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Eric Clapton's Firebird I folder:

Overdriven66

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Nov 10, 2008
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It was the Fool SG. That whole tour was the SG as his #1. His backup would have probably been the Custom. There are several pics from that night out there.

I was at that show and Kerry, you are absolutely correct. Sounds corny, but as a 14 year old young guitar player, seeing them literally changed my life. I was also fortunate enough to see Hendrix. Great time to be alive! :dude:
 

spidey

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I was at that show and Kerry, you are absolutely correct. Sounds corny, but as a 14 year old young guitar player, seeing them literally changed my life. I was also fortunate enough to see Hendrix. Great time to be alive! :dude:

Amazing! Wish I could have seen Cream and Hendrix but was only born in'67. Got to see Cream in 2005 in London and despite what some might say, I think it was a great gig, despite being a more refined beast than the original Cream.
 

plexi69

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Sep 21, 2005
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Unfortunately I no longer have anything shown in that room. Yes, I wish I had the guitar and posters, but not the desert boots! )


Desert boots are great. I wore them then and still wear them. I also have a pair of white 501's. I just need a Firebird. And yes, I am So Cal, son of Orange County.
 

Bruce R

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Excellent! I split my youth between catching the good waves in OC and Ventura County, and catching all the great music in LA and Santa Barbara County. Great years!
 

Yannick333

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Small update:

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bern1

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Nov 23, 2004
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wow, imagine that EC for one evening brings out a Marshall stack and this Firebird for a couple of numbers....I'm sure he's thought about it...then he says, no man, the only way to go is forward.....

love that pic with Santana

thanks Yannick!
 

j45

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Jun 14, 2002
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Thanks so many great photos!-
EC defined and invented the language-
no one else is even close.

Probably a very accurate statement. He was surely deravitive of the blues players from the states but just like the Beatles did with 1950's American rock and roll, Clapton synthesized it into an entirely new sound and form of expression. There is simply nothing like the extended jams on the live tracks of Wheels Of Fire prior to that record.
 

Litcrit

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Probably a very accurate statement. He was surely deravitive of the blues players from the states but just like the Beatles did with 1950's American rock and roll, Clapton synthesized it into an entirely new sound and form of expression. There is simply nothing like the extended jams on the live tracks of Wheels Of Fire prior to that record.

Except for jazz...Bruce and Baker were well grounded in jazz, totally familiar with Coltrane's extended "jams", he had just died in July 1967. There was a lot of overlap between what was happening in rock and in modal/free jazz, and of course MILES started to Run the Voodoo Down (w/ John McLaughlin, a "bridge" player between the British rock and jazz worlds (also known to Bruce and Baker).
And of course, a lot of young listeners who were into the long improv's of Cream were seamlessly drawn into fusion, Coltrane/Miles and then back to earlier jazz (and of course blues).
 

j45

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Except for jazz...Bruce and Baker were well grounded in jazz, totally familiar with Coltrane's extended "jams", he had just died in July 1967. There was a lot of overlap between what was happening in rock and in modal/free jazz, and of course MILES started to Run the Voodoo Down (w/ John McLaughlin, a "bridge" player between the British rock and jazz worlds (also known to Bruce and Baker).
And of course, a lot of young listeners who were into the long improv's of Cream were seamlessly drawn into fusion, Coltrane/Miles and then back to earlier jazz (and of course blues).

Bitches Brew with John Mac would be three years after the live Cream stuff.... although "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down" would be in my top ten desert Island tracks. The Cream stuff and Claptons style, phrasing was not really based on the modal Tyner/Coltrane style but straight from the blues....just taken to different level of expression.... similar to the post bop jazz jams in form (head/jam/head) but nothing on record with guitar/blues/rock before then.
 

Litcrit

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. The Cream stuff and Claptons style, phrasing was not really based on the modal Tyner/Coltrane style but straight from the blues....just taken to different level of expression.... similar to the post bop jazz jams in form (head/jam/head) but nothing on record with guitar/blues/rock before then.

We agree, Cream was groundbreaking in many ways: tonally, volume-wise, the freedom of the rhythm section, and I remember my shock at hearing the 17 minute version of Spoonful on WOF. 17 minutes, HOLY SHIT! But as I got more into jazz, I realized that the IDEA of Extended Jamming was around before them, and Coltrane was leading the way with his quartet and extended groups (followed along by all the other free jazz/modal guys). There are Trane records where both sides were one extended 45 minute piece, people lucky enough to have heard him live in the mid 60's report sets/tunes lasting well over 1 hour; 35 mnute "tunes" were standard. People couldn't believe his endurance, the physical toll of blowing a tenor that long..
There were long form jam sessions in the swing era, where an "All Star" big band w/ lots of name soloists would play a long time, but no one that I'm aware of was routinely basing their whole approach on long-form jamming. before Trane. Club owners considered him a problem: he wanted to play too damn long! He wouldn't take normal breaks..

And of course, "world music" has lots of examples of musical traditions with pieces that last a long time (ragas, etc etc). and that's where Trane's inspiration was coming from.

Sure, the Cream stuff was largely pentatonic based, but the WHOLE BAND WAS IMPROVISING, and that was much closer to a jazz model than any rock that had come before them. The jazz stuff (modal/post-bop/free) was much more adventurous melodically, but I always felt they were more alike than different, reflective of a time of breaking out, breaking rules, trying new things. It ws a very exciting time to be a music fan/ budding musician..and all sadly long gone. The new music today is made by machines...
 
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rabbit

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Apr 24, 2005
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I listen to live Cream recordings today probably more than I ever have in all these years since I bought the stuff when it was brand new ( plus boots I've acquired in recent years.) The prime attraction for me is not the nostalgia part of it, although those feelings from yesteryear are ever-present to a degree for me. There is a greatly vibrant life to the music these three giants pulled off together. It's as fresh to me as it was when it was performed all those years ago. Like all great music, it's timeless. And for me, there is nothing around today that could remotely touch it. The incredible fiery passion and through-the-roof, on-to-the-sky energy level they performed with along with the chops to go wherever they wanted to take it to was/is a thing of sheer amazement to me. They are a joy for me to listen to always.

One more thing: For me, the original sunburst Firebird I is the coolest guitar of all time.
 

tooold

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"Miles Runs The Voodoo Down" would be in my top ten desert Island tracks.

Hard to pick one off BB for me, although you're right, Voodoo is probably it. But the bass clarinet figure in the title track is just... so... cool.

Lest we forget, there was a lot of very forgettable (you can tell because we've forgotten it :) ) jamming in the era. Cream was a level above - aside from the obvious stuff, I always thought it was partly because, even when they were most out there, they always kept one toe in the song form. A bit of structure can go a long way toward making a jam a performance that you can listen to over and over. Miles demonstrated that repeatedly.
 

bern1

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Nov 23, 2004
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I agree that is Felix Pappalardi. Probably supervising the live recordings to be released for Goodbye Cream.

Hmm, possible that's Pappalardi, it's been a long time since I saw Mountain! Sure doesn't sound like a FB1 on live Goodbye tracks though. Of course, one photo does not an album make....
I always wonder what guitar was used on the Goodbye Sitting on Top, sounds to me like the same guitar and gig as the WOF Crossroads.....
 
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