- People moan that he's past it, and he's gone soft, just doing those Albert Hall shows in his fancy suits, but you have to look at the legacy of Clapton and the influence he's had on so many players. There are hundreds, probably thousands of musicians out there who wouldn't have picked up a guitar without Eric Clapton's influence, and you can't take that away from him. If you doubt it, just listen to the stuff he plays on Goodbye Cream when he and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker were just jamming away playing freeform blues jams, all of them soloing away like mad. It was like they were in competition to be heard, and it's just awesome to hear. He just goes somewhere else when he's playing, and that sort of gift is very rare indeed.
- He's (Jeff Beck) a really unusual guitarist. He seems to have loads of techniques and tricks that he's developed and that only he seems to use. He has this thing where he operates the whammy bar, and he's doing some weird thing with the heel of his hand, and he's picking at the same time. When you hear him do that, and see him play, you just know that you're never ever going to be able to play the guitar like he does ... and he knows it.
- I'm sure that, deep down, Pete Townshend has always been really miffed that he's not Eric Clapton. I think he's always wanted Clapton's technique and mastery of style and tone. Because he's not had that, he's very aggressive in his playing. He channels all that fury into his style, and that's what makes him so good live - it's all barre chords, and he smashes them out with a real anger ... it's fantastic to watch, and to hear the way he plays.
- He's a fantastic technician - really, really clever. I enjoy the picking guitar style, and I do pick myself, but when I hear Davy Graham I tend to feel a bit inadequate. I don't know if he plays much these days, but if you get a chance to hear his records, you can hear what I mean.
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