singemonkey wrote
Those British blues guitarists played the most insanely exciting, passionate lead guitar I've ever heard. The guys they imitated were perhaps more original. But the feel and fluency that Clapton, Green, and Taylor introduced was just incredible. Blues guitar players I hear now all have the chops, but they can't lift you. It's like they don't actually think that it's exciting, soulful music. They think it's a hobby. Or a craft or something. But when those guys were good it could seem like enlightenment would come round the next string-bend. That's why both Clapton and Green were called God. And Taylor wasn't far off either.
I used to have a John Mayall album with Taylor playing, and he was magical. His problem is that he's always been a side man, never an artist in his own right. Fab player. Meshed very well with Knopfler on a Dylan album that I recall hearing long ago. Infidels?
You're not mentioning Gilmour. He's an interesting case because although he didn't emerge from quite the same scene as the others, he is a blues player at his core.
Clapton now though? He has better chops, but without the fire, the aggression, the will to prove himself, he seldom reminds you of how he blew everyones' minds. But you listen to Steppin' Out on the John Mayall record. Holy sh%t. People have been called God for far less than that.
I'm quite rude about Clapton these days, but he's a big part of my falling in love with rock. Especially his work with Cream. The number that threw the switch for me was "White Room", and I loved "Tales of Brave Ulysses" as well. It took me a longer to get into his straighter blues stuff like "Crossroads" or "Sleepy Time Time".
You're right, there was real fire in his playing then. A pity that the fire went out, but it often does. Not many guys have a creative flow that flows forever. We can still bear testimony to what he did, and if he never cuts another track he'll still deserve the label "great".
Same with Green, though he never reached the level of fame and hype that Clapton did. Just a fab player, and I think his work in the 60s is finally starting to get the recognition that it deserves.
