Clapton ripped off Freddie King licks like crazy, but he was less blatant about it. Listen to some of Clapton's early stuff with the Yardbirds and with John Mayall and you will hear it.
I worked for Karl Richardson on a musical a few years back. He was the engineer of Clapton's "461 Ocean Boulevard". He told us that when recording "I Shot The Sheriff", that the band and back-up singers were so stoned that the crew had a difficult time recording them because they were swaying in front of the mics and getting uneven sound. The solution was to get them all to lay down on the floor and then place boom mics over them to get the best sound for the chorus of the song. Everytime I hear it now, I get the vision in my head of them all laying on the floor while Karl was just trying to get them recorded. I vote for Page.
I have heard that story. That's the thing with Clapton, he wasted the 70's. He was too drunk, stoned and hooked on heroin to grow as a musician.
You need to go back and survey how much of Zepplin is acoustic..... even mandolin. ( I reviewed a bunch of new music in the What are you listening to thread, check it out)
Fine think this whole thread is as goofy as who get the Academy Award anyway. Art is an exhibition not a competition.
So true. That's the thing that most people know nothing about. All these so-called Great guitarists ripped off the old Blues guys. Listen to Freddie King, BB King, Magic Sam, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Robert Johnson...and so many more and you will hear that most of the licks played were taken from these great blues guys. Hendrix took those licks and expanded on them, which is why he was different.
I have heard that, which would explain his sloppy playing. That's the thing (for me anyway) is that Jimmy Page was an awesome guitarist in the studio. But Live, he was a very sloppy player.
Dude? They show that Hendrix documentary on VH1 rock movie every once in a while, I watched some of it again this week. His friends talk about his abuses and he's shown smokin pot in the film. When I was a cosmic cowboy myself the rumor was Hendrix shot acid in his eye. (or was that Ginger Baker...and speed?) All musicians of the late 60's used a myriad of drugs with the one curious exception of Frank Zappa, and his music sounds stoned. Remember LSD was legal till 1967.
I don't know if he was a heavy user before "Presence" came out, but I think he was using. I do know by the time their last album came out, "In Through the Out Door", Page's playing was pretty much shot. There are very few guitar solos on that album - the majority of it is John Paul Jones playing keyboards.
As noted earlier in the thread, I think EC ripped off more licks than Page -- even though Jimmy gets (rightfully) called more for it. But it can be a good thing -- for decades junior high kids have stumbled on blues records that featured a familiar sounding solo nicked by Clapton, usually from one of the the three Kings. Eric hasn't done anything interesting since the solo on "Let It Rain," it sucks to say, but it's the truth to me. I'm not even talking about the 80s/90s/current crap, because that second "Crossroads" box set (live in the 70s) is just filled with the same three Strat solo lines over and over and over and over and over. Jimmy gets nods in the areas of raw power (Zep's first album, crunchy as hell Tele licks). The weird humbucker-phases he used were always interesting to me (especially because my guitar does the same thing), and his work with (stolen) folk tunings was very cool. Many an hour was spent by 13-year old KD wailing away in DADGAD, pretending I was on a mountainside somewhere with my one-pickup Yamaha monstrosity ... But, if only for "Hideaway" and "Smokestack Lightning," I'm taking EC. His prime was that brilliant. And, although people tend to hate the Strat/Champ sound on him, to me, "Layla" is the balls. That album is so good, that open Okie sound, I love it. "The Lemon Song" may age better, but if I need one note, I'll go with Eric.
KD, have you listened to Clapton's "Pilgrim" from 1998? I didn't care for it at first but it grew on me BIG TIME. Probably my favorite Clapton album.
I'd go with Page for his composition skills. Listen to the songs, riffs and rhythms the guy composed.(Try Physical Graffiti, hell try them all) KICK ASS. AWESOME. DAMN. Clapton is more a blues virtuoso. Cross Roads kicks ass and his Wah Wah work on Disralie Gears is awsome. He has some sweet leads and is better at improvisation. But Page has a great variety of sounds from acoustic to just balsy and it all rocks.
