Clapton: The Autobiography - J's Review

Just as K was buying the new EC autobiography, I had just finished reading the final excerpt that had been published for three straight weekends in the London Times. As soon as I could get my hands on it, I would. The things that struck me about the book were:

1. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominoes is by far my favourite EC work. I often listen to that record from start to finish. I would think that if you wrote such heartbreaking lyrics for someone that you were in love with, if you were then with them, that would be it. Happiness. Not so. Ladies, it’s another example of the grand gesture being very misleading. I really felt for Pattie Boyd.
2. He is a man who needs man time and maybe this is a result of his maternal abandonment issues. But now he now has four daughters. That may be an example of a divine plan.
3. As an artist, he does not seem as driven to create something original as much as he wants to honor a tradition that already exists.
4. Every once in awhile when I read something a little detail in the book that shouldn’t be a big deal starts obsessing me. Towards the end of the book he buys a boat and has to borrow money to do it, which is a first for him. Now he had a world tour coming up so I’m sure there is no loan now, but I started wondering, is he going to be okay financially?
5. He freely admits not giving his all during live performances a number of times, mostly due to his addictions. I know the same could be said for a number of artists, but that always makes me uncomfortable.
I agree with K, you don’t have to be a fan to enjoy the book.

Clapton: The Autobiography-K's Review

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

One Train Later - Andy Summers

Having some time off for the holidays and no travel planned gave me the perfect opportunity to read One Train Later and then obsess over early Police records. Even if you aren’t a fan of The Police (I don’t want to know if you aren’t), this book tells the tale of a seasoned musician with way more experience than I had realized. Unexpectedly, I couldn’t put it down. Some interesting points were:

Andy was more interested in contributing something new to the music scene than becoming a British blues guitarists like Eric Clapton who copied the legends of the American South. Eric and Andy traveled in the same musical circles and at one time, after Eric’s ’59 Les Paul is stolen, he hounds Andy to buy his since he has the only other ’59 Les Paul in London and he is getting ready to record with Cream for the first time. He sells it to him and the rest is history.

Hearing his description of meeting and seeing Jimi Hendrix play in his early days was fascinating.

Reading about Sting being totally hoodwinked by a Canadian keyboardist who was trying to wedge his way in as the fourth member into the now successful band was amusing.

This fall I read a book written by the drummer of Semisonic who, in the grand scheme of things, had minor success. I wondered what the inside story would be like if the band had monumental success. Well, here’s the book. While you get the impression that the band did not make a conscious decision to go out on top as they did, instead it was motivated by Sting’s call to the lute, they did just that. Could you turn on the radio in 1983 and not hear a single from Synchronicity? What’s totally refreshing in the end is that Andy is not bitter about the way it ended. As I read the book, I found myself scrutinizing the cover, looking for the name of a ghost writer. There is none that I could find, but this book is shockingly well-written. If you aren’t a reader, but want to know more, check out the Andy Summers interview on Sound Opinions. He distills the essence of the book on the air and also once again, proves what a gentleman he is by not taking the bait and dissing on one particularly famous former bandmate. –J