CLAPTON ERIC, THE BLUESMAN. CD TABLATURE
Eric Clapton - Selections from Blues
Series: Signature Licks Guitar
Format: Softcover with CD
Artist: Eric Clapton
This instructional book/CD pack will let players see why Clapton is such a legend! Examines 11 songs: Have You Ever Loved a Woman - Hideaway - I Feel Free - I'm So Glad - Steppin' Out - Strange Brew - Sunshine of Your Love - more.
Inventory #HL 00695040
ISBN: 9780793558032
UPC: 073999950403
Width: 9.0"
Length: 12.0"
96 pages
Song List:
All Your Love (I Miss Loving) - BLUESBREAKERS - OTIS RUSH - 1965
Have You Ever Loved A Woman - DEREK AND THE DOMINOS - BILLY MILES - 1960
Hide Away - BLUESBREAKERS - FREDDY KING, SONNY THOMPSON - 1961
I Ain't Got You - YARDBIRDS - CALVIN CARTER - 1955
I Feel Free - CREAM - JACK BRUCE, PETE BROWN - 1967
I'm So Glad - CREAM – NEHEMIAH SKIP JAMES - 1967
I'm Tore Down - ERIC CLAPTON - SONNY THOMPSON - 1962
Politician - CREAM - JACK BRUCE, PETE BROWN - 1968
Steppin' Out - BLUESBREAKERS - JAMES BRACKER - 1955
Strange Brew - CREAM - ERIC CLAPTON, FELIX PAPPALARDI, GAIL COLLINS - 1967
Sunshine Of Your Love - CREAM - JACK BRUCE, PETE BROWN, ERIC CLAPTON - 1968
INTRODUCTION
The Golden Age of Rock-generally defined as the mid/late sixties through the early seventies-produced an incredible number of trailblazing guitarists, each possessing a singular and unique approach to the instrument. Together, they set the standard by which rock guitarists will forever be measured. Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Johnny Winter, and Jeff Beck were the most influential guitarists of this era, and their high-spirited playing styles continue to inspire millions today.
But of this list of rock's greatest guitarists, Eric Clapton stands out as the man who initially inspired all of the others with his dazzling fretwork and cutting-edge sound. Eric Clapton is deserving of recognition for a great many reasons. First and foremost, he is responsible for creating a new, high-powered guitar sound, heard first on the hugely influential Bluesbreakers: John Mayall with Eric Clap ton (London, 1966). At this session, Eric plugged his stock 1959 Les Paul Flametop into a Marshall JTM 45 and turned it "full up." As he told Guitar World in December of '94, "I thought the obvious solution was to get an amp and play it as loud as it would go-until it was just about to burst." With a handful of licks inspired by B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Freddie King, Eric had by this point developed his own way of speaking on the instrument; he performed beautifully articulated, seamless improvisations fueled by the pure energy of his youth. His mind-boggling performance captured on Bluesbreakers spun the heads of guitarists the
world over, and gave birth to a sound that is still considered "state of the art" more than 30
years later.
Eric skyrocketed past the high watermark of Bluesbreakers as a member of rock's
greatest power trio, Cream, with whom his playing grew by leaps and bounds. Cream's
extended forays into group improvisation brought rock into unchartered territories, and Eric
used this platform to experiment with new sounds and approaches. But, no matter what the
context, at the core of Eric's musical spirit remained his deep love of the blues.
The most impressive distinction held by Clapton is the fact that he has sustained a
prolific, illustrious career over a span of four decades. This type of longevity is virtually
unheard of in the ever-evolving world of pop music. No other rock guitarist has retained as
viable a career for as long as Eric Clapton; incredibly, he is more popular today than ever.
Eric Clapton: The Bluesman Signature Licks focuses on Eric's greatest guitarwork
within the context of blues-based material. Eleven selections are presented in this book,
beginning with examples of his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and
Cream, moving on to Derek and the Dominos, and ending with a tune from his blues-based
album of 1994, From the Cradle.
Each of the selections illustrated in this book is segmented into the individual song
sections, such as intro, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, and outro, enabling one to study each
section individually. Each song segment is presented with all of the guitar parts fully transcribed,
plus accompanying audio on the CD, as performed by a full band. All of the guitar
solos, as well as complex rhythm parts, are also performed slowly to a click track for easier
understanding. Performance notes, outlining chord voicings, scale use, fingerings, and
unusual techniques are included in the text for each song.
On the accompanying CD, an attempt was made to recreate the sound of the original
recordings, primarily in terms of guitar tone and panning. Each tune offers a description
of the guitar/amp combination chosen to emulate Clapton's tone. The overall intent of
this recording is to present a mix that accentuates the guitar more clearly than as it
appears on the original recordings, enabling one to focus on all of the subtle nuances of
each performance.
On the CD, each song segment begins with a four-count ("one-two-three-four") as
sounded by the hi-hat. On the examples that are played slowly to a click track, the fourcount
is sounded by the clicking together of drumsticks.
THE RECORDING
My car played a major role in the recording of this CD, because I drove allover the
map borrowing guitars to suit each track. On "I Ain't Got You," I used a 1970 Telecaster (with
a killer bridge pickup); on "Hideaway," I used a "historic" mid-90s Les Paul Standard; on
"Steppin' Out" and "All Your Love," I used a magnificent 1952 Goldtop Les Paul Standard,
converted to 1957 specs (oh, the tone); "I'm So Glad" features a 1968 Les Paul Custom
(one-piece body and neck); "I Feel Free," "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Politician" were performed
on a 1961 Les Paul/SG Custom (previously owned by Allan Holdsworth); "Strange
Brew" and "I'm Tore Down" were performed with a 1960 dot-neck 335; and, for "Have You
Ever Loved a Woman," I used my stock 1961 Stratocaster. Strings are D'Addario XL 125s
and EXL 11Os.
For every track except "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Politician," the guitar amp used
was a 1967 "blackface" Fender Super Reverb (purchased from the one and only Gary
Blankenburg of Music Services, Wantagh, NY). This amp is the greatest-thanks, Gary! On
"Sunshine of Your Love" and "Politician," I used a 1978 Marshall MK II 1959 Master Model
100-watt head, into a 300-watt Marshall 1960A 4x12 cabinet. The amps were miked with a
combination of Shure SM-57s, SM-58s, and Beta-58s. The only distortion pedal used, on
a few of the tracks, was an Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer.
Two basses were used on this recording: a 1967 Gibson EB-2 and a 1986 ESP J-
Bass, fitted with Seymour Duncan "Bass Lines" pickups. Strings are D'Addario Chromes
(flat-wounds) and XL-170s (roundwounds). The amp used was a 1972 Fender Bassman
135 played through a 1988 Marshall JCM 800 1551 2x15 cabinet. This was miked with a
Shure Beta-58. All bass tracks were transcribed from the original recordings and recreated
as faithfully as possible.
The drum tracks were all transcribed from the original recordings and meticulously
programmed into an Alesis SR-16 drum machine, so what you hear is essentially exactly
what was played (those Ginger Baker parts were, um, time-consuming).
Last but certainly not least, the keyboard and synthesized horn parts were performed
by Steve DiMieri. The harp lick in "I Ain't Got You" was supplied by Eddie Mac.
In recreating the bass and drum parts faithfully, the goal was to bring as much of
the "vibe" of the original recordings into this presentation. This was also the goal in the performance
of Eric's guitar parts. Playing these great guitar parts "correctly" is not only about
where the notes are played on the neck, or the rhythmic syncopations employed. What
makes these guitar parts great is the intense feeling Eric conveys to the listener; it was my
goal to recreate as much of that feeling as possible when recording these transcriptions.
When you play these parts, I encourage you to put as much feeling as you can into your
performance, because that's really what it's all about.
All of the tracks were recorded onto a Tascam DA-88 digital eight-track, using a
Mackie 1604 mixing console and mixed down to a Tascam DA-30 MK II DAT machine.
Signal processing included Alesis Midiverb 4, Microverb III, 3630 compressor, and M-EQ
230 equalizer.
THANKS TO: My family-Tracey, Rory, and Wyatt, and my mom; Brad Tolinski, Dennis
Page, Jimmy Brown, and everyone at Guitar World; Jeff Schroedl, John Cerullo, Karen
Waldkirk, and everyone at Hal Leonard Corp.; the incomparable Flip Scipio; Leroy Aiello
and everyone at Mandolin Brothers. And of course a major thank you to all of the great guitarists
and all-around good guys who lent me their guitars: Nicky Skopelitis, Danny
Begelman, Dave Nesdall, and John Ellis.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Greg Romano at D'Addario Strings; Larry Brooks at Seymour
Duncan Pickups; Bill Mohroff at TEAC, America; the folks at Mackie Designs; Mitch Colby
and Nick Bowcott at Marshall/Korg; Gary Blankenburg at Music Services.
This book is dedicated to my mother.
This instructional book/CD pack will let players see why Clapton is such a legend! Examines 11 songs, 96 pages
All Your Love (I Miss Loving)
Have You Ever Loved A Woman
Hide Away
I Ain't Got You
I Feel Free
I'm So Glad
I'm Tore Down
Politician
Steppin' Out
Strange Brew
Sunshine Of Your Love
Italiano
English
