Clapton the autobiography reviews

Like Loading Leave a comment Cancel reply. Comment Reblog Subscribe Subscribed. ARHtistic License. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Teenage rebellion predictably follows. Early sexual fumbles leave him associating sex with punishment and shame. The casualness of the period means he assumes that all relationships are like that.

Clapton the autobiography reviews: Clapton is no great

Otherwise he shows tendencies to regress and obsess. Though his family was quite musical, young Clapton lacks the work ethic to learn and practice, but once he hears Chuck Berry, Terry and McGhee, Elvis and Buddy Holly he feels a calling of sorts and begins learning to play guitar by ear. Finding art school too commercial, he begins working for his master carpenter grandfather and learns the value of hard work that feeds his perfectionist and obsessive nature.

Though he also begins to learn of his tendency to lose interest in something as soon as he attains it. Playing in pubs to affluent beatnik audiences, he starts learning the trade — practicing, performing, recording, touring. Modest success soon sees him rubbing shoulders with Beatles and Stonesopening for them, even standing in for Mick.

Their success is both alluring and off-putting.

Clapton the autobiography reviews: “Clapton” is nothing so literary as

He feels both sorry for and jealous of The Beatles during Beatlemania — their art being drowned by the screaming of their sheep-like fans. Most of the artists he was a fan of died penniless and alone. Integrity becomes something vitally important to him as he becomes something of a blues fundamentalist. Just as he seems to have cracked popular success, he leaves The Yardbirds feeling that they are heading in a commercial direction.

Though he briefly loses direction, on turning 21 he feels that he had come of age and was ready to make his mark:. Looking back, it felt like I had closed the door on my past, I had little or no contact with my old friends from Ripley, and my new family ties felt very weak. It was as if I was starting a brand-new life, where there was no room for any excess baggage.

I was very confident of my abilities, and very aware that this was the key to my future. Hence I was extremely protective of my craft, and ruthless in cutting away anything that stood in my path. It was not a path of ambition, I had no desire for fame or recognition, I just needed to make the best music I could, with the tools that I had.

But Clapton describes the inherent difficulties of such an arrangement. Without the sort of fraternal origins of most bands, the trio did not necessarily all get along and they probably all had different ideas of what the band was supposed to be. Clapton cites their lack of clapton the autobiography reviews with each other, their inability to share ideas and grow creatively.

Clapton is, famously, the only person to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times — once as part of The Yardbirdsonce as a part of Cream and once as a solo artist. He spends great detail on their relationship as well as other female relationships. I enjoyed reading about how he taught himself to play the guitar. I learned that he never learned to read music.

He describes his playing style as a variation of the folk music claw-hammer style. He says he uses the top two strings of his guitar for the bass line, the middle two strings for rhythm, and the bottom two strings for playing lead guitar. He shares how he selected his guitars. We learn how the gauge of the strings and the distance between fret and neck influenced his ability to play.

You get the story of his son Connor, his accidental death, and the song Tears in Heaven. We learn of the impact of the death of Stevie Ray Vaughn on his life. Clapton warms to the subject of his recovery, stressing its spiritual elements and how he started the Crossroads Clinic in Antigua.

Clapton the autobiography reviews: With striking intimacy and candor, Eric

Sharing this personal journey into addiction and recovery is therapeutic for him. His reflecting is filled with humility, particularly in the form of unhappiness with his early successes. In effect, recording studios, jam sessions, and concert tours serve not as the focus, but rather as the backdrop for the story of his life. Over the past decade, Clapton has been pouring over the details of his life.

He re-formed Cream and reunited with Steve Winwood. He also has honored the influence that Robert Johnson and J. Cale had upon his career.