I Am A Huge Eric Clapton Fan, But......
 

I have seen Clapton live I guess.....six times? He was far and away the most well rounded guitar player I have ever seen. The guy can play anything and his longevity and the fact that he has been at the top for the better part of 40 years speaks for itself.....however, I must say that the most powerful and moving guitar/blues player that I ever saw live was Stevie Ray Vaughn. He was just the most talented person I ever saw with a guitar....ever! When he played, he always seemed to be on a higher plain than anyone else. From the beginning of his set to the end, SRV played with such raw emotion that he seemed almost to be in a different mental state when he played. It was like he was traveling to a far away place while on stage.....he always had his eyes shut when playing. It was always difficult for me to compare the two, because they are/were so very different. However, every time I saw SRV play live, about seven times.....it was everytime the best concert I had ever seen!:claps:

Have any of you ever seen Stevie Ray Vaughn live? What were your thoughts?:D

I've seen both, and also Buddy Guy who was a mentor to both, as was Albert King. I'd hate to rate them, but I do think Slowhand is more well-rounded than SRV was and that may be due to longevity more than anything else. My iPod is loaded with SRV,Clapton,Buddy Guy and Albert King and I enjoy all of them.

Do you have "Albert King with SRV In Session"? It smokes.

Who's better ?
 

I have the same answer given by Eric Clapton on time when asked the same question!
His answer,
"I only wish I could play the blues like stevie Ray Vaughn"

Hey BF
I saw Clapton play at the old Boston Garden in '72. Ya know, I wasn't really impressed (he had someone else in the band play most of the lead guitar work, while he played backup/chords). I think he was seriously FU around that point in time though.
I saw SRV at Great Woods (Robert Plant was the headliner). Stevie Ray was unreal. He played a bunch of Hendrix stuff. When Robert Plant came on stage after Stevie he said "Stevie Ray Vaughan is a really good guitar player". Yup, those were his exact words.

Yeah, but that's his nature. Keep reading and you will see he said the exact same thing many times about Jimi Hendrix,Buddy Guy, Albert King and Robert Johnson, not to mention Mark Knoepfler(sp?).

Raider Ron, my earlier post was addressed to you. Forgot to put your name on it. I was referring to EC's nature.

I saw that same show Striprman. SRV only played about 35 minutes as the warmup act!:crying: I was very disappointed.:(

Back in 72, Clapton was seriously screwed up on heroin, coke, the whole nine yards......I think it was the following year his buddy Pete Townshend (the most over-rated guitar player in history) arranged the Rainbow Concert and got Clapton to come out and play after he was housebound for like a year and a half.

For those interested in my comment of Pete Townsend, I would equate his ability as a guitar player as equal to Ringo Starrs skills as a drummer.....they both just happened to be in a great group.:huh:

I have to disagree with you about Pete Townsend. Listen to Tommy and Quadraphenia. Clapton never wrote anything like that. They all play guitar in their own "style". I wish I could play
1/10th as well as old Pete.

I'm more of a Jimmy Page, Zep fanatic. Seen them a bunch of times "back in the day".
Have fun seeing Eric perform... should be a great performance.

I have to agree with Big fish, I think Pete Townsend Sucks as a guitarist, By far the best part of the Who was john Entwistle!!! that guy was Awesome on bass!!!
Ringo Starr sucks also!!! You can add Joey Kramer of Aerosmith also!!! Karen carpenter was 100 times better than both of them on the drums!!!

Ron thats funny....
 

Did you ever hear Townsend play any guitar solos of note on any of his solo work?????:confused: As far as The Who goes.....I don't recall any blistering solos.....just good, passable guitar just like Ringo Starr was a passable drummer. Raider Ron was right about Entwistle!:btu:

:o it's not a contest....it's music...it's somebodys art

Lots of times, it's being in the right place at the right time,
or having the right look, as in Ringo's case!!!
Or being in the band from it's early days, as in Joey Kramer!!!
or having some kind of gimic like Kiss with their makeup and live show or the Who, playing loud and destroying their instruments!!!
Most of the greatest muscians are studio musicians anyway.
Take a guy like Steve Gadd, most people wouldn't even know who he is, but he's one of the best drummers alive, and he's been the most hired drummer (by artist) in the past 20-25 years.

Ron

There was a Bob Dylan anniversary concert a few years back, where a bunch of notables played Dylan songs.
On the CD, Clapton does Don't think twice, it's alright.
In my opinion, that is one of the best live guitar performances EVER recorded - it just smokes.
It's worth a listen.

Bill

theres a lot of bands out today that i think you'd all like, they're all incredible musicians, they just don't get played on the radio with all that other garbage. i'd check out Widespread Panic for one, they're not really my thing but if you like southern rock they're where its at. another band you'd probably like is Gov't Mule, warren haynes' band. I've seen a ton of good bands, none that you'd ever hear on the radio tho, which is probably a good thing.

Nobody Mentioned Carlos Santana??......That dude can make a guitar sing. One of the best IMHO.

BillyBob, you are a wise man. That version of "Don't Think Twice" is awesome!!! :btu: I have that album and that song is just incredible. That is what I am saying about Clapton though....the guy can play anything, anything at all and make it his own. Where as much as I think SRV was the best live show I have ever seen, Clapton is the greatest guitar player who ever lived. Have you heard the Hendrix tribute album where Clapton does "Stone Free".....or the Stevie Wonder tribute album where he does "Higher Ground"????? A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!!! Stevie of course does a great anything by Hendrix, he did a great version of "Taxman"! Have you heard the version of "Goin' Down" with Jeff Beck on the SRV boxed set????:grins: W-O-W!!!

Slingah, who asked ya?:D "Its music....its someones art":crying: :laugha:

Very Honorable Mention.....
 

In his day Jimmy Page was the best! He was awesome, before he got all burned out!:huh:

Did you get tickets for both shows? (July 3 and 4)

No just one....not sure which!:D

Ron that was the best line I ever heard. I've played the drums for 25 years. I also agree with you.:D

Saw Stevie with Double Trouble at The Ritz in NY New years eve '89/90 . By far the best live show I had ever seen. Hells Angels were there,they were cool as could be . My only regret was that we could not get tickets for the before midnight show so we caught the 2nd show at 1am as I recall. He was truly in a different zone when he played. One of my best nights in NYC of all time.

Thanks Stevie, hope youre in a great place playing your heart out.

Any one heard of Terry Kath ?
I'll give you a hint, He was hendrixs' idol !!!
In my opinion, He was better than both Clapton and SRV!
I like Santana a lot also!!!

Ron

Tell me again why we have never heard of Terry Kath???:confused:

Robin Trower:D

An old friend of mine has told me for years to check out some Robin Trower.....Bridge of Sighs and all that? I just never have!:huh: I will get around to it someday!:) Hear the guy is awesome though!:grins:

I remember the name.
Is he the guy that did "boom boom, out go the lights"?
Or am I confusing him with someone else?

Re: Very Honorable Mention.....
 

Jimmy got amnesia of the fingers during the eighties

Cal,
That was Pat Travers.

The list can go on and on... maybe this should be a separate thread.

Larry,
Terry Kath was the guitarist for the band Chicago.
He died in 1978 of an accidential gun shot to the head, ( I think he shot himself because Peter Cetera turned the band from a rock/blues band to a love song chick band!!!)
Go listen to some of their early stuf, The guy whales on the guitar!!!
He also sang the song everybody got married to in the 70s (Color my world)

Ron