Recently, I was sitting in an airport at 6:00 AM watching CNN. It was just me and the cleaning team. CNN happened to be running a repeat episode of Larry King Live with Eric Clapton as guest who was promoting his new memoir Clapton: The Autobiography (Broadway). I ended up purchasing the book as soon as it was released. By the time I finished the book, I felt as though I had devoured it.
Its narrative voice has a cadence of a storyteller. As I made my way through each chapter, I kept imagining that I had sat down next to a man on an airplane and begun to hear a life story. In this memoir, Clapton proves himself worthy as a spokesperson for recovery by refusing to glamorize the road and the lifestyle. He definitely comes across as a self-absorbed musician, of course, but he also reveals a human frailty that I did not expect. In about 352 pages, Clapton, comes to grips with his childhood, his self-inflicted pain, and the redemption he deserved by finally finding a woman with whom he could start a family. In fact, if there was a slow part of the book, it would be the last couple of chapters in which he and Melia marry and settle down into family life. Honestly, that's not a bad way to end a memoir. Don't we want to know that a man who has made countless bad personal decisions finally got it right?
What I find interesting is that he quietly moves through musical collaborations like Cream and Derek and the Dominoes without any grandeur. If I hadn't thought about the unforgettable music that came out of these collaborations, I would have thought they were nothing overly significant at all.
I would recommend reading it. Even if you aren't a fan of Clapton or the blues, it's still a fascinating read; if not for the demystification of one man who was once referred to as God, for vignettes involving George Harrison, John Lennon, and other well known artists. -K
Your review hits it dead on. I agree the book was well paced and the conversational tone made it an intimate read. I was also surprised how quickly he glossed over his bands/albums, but for him, they were just groups and recordings, not life changing events like they are for many of his listeners. It's the same deal with the musicians who say they don't listen to their albums ever, after they are mixed. That is weird to me, because once they are mixed and released, that's when we all start to listen, and sometimes we never stop!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wrote a review of "Clapton" at http://isorski.blogspot.com/. You might have to scroll down a little to get to it. Check it out!