And Now Back To Guitar Players

Just once more, indulge me for my new friend Sarah, some Mark Knopfler. Knopfler is fabulous and is in fact allowed to breathe in the same air-space that is the awesomeness of Clapton. The chill bumps start at 5:43 for me on this one because I know what's coming. By 6:57 I'm down.

Damn, I am SUCH a groupie.

Turn it Up Loud!!!!!!!!!

I recently got into a kind of discussion with someone about great guitar players. If you know me AT ALL you know that there is no question, no doubt, not even a millisecond of hesitation before my man Slowhand comes to mind. While there are many good guitar players, there are only a few that are great, and then there is Clapton.

My earliest memory of Clapton is the old Derek and the Dominoes; I was probably in middle school. Elks club swimming pool. Jukebox. Coppertone and chlorine in the air. Sweat, sun, and Layla. Over and over.

Through the years I've listened to a LOT of Clapton and lots of versions of Layla. Clapton did so much more than Layla that is great but this particular song is so fine to me because I have alternately through the years closed my eyes and listened to ... just the guitar....just the piano...just the lyrics....and it's all great. GREAT. Each version highlights some little sublime shift, some gentle new turn. The unplugged version is great; the studio version is great, the various live versions are great.

I offer then this version for you to watch. My heart skipped beats at 0.00, 0 :44, 2:58, 4:13, 4:34, 5:18, 6:02, 6:20, and 7:02.