Slowhand Eric Clapton's Top 10 Best Guitar Solos 1964-68 

Thanks so much, Jordan. I really appreciate your comment. I hope the videos achieve their purpose and help others replicate the style. Cheers, Mark

Clapton’s vibratto is something uncopyable

Thanks so much, Larry. Yes, it's striking to think that his Gibson phase was only about five years compared with fifty-four years with Strats.

Mark Sutcliffe, from the UK

I really that solo, too. And like you say, all on the G string

That's very kind, thanks. I hope you find the videos useful. Cheers, Mark

These were only solos from 1964-1968 👍🏻 but I agree his 80’s and 90’s playing was phenomenal

I'm glad you like it, John, and thank you for commenting. There are really so many brilliant solos that putting a list like this together is tough.

@mybluesguitar You did a great job. Just putting together any top 10 of Clapton is tough, but what's tougher is playing the list. I was particularly taken back how precise you got the Sitting on Top of the World solo down from Goodbye Cream. You even nailed the tone. Just as you did on Sleepy Time Time. Even Eric Clapton doesn't have to bother with that task as he never does the same solo the same twice. All the song solos were spot on. Just amazing. Thank you again. Peace.

Thanks John. Even though all the recordings were done in Garageband and the sound can be shaped electronically, a lot of it is still in the guitar, and for Sitting on Top of the World that was down to the Firebird which, sadly, I no longer have.

@mybluesguitar Yes I understand. I have a Firebird, but I still don't get all the notes like you did. You are too humble. The exact phrasing and attack on the opening lick, and the flurry of riffs, and bends in that particular solo is an amazing reproduction you have done. You are too modest. Peace.

Thanks for commenting, Dan. It's impressive listening to these tracks today, so hearing them as a guitar player when they first appeared must have been mind-blowing. I was around, but just an infant. Would love to have been in my 'teens and twenties in the 'sixties.

@@mybluesguitar Heaven..

Thanks for commenting, Jon. Good advice about warming up. Cheers.

Thanks Pat. Over 50 years old and still right up there!

Yes, it's a great one. Effortless brilliance from EC

Thanks Robert! I did that one a little while ago... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rw7t3U1a0ag.html

Me too

Certainly is, Dave. Many, many brilliant solos and only room for 10 in the list. A virtually impossible task!

Thanks so much, Wayne. That's very kind.

Glad you liked it, William. Thank you.

Great! I hope you have a great time, Jamie

Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your thoughts, Bernard. Interesting thought about the first solo. I take your point. Yes, it's an incredible solo and tune!

That's true!

Thanks Derek. Yes, I should perhaps have put something in there from the Beano album, which is just packed full with amazing solos.

True! Thank you.

Glad you like them, Dan. Certainly a collection of blueprints for players!

Ha ha, yes it does!

Yes, that's a classic, David!

Yes, totally. Firey and groundbreaking. He set out to make a mark with the Bluesbreakers album and achieved his goal a thousand times over. Have You Heard is on my 'to do' list. Thank you.

Thanks so much, James. I'm so pleased to hear that you enjoy the videos and really appreciate your comment.

👍

Thank you! Cheers!

So true

Thanks Bernard. I share your enthusiasm for Stormy Monday. I can remember when I first heard it. At the time I was living in the north of England, and I remember buying a record that was called, I think, Primal Solos, or something like that. It had a blue cover. I remember being being totally blown away by Stormy Monday.

@@mybluesguitar You're welcome! It is available on the album "Looking Back" by John Mayall. Cheers!

Glad you like it, David. Thank you.

Thanks my friend. Glad you like it.

Glad you like that one, @ctarga1 Thank you

What a pity the Beano sessions weren't filmed, Alfie

@@mybluesguitar yes now that would be great ! John Mayall used to be a hobbyist photographer during that time and maybe took cine film but is not good quality to share. Who knows ! You do a great job 👍🎸😎

There's a thought, Alfie. Although I do remember reading that he had lost a lot of material to a fire, in Laurel Canyon, I think ???

@@mybluesguitar yes he did lose a lot of stuff in the fire - maybe old cine film along with most of his possesions , who knows. 🎸

He’d probably say he doesn’t like them and can’t remember anything about them if previous comments are anything to go by.

Glad you like it, Dhaneren. Thank you.

Especially that high bend and lick at the end!

Glad you enjoyed it, Arch. Thank you

That's certainly a great one!

It was certainly a very effective move in the solo, George, I agree. And not something you notice being done much by other players, certainly not in '66

Totally. And it's rather ironic that he must have made 90%+ of his fortune after his 'God period.

That's a great recording, Jan. Thanks.

Truly radical playing on that Klooks Kleek gig, any note appears available to bend, often with just the second finger alone! Eric's unique, unorthodox techniques, the floating vibrato, the note-passing, bent and vibratoed double-stops etc., were coming together at a frighteningly young age, he wasn't yet 21 when he recorded "Bluesbreakers" and 23 when he played that version of "Crossroads". You can hear how Peter Green and Mick Taylor studied him but Eric's way of doing it was unique. The solos on "SWLABR" and "I Feel Free" have notes I don't have on my guitar, not from any scale, but they're right! Impressed by the playing in the video, as near as I've heard anybody get, but for all the influences on him, The Kings, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy etc., Eric invented his own way of doing it out of thin air, no lessons, RU-vid tutorials or rock history to refer to, just his ears. I might include "Five Long Years" in any list of his greatest solos, you shouldn't be able to play like a man who's seen the world at age 19, and it convinced Jeff Beck to join the Yardbirds ("Yeah, I'll have some of that" he said).

Hi Lotus Laddie and sorry for the late reply. That's very kind and I'm glad you like the videos. To answer your question, it makes be appreciate how brilliant these guys were...Eric, Jimmy, Mick Taylor. I would love to have seen them first hand back in the day and I would love to shake their hands today. I saw Mick in '73 with the Stones (I had just turned 12 and remember nothing much about it), Eric in '76 and Jimmy I have never seen at all. Thanks so much for your generous comment and your support.

Cool!

Thanks Mike. It's worth noting that a lot of people have suggested While My Guitar Gently Weeps! Cheers, Mark

I can't disagree, MB. No easy task putting together a top 10.

It's on my 'To Do' list, SD. Thanks for mentioning it.

Ah, yes, that's a great one! Good idea, too, about the live solos. Where would one start?!?!?!

Nice one! So many to choose from!

Amazing vídeo man. Thanks so much.

Sorry for the late reply, Oliver. The pickups were made by a tiny UK company (Wales, I think) called 'Shed'.

yes, some great music there

Hello Algeria! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. All best wishes from Surrey, England

Such a great track, Dan. Cheers.

Glad you like it!

Good choices, Matt.

I agree With you

Thanks EC. There's a 12-bar shuffle backing that I made and put on Patreon at the same time I did this track. Thanks for your comment and support, much apprecaiated.

Glad you like it. Thank you so much.

Hey Jeff! Thanks!

Fair comment Matthew! Have You Heard and the two instrumentals. Awesome tracks indeed!

I know the note you mean. Epic. Similarly, to my mind, there's a note (not as high!) in the live Stormy Monday. And I think two more excellent examples of the 'note' are with Gary Moore: (1) in The Messiah Will Come Again, live and (2) in the solo for 'When I look at you', on the G-Force album. Eric and Gary both knew the power of the 'note'!

Hope the videos are helpful to you. Thank you very much!

That's it, Fred! It certainly does do that

Cool, thanks!

Have to agree. It's long and brilliantly constructed solo.

@@mybluesguitar It's out of your time window, but I'd also like to suggest Eric's 48-bar solo in his performance of "Ramblin On My Mind" on the EC Was Here album. It crescendos upward thru four key changes to climax in one of the finest solos in blues history. When it was recorded in 1975, nobody knew that Eric could still play like that.

It is indeed a bit challenging on a Les Paul

Thanks Edgar. It's all done in Garageband on a laptop.

That's it, Robert - too many for just a top 10.

Thanks for commenting, John. Much appreciated. Cheers, Mark

Ah yes - two brilliant ones, to be sure!

Thanks a lot!

Glad you like them, Kristijan. Thank you.

Thanks Bruce! So many to choose from - makes for an almost impossible task!

I second Key To Love

Ah, yes! Two great ones, especially Key to Love.

Thank you.

Yes, that's a good one.

Thanks for listening, Filippo. Interesting thought about the top two. Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts.

You are welcome. Thank you :)

That's a great one, Mark.

Thank you. Glad you liked it

Thanks Gabriel.

Hey Billy! Thanks so much for supporting the channel via Patreon. I really appreciate it! You should do well with an Epiphone. Part of the Gibson family, of course. For low-cost Fender style I really love the Squier Classic Vibe series. Cheers, Mark

Thanks Michael :-)

Good idea, Alan. That one is certainly on the pretty long list of things to do! Cheers.

Hello John and thanks so much for taking the time to comment. What a fascinating story - touring with the Yardbirds and filling in for JP! I'd love to hear more about it, as I am sure would many others. Cheers, Mark

Hi Mark.... 1966 January....Yardbirds... Roy Orbison....and the Walker Brothers was the tour.... In that era most live shows were two a day...eg...matinee and night....to cover having 3 acts touring.... So when the tour reached Hamilton...at the Founders Theatre....the only show was the evening one. So many from the show went to the pub....and Jimmy had knocked a few drinks off...as you do when on the road....I could not go as I was only 16...so missed out on the drinks....but that night was asked to step in with the Yardbirds due to Jimmy's state. It was a breeze for me...as I grew up banging out Yardbirds songs....being a Jeff Beck fan.....and there were no issues..... Keith Relf just handed me Jimmy's white telecaster....and away we went....after the third song Jimmy composed himself...and took over... It was something to remember...and at the end of the tour...he gave me his Silver shirt he wore...a guitar strap....and his Tone Bender. I misplaced the shirt along the way...and sold the Tone Bender to a guy in 1968....but still have the guitar strap. The buyer of the Tone Bender recently contacted me....and reacquainted himself with me....he is on RU-vid too...and has some stuff on it there. On the bus I was shown a lot of riffs and tricks from Jimmy...and he gave me the riff to Train kept a Rolling....and the band I was with....Larry's Rebels...recorded a song called Flying Scotsman...in tribute to the riff...which is on RU-vid and was from....Study in Black album. So Mark....that is my story of how I came to play with the Yardbirds.....you can see more at.....John Williams audioculture.....or Larry's Rebels audioculture. I have some great pics of Jimmy using my amp for the tour....as they did not have a backing due to freight expense.... I also could see that the Yardbirds were heading down another direction on that tour...with Jeff Beck gone...and Jimmy's heavier style showing....you could see now...that was where Jimmy was headed musically....towards Led Zeppelin. For me it is a lifetime memory . Cheers John.

Hi again Mark.... Here is link about the Tone Bender from the guy who purchased it in 1968.... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Pu4ixhZAViQ.html

@@johnwilliamsdoubleshotofbl5034 Hi John, Thanks for sharing all this. What an absolutely amazing experience for any player, let alone one just sixteen years old! I'll check out the videos you mention and your site. Cheers, Mark

@@johnwilliamsdoubleshotofbl5034 Thanks John! Fabulous!

Glad you like it, JeanPat. Thanks for commenting!

Thanks Andrew! I actually make all the videos in Garageband on a MacBook. Cheers, Mark

Thanks! I actually record all the audio for the videos in Garageband on a Macbook. But I do mostly use the 'Marshall' type setting, then play around with the different 'cabs' and settings. Sorry for late reply.

Thank you, Rick, I guess there are dozens of these early solos that totally shine. So many to choose from!

Thanks Rob.

Thank you! Cheers!

I agree, Bob! Maybe I ought to do a 'part two' at some point.

The pickups in both my Les Pauls are 'Shed' pickups. I don't think they are made any more.

So many great Slowhand solos! Thanks for your comment my friend

Yes, what a pioneer!

Thanks Bruce. That guitar is my Squier CV '50s Tele, filmed that a little while ago. That, too, now has a white pickguard and a rosewood neck! Now that I have the Pagey one I wish I'd left the Squier as it was.

Fair comment, juke! So many great ones to choose from.

@@mybluesguitar You're right, Clapton has quite a few, the list could be double or triple. You did a great job on it.

While you're on The Yardbirds, what about A Certain Girl, and Got To Hurry?

Great solo!