

"Just One Night" is a staple for me! Great Live album for sure!

You "non-Clapton fans" ever sit down and listen to the solo on Crossroads or White Room??? Sick, sick guitar work......almost sounds like 3 guitars are playing on Crossroads!!

Maybe not god but very, very good.
Overrated?
Pretty much anything that came out in the last ten years or so.
I was told by someone that everything that can be played already was.
All just variations on what already exists.
Yet to be proven wrong.

Kind of like building plugs. :kewl:


There are only a finite number of notes. It is pretty amazing how many different styles of music their are using the same ingredients.

Any plugs I turn are only copies of something I saw HERE.
This site is the whole reason I got a lathe to begin with.
(Used poorly I might add)
I want tiger maple.

Finite number of notes.
Exactly.
Can you really think of anything that broke any kind of new ground?
Anything?

The "Edge"

Bernzy

Absolutely.

New Ground. Sure there were people that did something first. There always is, but more in the way of combining different styles of music together rather than doing something completely different. The really great thing to see is that after someone becomes really good at something different, new, others take that technique and improve on it with there own interpretation, making it even better, but would have never gone that route until said person broke that new technique. Unfortunately the initiator doesn't always get the credit they deserve. Everyone uses the same notes from Beethoven to Sex Pistols and everything in between. Funny how one person hears one thing with the same notes that another doesn't. That is what makes it so great. It is an artistic endeavor something that you create, your signature. If people like it even better. If they don't, who cares, well if you are trying to make a living at it it matters. Problem is a lot of people consider a good player as someone who is a commercial success. Granted there are a lot of them but I don't. Matter of fact I look for music that flies under the radar a little, out of the radio realm, with exception to WGBH, because that is where I feel are the truly suburb musicians. Studio guys and people that play for the art of it. Try different things, experiment. Guess that is why I am a fan of Zappa. Don't get me wrong I have listened too all the commercial bands growing up but my tastes have changed so much in the last 25 years. I'm sure anyone would like something I listen too. I try to listen to everything. Something different every nite, but I still have my favorites. The way I look at it is it's all good, well most of it. :rollem: What a wind bag. :uhoh: P.

I disagree with the Edge being overrated.....his style is pretty unique, maybe not the most technical player...but when you hear him you know it's him....not said of alot of players

Steve Miller.:doh:

Regarding the Clapton debate (I happen to think Rhode Island's own Duke Robillaird is twice the blues guitarist as Clapton) this is a little off topic but check out "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music" available now on Comcast (free) on-demand. Dowd was an absolutely legendary recording engineer, and you will not believe the innovations he brought about in the recording industry from the late 50s right into the 90s. He was the engineer for the Layla album and you will have new respect for what those guys who work behind the scenes do. You can learn more at www.thelanguageofmusic.com