I'm going to be totally honest about my impressions of Eric Clapton. First off, I loved his work with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith, but frankly most of his material released over the last decade or so leaves me flat.
Second, I greatly respect not only his enormous body of work as an artist, but his personal strength in overcoming a number of adversities, including heroin addiction and the death of his son.
Lastly, I admire his recent dediciation to keeping 'the blues as an art form' alive. Still, I constantly wonder, what happened to the Clapton of old?
Starting with the Yardbirds in 1963, and forward through the 60s with John Mayall, Clapton held enormous sway in the blues community. At that time, he was considered the premier blues guitarist in the world. When he teamed up in 1966 with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to form Cream, the first true supergroup was born. Cream reached a pinnacle of success and acclaim few have matched. With Clapton's electrifying solos at the forefront, and a strings of hits such as White Room and Sunshine of Your Love dominating the airwaves, they laid legitimate claim to the title of world's best band.
After brief stints with Blind Faith (featuring Stevie Winwood) and Delaney and Bonnie (with whom he wrote the hit Layla), Clapton settled into his tenure as a solo artist. He released album after album, each of which contained the obligatory hit and a couple of worthwhile numbers, but none of this music had the fire, passion and inspiration of his earlier work. Cocaine, Lay Down Sally and After Midnight are all good songs, but hardly compare to the gems produced by Cream.
His direction today almost brings Clapton full circle. He once again concentrates on the blues; and his excellent acoustic album 'Unplugged', proves the heartfelt sincerity of that genre. Perhaps a bit wiser and a bit older, Clapton may have ultimately landed where he was always suppsed to be. If we ever wonder where the Clapton of old has gone, maybe we need look no further than to the present.
