Why Clapton's Fool Didn't set records and the other 14 Most Expensive Guitars Ever!
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- As far as historical, cultural and musical significance is concerned, Eric Clapton’s ‘64 Gibson SG from his Cream days - famously known as ‘The Fool’ - ticks a lot of boxes. Named after the Dutch art collective that gave it its striking body artwork, The Fool became Slowhand’s go-to guitar in his post Bluesbreakers days while he and his Cream bandmates were piecing together the riff-oriented Disraeli Gears.
Through its wild aesthetics, the guitar became the face of the psychedelic era and a symbol of the 1967 Summer of Love phenomenon. It also helped concoct Clapton's heralded “woman tone”, noted for its rich harmonics and warm character, which underpinned hits such as Sunshine of Your Love, White Room, I Feel Free and countless others.
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I’d argue Clapton is one of the most influential, as he’s the only one still around that you can go and see playing. He still sells out arenas all over the world, most recently Japan and America. He survived the worst of lows, and achieved stellar success multiple times in his career. He helped save Fender in the 80’s and then Martin in the 90’s, shone a light on a dying music form, and has played with artists of all genres and eras. Not many people can say they were friends with Hendrix, John Lennon, Jeff Beck, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Bonamossa, Johnny Cash, Tracey Chapman, Gianni Versace, Muddy Waters etc. He has spanned every decade, and is still here!
It’s weird how people gloss over the impact he had in the ‘90s. “Tears in Heaven” and the acoustic “Layla” sold more Martins than anything ever.
I've seen hundreds of concerts. The loudest cheer I have ever heard was for Clapton in Indianapolis in the late 80s. He opened the show with White Room. When he came out on stage and people realized the song there was an ovation. But when stepped away from the mic to take the first guitar break the place went ballistic. I have goosebumps typing the story.
Well Said - I own a Clapton Stratocaster / Not owned by EC but a Fender Signature model " Blackie " made in USA .
So his guitars should sell for more because he knew other famous people?
I read Clapton's autobiography. It showed he is a pretty horrible person. I was never much of a Clapton fan, but wow, not much at all now.
Clapton stopped collecting a long time ago. Since Blackie there has never been a guitar that you could associate him with. His association with the Fool was a very brief one and it seems an increasingly dim and distant memory in rock and roll history. That aside his controversial opinions that he has spoken out on in the past few years, but also in the past, has meant that he has shed even some of the most loyal of fans.
The Fool would have fetched a much higher price, IMHO, had it been in its original condition. It was in such disrepair when Todd Rundgren bought it that it really isn't the same guitar from the Cream era.
That's a good point and that it past through both of these great players hands as well. But investors and collectors don't necessarily buy guitars to play.
Correct - Jackie Lomax had a weird bridge on so he could play slide with it that after Rundgren bought it he had a luthier replace the bridge with a stoptail as it should have.and had the paint touched up and resealed. And he used that guitar live for years. It's been on a ton of records too not just Clapton. And I saw him live through the 80s into the 2000s. He finally sold it as discussed here but before he did so, he had a replica made and he plays the replica live now. As well as "Foamy" his Fernandes seafoam strat.
The Clapton sg didn’t sell for more because of the neck dive
I became obsessed with Pink Floyd when i was 13 in 2002 and forced my mom to re rent the delicate sound of thunder VHS (remember those?) every time it had to go back and learned to play everything on that by ear by just watching the video and where his fingers were on my first guitar a red Squire Strat, went to his show in 2016 at MSG and also drove back to NYC for his guitar collection. His red fender with the EMGs was more iconic to me for just that being the guitar i was learning from, unique experience for sure and one i wont forget. Didnt end up bidding (didnt have a quick million to spare) but i did score one of his custom shop black strats off reverb before those shot up in value.
I'm surprised that you guys didn't mention the Mark Knopfler guitars going up for auction.
I was 5 feet from Todd Rundgren doing a pickup one man gig in an Indy dive bar playing this guitar. Had drums and bass on a CART machine and played the piano and Fool all night. Wonder how many of these guitars Jim Irsay owns.
Cool show guys 👌
I have Jerry’s Wolf guitar emblem tattooed on my right elbow. Looks like it’s on the guitar when I play 👍🏻
Isn’t he the guy who Baxter loves who plays JJ Cale covers?
What’s worth over a million is great Casino episodes like this one. Gets the fans talking. My first rock album was Disraeli Gears. Just liked the psychedelic cover. Bought it the same day with Canned Heat which I may have liked more. Both were in heavy rotation. I was a Top 40 kid raised on folk. Begged my parents to let me see The Mamas and The Papas at the Hollywood Bowl. Had a fourth row box. Opening for them was The Jimi Hendrix Experience and last week that concert was released as Live at the Hollywood Bowl, August 18, 1967. It was an Experience. Never heard anything quite like that. Really raw. Hendrix finding his groove. Running up to his stacked Vox to create early splitting feedback. Praying (while playing) over his guitar on the stage floor. (A week later, at Monterey Pop he would light it on fire.) Yet … I didn’t rush out to buy Jimi’s album. It was Cream that was much more polished and jazzy, huge thanks to Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. So when I had two double albums, just becoming a thing, of Wheels of Fire and Electric Ladyland, I think I wore the silver foil cover off of Wheels of Fire. In the White Room / With Black Curtains. Just some dumb kid’s impressions from the emergence of these two icons.
I think its worth pointing out that Garcias axe is the only custom guitar on the list. All the others are stock guitars ( some heavily moded ) but stock just the same . Cool vid .
Hendrix got me into Cream. Cream was Clapton's greatest era, IMO.
I wonder how many of these guitars will maintain their current value once the generations connected to these artists and their music are gone. None of them seem to be true antiques with an intrinsic value (exceptional craftsmanship, functionality and scarcity, like a Stradivarius). Their value seem to be attached more to fame, longing, and easy money (for some). I guess a few will retain some museum/historical value.
It will be interesting to see what the auction of Mark Knopfler's guitars brings (Jan 31, Christie London).
Claptons early years with the Gibsons and Marshalls were the best and he's never topped that. The Fool is a cool guitar and it fetched a mega premium seeing as how it's still a refin
The condition is pretty much irrelevant. The buyers aren't buying the guitar primarily because of the guitar. They're buying it because of who and what it represents.
@@castleanthrax1833 I'm aware it's still a refin. Just goes to show how stupid collectors are.
@@alexwoolridge94aw It could've been busted on stage and would possibly be "worth" more. Nobody's buying them because of their condition.
SRV, Hendrix, Allman, Green, Cobain, Holly all became even more famous because of when and how they passed away.
To use the argument that Clapton is no longer relevant because he faded from the top over time? I would argue to say that all of the players listed above would have had the same fate.
Clapton rescued the Gibson LP and brought it back to the forefront.
Clapton is absolutely a legend with a legacy. But he is also 78 years old. To be expected.
As far as rich people spending way too much money to remember their youth? That is another conversation. These guitars are not worth millions of dollars in reality. Had Cobain sold his Martin when he was alive it would have gone for a fraction of what it just sold for, probably just enough to pay for his drug addiction. Yep I just said that. 😮
I'll never forget the day SRV died. One of my coworkers looked at me and said "Man, why couldn't it have been Clapton." It's a rough sentiment, but I think that sums it up.
Jesus is a cherry picker. SRV,EVH,Beck , Allman, Hendrix, Cobain,Bohnam,Peart,Entwhitsle, Elvis on and on .
@@tracymcelhenie3988that must be a headliner in heaven for sure.
@@tracymcelhenie3988Yessir. They got one helluva band in Heaven!❤
@tracymcelhenie3988 given that outside of SRV and Allman, everyone else was substance, results of substance (cancer), or old age that would be more on the devil than Jesus.🤔. Even Allman was exhibiting at risk behavior, I've ridden for 30 years, so I know that too well.😬🤫
Why couldn’t have been neither.
I agree that he had faded for awhile after the 80’s, but later on he did have a resurgence with his Blues festivals. He was revolutionary in the 60s and 70s although.
He came back huge with the MTV Unplugged special in 1992
The Fool is Iconic and it should have gone for more! Way more! cool video guys
I thought I would share a few thoughts. 1) Clapton played Brownie on the Layla album, and he auctioned it in 1999. 2) Duane Allman’s Gold Top didnt get more because it wasnt original, It was damaged and was repainted, Duane took the pickups out of it when he traded it, so the only thing that was Duane’s guitar was the wood. 3) The fool was damaged with a broke headstock and was repainted multiple times when Todd Rudden owned the guitar, so it wasn’t as original to how it was when Clapton owned it. The Fool was used in Cream right after Clapton’s Les Paul (The Beano burst) was stolen. So the fool was in the 1966 tours and 1967 in the states. It was the primary guitar used on Disraeli Gears.
It’s hard to see how influential EC was now, I can see how Sean would feel like that but EC has excelled in a few areas and ha always kept moving,true artist
I think claptons influence is being seriously underestimated here. His guitar choices also set trends for the last 60 years. since the mid 1960s whatever clapton played was generally the popular choice for guitarists everywhere. The Burst with Mayall, The "Crossroads" 335, Brownie and Blackie in the 70s, the active lace sensor strats in the 80s, his choices have shaped guitar playing at large for a very long time
1st thing to mention, I love "The Blues",..but its far from the cultural force in mainstream pop music it once was.
Clapton, since leaving Cream , has gone further and further down the "Blues" rabbit hole and although to me personally , as a super fan of the genre, that is GREAT, it means virtually noting to the cellphone selfie generations more attuned to John Mayer.
The post EVH shredder era is when he really started to loose his luster as a bonafide "Guitar God"!
2nd thing to mention,.I think, in a weird weird way, John Mayer sort of occupies the space that Clapton did back in the late 60's to late 80s as a mainstream "pop-rock" guy guitar hero, and again, thats fine.
I mention this because although John Mayer is an excellent guitarist and song writer, woman really respond to him also,..Lol. Mayer has been the subject of much discussion as a sort of sex symbol to the ladies and the current queen of pop dedicated a song about their relationship. Clapton, in his day, was also on the mind of lots of lays and is the subject of the underrated classic "Superstar - Groupie" by the underrated blues band Delaney & Bonnie.
A fairly explicit tune about a young woman music fan who apparently had a great time with a certain guitarist ( again,..kind of explicit in the lyrics ) and cant wait for him to comeback to town ( google it,.its fantastic )!
And we ALL KNOW WHAT the song LAYLA is about,..now dont we!!!
40 years ago Clapton was making elevator music. 50 years ago his status was starting to dwindle. He was considered a god between 55 and 60 years ago.
It should be known as the Todd Rundgren SG.
Clapton abandoned it.
He got it back into a playable condition and had it way longer than EC did.
I thought he played "Brownie" on the Derek & The Domino's record, but I could be wrong. He could've played many different guitars. Ask him...
Mark Knopfler is auctioning his collection in Jan. Should be interesting.
Yeah, I'm one of the old guys who actually saw E.C. play Blackie live!!! It was back when Eric was just getting off of Heroin and there was no energy from him or in the crowd. UNTIL he played Cocaine and then the crowd came alive. Make no mistake he played well he just didn't move at all and that lack of energy transferred to the crowd. Maybe he was having a bad day🤔
Apparently Knopfler is selling his 120 guitars at Christie’s in January. We’ve had sales from David Gilmour, Nile Rodgers, EVH, Walter Becker, and some big Les Pauls recently. Iwonder if the market has reached saturation as famous musicians die, or clear the decks before retirement?
The chapter maker for Duane Allman is "Dwayne Almond" :)
Bonnie and Delaney and Derek and the dominoes get no attention anymore and they are my favorite Clapton groups.
I wonder where Clapton's '59 Beano Burst would have stacked up on this list, and conversation, if it were still around. The argument that his guitars are not tied to a moment would not be as strong.
I believe that it has been long known that Gilmour's 0001 strat is NOT the first one, not even close. The numbering on it is most likely as a result of a special factory run or a custom order. I cannot verify or cite where I heard this but for someone with more time to kill it should not be hard.
Apparently, Clapton's great crime is that he didn't die as a young man.
Nope, for me it’s his anti-vaccination stance and using his platform to denounce vaccinations.
And supporting anti-immigrant and racist far right politicians while playing a Black musical genre. And getting girl friends into heroin back in the day.
@@ItsVictoriaGhe doesnt shill for Big Pharma. Why is that a bad thing?
@ItsVictoriaG he did take the jab, and it almost ended his livelihood. He's been painted as an anti-vaxer for raising genuine concerns, since he experienced it first hand.
@@mikepodorski4272 Link 🔗?
As a life long Clapton fan (I'm 52) even I have come to the point where I don't follow him anymore.
From the Cradle and the Cream Reunion tour were his last big moments of outstanding playing.
Having said that, I owe my blues education to him and SRV. I learned who the greats were and it made me a better player.
I suspect Clapton doesn't care how we feel about his level of importance.
Music history probably
Would have been
Different if Eric’s 1960
Les Paul hadn’t been
Stolen. He would’ve
Played that guitar for
Years, and maybe a
Little heavier in his
Playing style too…
Hendrix just had
Attitude!!
Lol; my fave Clapton guitars are the 80s strats and also the early 200 Crashocasters
Here's a question, which guitars that haven't sold do you think would make it on to that list?
Jimmy Page's guitars, Sting's Bass, Angus Young's SG, The Edge's Explorer, Jack White's Airliner, Keith Richard's Tele?
I think Jerry Cantrell's Blue Dress could bring a lot, but I am not sure Alice in Chains has enough of a mainstream following.
I think Billy Gibbons is another huge wildcard. Pearly Gates has to be worth quite a bit. Plus Billy's '58 Moderne which would be a worth a TON regardless of ownership. He also has a ton of old blues players guitars. I would think if you had Muddy Waters guitar whose second owner was Billy Gibbons, that would be worth a lot?
for me, the es-335 is my Clapton/guitar dual.
I do think Sean is a little out of touch with his music history, including the 1990s. Clapton was not so relevant in the 90s onward? Clapton's 1992 MTV unplugged basically revamped the demand for acoustic guitars. This extended well beyond 1995. I should add that Sean's credibility on this subject takes a little hit when he exposes his lack of knowledge with respect Gilmour's 1954 Strat and SN # 001. He also connects the Fool SG to the Derek and the Dominos album! !! Please don't take my comments as being too harsh. However, a little dust up on the research might be in order. The channel has 60K subscribers many of which are passionate players/collectors who are watching these videos. I do however agree with his Mayer comments. Great video as always.
While my guitar gently weeps is his high point for me
I think other than Blackie, the Martin's from his unplugged performance are his most iconic guitars.
For comparison purposes, this is about $100,000 less than Tom Brady's final game jersey just sold for.
PS Shawn is right. From my perspective (a little older than Shawn is, but not much), Clapton is boring as hell. To give Jonathan a little credit, he's right about the live thing. The only Clapton record I really genuinely like is the live Steve Winwood one. That record is awesome
As a 60+ person I would say Sean is dead right. Heroin killed Eric Clapton. After Derek and the Dominos he sunk into exile snorting heroin and putting his career on hold. He finally emerged on RSO Records as "Slowhand" and it was downhill from there. There were a few great songs on his fist solo album. But he never really came back. Now he's bowling shirt dad playing to 60 year olds. The "Fool" guitar was owned by Todd Rundgren who repaired the broken head stock, and it sat in his closet for years. I know someone who's band was produced by Rundgren at his home studio and who played the guitar. Apparently it was in pretty bad shape.
I think the market has softened significantly over the last couple of months.
Clapton shines because of his combination of guitar, song writing and vocal abilities much like David Gilmore possesses all thee traits.
His guitar parts fit the songs.
Good video and good points. However I disagree with value in the guitar from a players perspective, for example saying a guitar is a 59 burst so its worth more. That's a players view, the collector could care less about the sound, it's all about what the guitar represents. The more instantly recognizable the higher the value.
Clapton extreme opinions have done a lot of damage to his legacy
He can definitely play but he gets more unhinged with every year
Any plans for an end of the year award show?
As a millennial Clapton fan, I can say he is my guy. He's who I look to for my guitar playing inspiration. Shocked that he hasn't been selling his guitars for higher amounts of money. But I have always seen him as an influential guitarist who never got his due. He's known but not as popular or as known as Hendrix, Page, Vaughn, Gilmour. When I mention him to my peers, they know who he is, but they struggle with song titles. But he's still MY #1 inspiration.
Hey Sean. Get your point of view but we all lose some passion and tempo and let’s say dangerous playing gets turned down. It becomes more about the songs. Listen to River of Tears in 2007. Live it’s a masterpiece. Clapton has a 60 year career. Hard to argue.
Clapton went from being a great guitarist (Cream) to being a good singer-songwriter. If you look at his whole body of work, there are few people that covered those two elements as well as he did.
Happy Thanksgiving
How much would Frusciante's guitar rack auction for piece by piece? I would like to think his Gretsch would outsell anything ever sold.
Maybe it’s just tastes but comparing Cobains smells like teen spirit to Comfortably numb to Layla I just don’t get how revered he is. Kurt was a decent player but he’s no Duane, David, or even Eric.
You've seen Clapton play a brand new shiny strat for the past 20 years when performing live is because it is a rider in his contracts to be supplied with strats and fender tweeds set up to his specifications.
Clapton does not arrive at a show with a guitar and he does not leave a show with a guitar!
He's right, when I think of Clapton, I think of bowling shirts and guitar festivals.
I remember in an interview Clapton said that staying proficient on guitar was a challenge as he gets older. That's what I've noticed over the decades: his playing seems lack that fire and spark of his early career. I also think his tone became dry and sterile. Just my subjective opinion. However, his work in Cream and Derek and the Dominoes was sublime.
One final thought on Clapton, and one of his guitars don’t bring as much at auction. The markets flooded with Eric Clapton guitars.
Funny I was more into Hendrix and Corbain before I began to discover Dylan and Clapton as a thing.
Page doesn’t even sell stage clothes. I don’t think we will see Page guitars while he lives.
For JM it will be DeadSpec1, thank will be special.
Hendrix is frozen in time because he died so young. Who knows if he would have changed guitar brands and types and worn a bowling shirt too when he got older. As it is Hendrix is forever wearing his Monterey Pop threads and rocking an Olympic white Strat.
Agreed on Clapton. I was born in the 60's and Clapton was in and out my whole life. Aside from his playing, he never could make it more than a few years without ruining everyone's opinion of him, from racist shouting matches at the a audience to more recently Q-Anon conspiracy theories. Regardless of our own opinions on these issues, the general public had their own opinions to. IMO, people don't just accidentally be so offensive this many times on accident. We have plenty more great guitarist to look up to
Duane played on little wing with eric and is all over the Derrick and the dominoes album
Shawn is my hero. I wonder what kind of cologne he wears? I bet the ladies eat him up.
Paying that kind of money for a guitar is insane. There are people who can’t pay their bills and you have some douche paying over a million bucks for a guitar? That’s nuts.
John Mayers black 1 would bring a unfathomable amount of money
80's and 90's Japanese Fenders have a serious following.
Clapton played the SAME solo for 30 years.
I did really enjoy the Robert Johnson cover album.
Did I miss the Peter Green LP?
Les Nessman wants his silver sow award back!!
I'm 70...the dude is right on about Clapton... too many different guitars, bowling shirt, etc 80s on...he was no EVH or Hendrix or Gilmore
I think of the Fool as Todd Rundgren's old guitar...and not because of being too young to associate it with EC.
I do too, hell he had it for 30 years and played it regularly on stage, but barely got a mention in the auction
That Sean doesn't know his arse from his elbow.
That Derek and the dominoes album is amazing. What got me back into playing.
Many of Clapton's innovation's in Tone, Technique & Composition have become Standards that Sean Forgot had not existed prior to Rock & Roll becoming Main Stream, so Clapton's Impact is far more substantial, and how many of today's artist are Cutting Edge rather then a Hack rewriting and Copying Clapton's playing , but Sean that is my opinion.
I think Mayer’s Black 1 will fetch quite a few bucks in 20 years.
I'm with the young buck on this. I'm in my mid 40s and though i know clapton's history, in my formative years, 'tears in heaven' was the clapton song i heard the most and thought it was blah.
THe way Jonathon pronounces "but" always catches me off guard and makes me laugh. Buuotttt!
I guess the Todd Rundgren legacy didn’t send it through the roof😂 (I’m a Todd fan) seriously though 1.27 isn’t exactly chump change and yeah EC has possibly managed to get himself cancelled which probably affected the price the most.
Here’s one for the conspiracy theorists lol. EC has always said he never actually sold that guitar. Would you pay 6 figures for a guitar that he (or his estate) could claim ownership of at any time?
Clapton was huge in the 90's.
At 51 and I’d say Clapton has his place and I respect that.
I’d rather have a world with him rather than without him. I could not care less about almost any guitar used by a player.
I’ll take the coffee table book please. It’s cheaper.
Just maybe if I were insanely wealthy, a guitar played by Hendrix, Angus, EVH, BFG, or SRV would be cool.
A Robert Johnson guitar would be a treasure and something to behold.
Clapton’s influence and relevance at times was tremendous but as you said , it seems that his guitars fell more into the “tool” bucket. It’s a matter of perspective to a large degree I suppose as an Uber fan would cherish one of his guitars.
No doubt that his music will live on long after his influence as a player IMO.
i saw clapton in 2000 and i fell asleep 15 min into his set
One and a quarter million is a lot for a refin!
30 to 40 years from now the percentage of people that are interested in these instruments specifically, and guitars in general, is going to drop dramatically.
Who let this guy out of the store room?
You guys how influence is this punk
I think it’s better known as Todd Rundgren’s guitar .
It pains me to admit that Sean isn't completely wrong, but lets face it... as usual, Jonathan is more right.
One other thing to consider is that while Clapton inspired a generation (or more) of guitar heroes, those guitar heroes realise most guitars are just tools and they have pretty special guitars themselves. The rest of us that he inspired are a bunch of broke guitarists that couldn't scrape up that kind of scratch. Those on the list like Gilmour and Cobain were in the zeitgeist and inspired generations of non-musician that made millions by doing something other than making music.
The outlier, of course, is Greeny, which I assume wasn't on the list because nobody other than Hammett, his accountant, and Richard Henry know how much it was really sold for. And it's an outlier because it's a '59 burst that is completely unique in it's build and sound because of the wiring. It was likely ONLY worth that much to a musician who understood that while it could be replicated and sold at exhorbitant prices, there was only one original.
Interest rates are no longer at zero which will significantly cut the available buyer pool. Poor performance at auction will continue until interest rates drop.
. I bet every day when people hear “cocaine” or “layla” or “while my guitar gently weeps” or “white room” or “crossroads” (need I go on) that out of the probably billion people who hear one of those clapton songs every day that exactly 0 of them think to themselves: you know who’s more influential? That kid that works at a guitar store. What a crap take 😂
The reason that The Fool guitar didn’t go for more is because for the last50 years clapton has been playing a Strat, and is known as a Strat guy. Has nothing to do with his influence.
Clapton started out a guitarist and developed from there into a singer and songwriter as well. He will be remembered; unless he keeps opening his mouth, for his music as a whole, not as a guitar god.
I disagree that Clapton was less visible after the fool. If anything he was much more well known. I agree he switched guitars a lot.
So many "You Knows"
I Wheels of Fire was all Clapton ever did he’d be #1.
His post Derek and the Dominos work is pretty lame. But he can play. And he used that SG on his best work in my opinion.
can the clow-uh-individuals who have millions of bucks to drop on a celebrity guitar even play them? just asking.
tudd rundgren did have something to do with the 'Fool' guitar. i do believe i saw him with a replica in a small concert right here on the youtubes.
John Mayer gets dissed on way too much. If there was one guitarist I’d like to play like, it’s Mayer. There! I said it!
If Jimmy sells his double neck, 5 million easily.
I hate the way boomers drive😂😂😂. Blackie was Eric's most iconic guitar. Cream was Clapton's most iconic music. Eric brought his playing back, I believe, as an anti shred move. I saw him on stage with Santana, and Santana does a lick and looks at Clapton like look what I just did. Clapton rips a lick off so fast I thought I saw Malmsteens yellow strat. Then he gives that Clapton smirk and goes back to his post acoustic, easy playing.
Yes. All boomers are exactly the same.
@@richardclark. once their senility has set in and they're still driving😆😅🤣
you'll be old too one day. Never forget that.
@@30smsuperstrat I'm no too senile to spell correctly. It seems you can't do it even with spell check available. Lol.
@richardclark. Editors spell and check grammar really well. Writers create and tell the story. It's obvious you're a terrible driver and are sensitive about it. You probably have 5 "student driver, please be patient" stickers on your car.😆😅🤣😂.
Honestly, Clapton's solo stuff from the 80s just doesn't do it for me. However, his Cream days were pretty good. Great albums.
Claptons entire solo career was boring and unremarkable.