Me And Mr. Clapton

That's How It Started

2008-02-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

Last evening, I got a chance to visit the Hard rock cafe in the Atlantic City. The menu was quite interesting, the first page being the most interesting.

On the cover note, it said that EC was fond of the food at the first hard rock cafe which was opened in London. The collection began in 1979 when he gifted an un-signed guitar (a Red Fender Lead II). Soon, Pete Townshend of The Who got news of this and sent in one of his guitars & attached was a note: "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."

Sessions for Robert J.

2007-05-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

I got this DVD about a month back, but couldn't gt the time to see it. Last night I saw it. It has the takes from the rehearsals for Me and Mr. Johnson (I suppose).

When I had seen EC live, I got a thought that it must be really easy for him. but when I saw this DVD, I found myself wrong. In many takes, one can see him concentrating hard, and sometimes I get a feeling as if I am seeing a peasant working hard in the relentless sun.

All Set

2007-01-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

Will see him again in Florida

Wanted

2006-03-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

Can someone get me the Pilgrim CD...

Had been looking for it since almost an year now, but I just dont get lucky :-(

Rambling On My Mind

2006-03-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

I wonder what Robert Johnson would have done if someone would have handed him a Fender Strat cranked on a Marshall Full Stack....

Just One Night (3)

2006-02-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

So just get a feeling that Just One Night is just perfect after some sort of an emotional setback. It’s a complete freak-out. It makes you feel easy with tracks like “Tulsa Time”, "If I Don’t Be There By The Morning”, “After Midnight” and “Cocaine”. If you wish to ponder about the past then it has “Rambling On My Mind”.

If you wish to be angry then try “Further On Up The Road”, “All Our Past Times”.

If you want to feel sad about the loss then “Lay Down Sally” & “Wonderful Tonight” are enough to remind you of the good times.

I would like to share my feelings when I hear the number on this recording. But, about “After Midnight” – I can say that it might have been made to tease neighbours.

To me the best thing about “If I ...” is the honesty with which EC sang
“I’ll take my way back to you girl, lonely & blue mistreated too
Sometimes I think of you girl. Is it true that you think of me too? Everyday?”

And to boast, I saw him at the place where this was recorded.

P.S.: Though my blogs are kind of a publicity of Mr. Clapton but I expect people to be understanding. In the most stressful times, it has given me inspiration, courage to fight and a feeling of somewhat being a rebel.

Tell Me That You Love Me

2005-04-14T03:52:00.000-07:00

Though I may be wrong in saying that Clapton wrote this (yet another for Patty). This can be found in the "Backless".

I love the swirling guitar riff in this one, and his voice so innocent in this one. Its just opposite to the opening number "Walk Out in The Rain"

Tell me that you love me as often as you can;
Let me know that I'm your one and only man.
Give me confirmation with every passing day.
A love as sweet as ours will never fade away.

Catch me when I'm falling, help me when I'm blue.
Don't you realize that I'd do the same for you?
Find me when I'm lonely, carry me back home.
Treat me gently and my heart will never roam.

Straighten me out, pull me through,
Let me know that I'm still in love with you.
Be my woman, be my friend,
Stick with me until the very end.

Compression in Tone

2005-03-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

So i did a bit of research on the compression effect in the guitar tone of Just one Night album. Its evident that Clapton used his Blackie to record his performance live. He had assembled this guitar himself by grouping the pieces of four different Fender strats. He must have fiddled with the tone controls. The settings were exclusive to him until Fender released the EC signature series.

The first tone control gives the compression in the tone. The second tone control gives the overdrive. I was surprised that he gets all the over drive from his guitar itself.

People having fender strats can try this, though they might not get 100% of the tone but will get very near to it. The reason being the second tone control. The maximum boost of other Fender Strats can be achieved on an EC signature Series at 5. The higher you go the more boost you get. The tone gets more crunchier.

I didn't know this when I had tried one of the Signature Series guitar in Tokyo. All I could feel was an incredible action and very bright tone. I did fiddle with the tone knobs but was more excited by just holding the guitar. I could not observe it closely.

My Ibanez has just one volume and a tone control, so I cant try this with my guitar. I want to buy a Fender Strat. It will cost something around 35Ks (Some mid-range Mexican mades) here in Delhi.

This makes coming to work quite worthwhile ;)

Cream - FareWell Concert

2005-03-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

I took that DVD last week. The best part is where EC himself demostrates how he got that swirling Badge tone in the riff after
"And then I told you 'bout our kid, now he's married to Mable"

For those who havent got it and want to achieve that, here's the recipe...

He used Gibson LP (I may wrong about the exact model, so not mentioning it) and turned the guitar controls and the amp controls all the way. He turns the tone control up and doen while playing the riff. He also demos the wah wah pedal the same pedal sound entirely different when I play :(

Something about it, a must get for all fans.

Just One Night(2)

2005-01-31T23:18:00.000-08:00

So I got the Just One Night Tone finally. It was fun fighting with the amp and the pedal tone settings. Learned to many other tricks as well. I could simulate the Worried Life Blues exactly though modified some solo bars to make it easier and try something different.

My first guess about this tone turned out to be right :-) Its simple clean crunch tone with a bit of gain and chorus. I set the blues driver at the suggested clean crunch tone in its manual. I also put my amp to a little gain 2 was enough, mid range(contour) to 7, treble to 5 and bass to 8, volume somewhere near 7-8.

I cant use reverb and chorus effect together at the same time with my amp. If one can do this, he can get the tone exactly. I am still left with a doubt that whether there's a compressor added between the effects chain or not. I cant be sure unless I have one to fiddle with.

Treat to Myself

2005-01-09T02:28:00.000-08:00

Last evening I got the CrossRoads 2, box set of 4 CDs which spans most of the well known performances in 70s. Its the Clapton I like the most - Slow n Bluesy.
I listened toi CD 1 last night, they have carefully selected the number which have the finest guitar solos. Starts off with Acoustic Blues number 'Walking' on a Long Road', follows with 'Have You Ever Loved a Woman', medley 'Willie & The Hand Jive/Get Ready', Can't Find my Way Home --Nathan East butchered the vocals when I saw him live :-( Little Wing (Clapton's ode to Jimi Hendrix) and others like 'Rambling On My Mind'.

Any One For Tennis

2004-10-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

Can't get what tis means. Can someone help?

Twice upon a time in the valley of the tears
An auctioneer is bidding for a box of fading years
And the elephants are dancing on the graves of squealing mice.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

And the ice creams are all melting on the streets of bloody beer
While the beggars stain the pavements with flourescent Christmas cheer
And the Bentley-driving guru is putting up his price.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

And the prophets in the boutiques give out messages of hope
With jingle bells and fairy tales and blind colliding scopes
And you can tell they're all the same underneath the pretty lies.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

The yellow Buddhist monk is burning brightly at the zoo
You can bring a bowl of rice and then a glass of water too
And fate is setting up the chessboard while death rolls out the dice.
Anyone for tennis, wouldn't that be nice?

Where I Was?

2004-10-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

These are the five of his live performances I wish I would have seen.

1. Cream's - The Farewell Concert
2. Rainbow Concert
3. Live at the Budokan Theater, Tokyo
(CD as Just One Night)
4. CrossRoads Guitar Festival Dallas (May-Jun 2004)
5. Unplugged!

LiveWire!

2004-10-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

It was the high time in my college as it was the last year and the placements were in full swing. The first company came and rejected me, the second came and shove me in the GD round. Then for a few days there were no companies visiting the campus. I had realized that its going to be tough call if I this spark initiates a chain reaction (of companies rejecting me). I was not desperate to get a job just because I needed it, but I needed more than everyone, as it would hold the key to see him live. My Big Bro got lucky; he got the tickets for Clapton's shows that were cancelled. They were scheduled in November end. So I arranged myself, did some SWOT analysis and got myself ready for the next one. It struck, I was through. After getting through I had nothing to do, I'd just sit back in my room and play the guitar all day (lectures never bothered me). Occasionally I would go to the institute but would go after the lectures timings and come before the next one started. Meanwhile, I did all I need to do to get the visa and other things. It was scheduled on the 29th Nov 2003 at Yokohama Sports Arena.

When I got there it was a sold out. I settled for an EC collectible cap from there as a memoriam for 3000 yens (the rest of the collectibles were way too costly 7000 yens and more). The first thing I saw on the stage was his guitar (one from his own signature series) known as the Crashocaster as a painter who calls himself Crash painted it. I just started to wonder the amount of equipment that was on the stage - guitars, amplifiers, processors, monitors, miles and miles of cables and what not. The amplifier Clapton used in that show was a Fender Vintage Series amplifier, and I felt that it was turned all the way up in its volume. And he just as came he alone played a Robert Johnson classic “When You Got a Good Friend” upon a black Martin acoustic (sites reported that it was made specially for him by the Martin & Co for this tour). It felt like four guitars in synch! After this one, he just leaned back picked up his Crashocaster and pulled a solo out of it. It was out of this world. I got my money’s worth. His head leaned back his body, his eyes closed in desperation. It was a sight of a master craftsman. After this it was all up the hill.

He did all the songs crowd wanted Wonderful Tonight, Layla, Cross Roads, Can’t Find My Way Home, Great Muddy Waters’ Got My Mojo Working, Cocaine, Sunshine of Your Love, White Room, Reconsider Baby, I Shot The Sheriff. The rest I don’t remember as it was one his rare shows that lasted for nearly two hours. And the last one was from the Classic Wizard of Oz – Somewhere Over The Rainbow. What I missed was My Father’s Eyes & River Of Tears, but what he gave was too much to take in a single evening. In between the songs he did not talk with the crowd, all he did was just a mild thanks giving. The most amazing thing he would do in the show was to pick a slide in a split second and play a solo on slide.

I was stunned by the energy and vitality of the 60-year-old man and I wonder what he would play when he was 25. Time to check up his schedule, lets see when he is visiting Japan again as my trip to Japan is due ;-)

Change!

2004-10-25T05:47:00.000-07:00

Mood in the morning was Double Trouble!
And Now its The Last Fair Deal Going Down!

One More thing

2004-10-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

One thing i realized that his music makes you feel the way you want to unlike BB who makes you feel the way he is feeling.

Want One?

2004-10-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

I got this list from Christie’s Official site. This is the comprehensive list of all the instruments Clapton auctioned in Mar ’04 to support Crossroads - A rehabilitation he has set up center for the chemically addicted. Among the instruments, I was lucky to see Clapton playing the Cherry Red Gibson ES 335 at the Yokohama Sports Arena in Nov’ 2003. He had played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on this guitar in that show. If I am not wrong this is the same guitar upon which he achieved that Fat Heavy Bluesy Tone of “Reconsider Baby”. Last in the list is the famous “Blackie”- Clapton himself assembled this by taking the components from four Fender Strats, eventually in this auction it became the most csotly guitar history has ever recorded. Also it became the template for the Clapton Signature Strat. I tried a signature Strat in a shop in Tokyo, the action and the sustain are amazing plus that extra boost that it gets from the tone control, costs a whooping 6,50,000 yens + 5% Tax :-(

[Fender have the same repute in guitars as Mercedes in Cars]
[Stratocaster aka Strat is one of the most celebrated electric guitars]
[Action - Distance from the strings and the board of the guitar]
[Sustain - The time for which a note persists when played]
[Boost - You can only feel if you play :p]

Just One Night

2004-10-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is about about the twin CD “Just One Night”, recorded live in Dec’ 79 at the Budokan Theater Tokyo (I saw him live there in last November). Just for the reason that I am listening to it now. This is perhaps the best live performance of his during the 70s. In this Clapton once again proved why “EC is God” was written on the walls all over London and Europe. In this recording Clapton is visibly under the influence of the country music and drugs as well. Not to mention the Blues, what he regard as his inspiration and driving force when he drifts from his roots. Clapton, in this tape also resembles a bit to B.B. King. This is perhaps the most mysterious guitar tone I have ever heard. I am trying hard to achieve that tone since last two months, but all is in vain.

Now, I beg pardon of all those who are not musicians as they might not be able to get what I’m talking about. I am just dying to get into this tone. This tone seems to be in between of clean and overdrive, but where I can’t figure out. I tried with all the combos of Clean and overdrive channels in my 30-Watt Marshall amp. I am using an Ibanez GIO series guitar and a crybaby wah-wah pedal. The crybaby wah-wah has helped me inching to this tone. (I don’t have any multi effects processor, just a Crybaby wah-wah pedal). The nearest I can get to it is when I am on the clean channel with treble at 4 and bass at 8 and volume nearly at 9. I guess that sustain comes from the volume, reverb and the feedback. Also extra sustain from the chorus that’s laid over the effects. As Ibanez are naturally high pitch guitars, I keep the tone control on my guitar somewhere in between. I will get an overdrive pedal perhaps a Boss Blues Driver or Ibanez Tube-Screamer, lets see how closer it gets me to this tone. I am waiting for the weekend. Will post again, if I get it.
If anyone can help, please do comment

P.S. I want to use this space as a discussion forum rather than an expression forum.

All Time Favs

2004-09-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

I decided to start off with the harsdest thing i.e. listing my favs among the favs. To ease myself a bit I decided to put Him in the pre-70s, 70s The Solo Years, 80s, 90s & the 0s. I know there are a few albums that I havent listened to coz they are not released in India.

Pre-70s
1. White Room
2. CrossRoads
3. Badge
4. Sunshine of Your love
5. Rambling on My mind

70s
1. Motherless Children
2. Let It Rain
3. Tell me That You Love me
4. High
5. Get Ready

80s
1. Bad Love
2. Pretending
3. Holy Mother
4. Knock On Wood
5. Its in the Way You use it

90s
1. River of Tears
2. Tears In Heaven
3. My Father's Eyes
4. Layla (unplugged)
5. Motherless Child

0s
1. Badge (One More Car One More Rider)
2. River of Tears (One More Car One More Rider)
3. Aint Gonna Stand for it
4. Me n the Devil Blues
5. Come On in My Kitchen