Eric Clapton – Blues Power

Eric Clapton took the guitar and blues to new places. He played differently than most players when he started, and then he was widely copied. His guitar playing in Cream was off the hook with intensity. Because of the trio format, he was pushed by his bandmates. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy his solo work. His playing took on a different character, more restrained and refined. He explored new directions and evolved his sound. It wasn’t all about blazing solos anymore; it was about serving the song and embracing a more soulful, laid-back approach.

I first really noticed Eric Clapton when I heard the solo in Crossroads. I stopped and wanted to know more about this guy. I knew his name from Beatles books and the single my sister had called Promises. I rented a Cream video from the video store, and I was hooked. Like Neil Young and David Bowie, Clapton changed and evolved through the years. 

He wrote the songs for his debut album in early 1970, and it was released in July of that year. He wrote most of the songs with  Bonnie Bramlett, but Blues Power was written by Clapton and Leon Russell. Russell started the song’s first line the way people saw Clapton at the time. It did not chart when released in 1970, but it did chart when Clapton released a live version in 1980, peaking at #76 on the Billboard 100.

Clapton never stayed in any spot too long. He had gone from The Yardbirds, John Mayall, Cream, Blind Faith, and Delaney & Bonnie in a matter of around 7 years. He would soon be the leader of Derek and the Dominos. The Dominos played on this album and were also playing on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass around the same time.

Blues Power

Bet you didn’t think I knew how to rock ‘n’ roll.
Oh, I got the boogie-woogie right down in my very soul.
There ain’t no need for me to be a wallflower,
‘Cause now I’m living on blues power.

I knew all the time but now I’m gonna let you know:
I’m gonna keep on rocking, no matter if it’s fast or slow.
Ain’t gonna stop until the twenty-fifth hour,
‘Cause now I’m living on blues power.

Talking to you, now.
The boogie’s gonna pull me through.
Keep on, keep on, keep on keeping on.
Keep on keeping on, keep on keeping on.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

35 thoughts on “Eric Clapton – Blues Power”

  1. Hiding in the background in that 1985 band is Donald Duck Dunn (Booker T. & the MGs) on bass. It’s probably sacrilege, but I sold my copy of Cream’s “Wheels of Fire”. While I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread when it came out, I realized I was no longer listening to it, finding it noisy and repetitive.

    John Mayall, when Clapton left the Bluesbreakers and was replaced by Peter Green, said, “Don’t worry – we’ve got someone better”. On the other hand, he also said, “…Eric was totally unique at that particular time. It’s still a testament of his command of the blues at such an early age. He had such mastery of his guitar, and it really stood out. Eric was definitely ahead of his time, and I think the album captured everything very, very well.”

    Clapton seems to be a complex character. While getting famous for playing Black music, he also said (in 1976), “This is England, this is a white country….[racist slurs deleted]…Keep England white.” And then there were his COVID conspiracy theories. This brings us to the whole notion of the artist and his art – does being an ass change that you are good at what you do?

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    1. There are so many artists like that…that I do separate art from the artists. I would end up liking no one if I didn’t do that. The Beatles were some of the biggest bastards around at that time…and that is coming from Lennon.

      I saw him twice in the early nineties and a little later on. He was always great. I liked his playing but of course it wasn’t Cream…he didn’t have Marshall stacks and a Les Paul…I know I’ve probably told you…but it was the summer of the guitar for me….within a couple of months I saw Clapton, Santana, and Robin Trowers.
      Oh Peter Green was awesome in his own right. I didn’t know much about him until a few years ago…he blew me away.
      I wish he would put the Fender down and pick up an SG or Les Paul.

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      2. Well if you are playing clean type song it’s fine but I like the thick sound of a Gibson. My worst guitar mistake was buying a Telecaster….I still have it but I can’t use it on a lot of things. The Les Paul is like a boat anchor but the SG which can give you a similiar sound is not. I want an SG bad.

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  2. Eric Clapton was fed up with the “guitar god” label after Cream and wanted to move towards music that focused more on songwriting as he kept on reinventing himself. Nice to hear this again, Max.

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  3. In the top 5 of my favorite songs of his. I first became aware of it on the Just One Night album. I had it on cassette and wore it out. Then I backtracked and got some of his early albums, and his first one, with this on it, is probably my favorite. Excellent choice.

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    1. Thank you! It’s been a while since I heard this song. Classic Rock radio will play Layla, After Midnight, and Cocaine but this one hardly gets played…along with Let It Rain.

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  4. Found I did know this when I began listening. For me, Clapton improved when he started thinking more about the song than the guitar showmanship- ‘Promises’ you mention is great, for instance, so too is ‘Let it Rain’. Of course ‘Layla’ is an argument in favor of guitar power!

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    1. Yea Duane Allman and Clapton did a great job on Layla…I think with Cream he was pushed into playing more aggressively because of the trio…thats what I missed at times in his solo work. Not just being busy but the tone as well….but it worked out well for him.

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  7. Clapton is a weird character in my life…I jumped on the boat with 461 Ocean Blvd..and yes I tried signing Layla and playing that riff at the same time….I remember jamming with friends and none of them knowing that there was a second part to that tune, and I prefered that part….Motherless Children – learned that before I realized, oh slide?…..I always have wondered about that 2nd half to Peter Green’s/Fleetwood Mac’s to Oh Well?

    I’m still trying to wrap myself about when he did the acoustic working of Layla..

    He always seems like the reluctant working man’s star, unlike say Page or Beck….when he went to become a part of Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, his work with George Harrison (and yeah there’s that Patti Boyd thing)..Derek not Eric (Ithink I still have that badge hidden somewhere)….

    Whenever I think of those British guitar heroes, I wish more would give credit to Sister Rosette Tharpe..watching her play it’s like Page was carbon copy and both Clapton and Beck, Keith Richards owe her a debt of graitide.

    and for Blue Power….yeah, sure, but I love the Rainbow Bridge version of Badge, ..and Further Down the Road on the Band’s Waltz….

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  9. Great early Clapton solo track. While I think I dig his playing in Cream the most, I agree he’s done some great songs during his solo career as well.

    I remember getting “Timepieces: The Best of Eric Clapton” in ’80s at around the time this compilation came out. There’s not one bad track on it. This collection also made me buy the 1980 live album “Just One Night.” That one, which I also dug right away, has “Blues Power.”

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  10. Man that live version is fire! Donald Duck Dunn on the bass, Chris Stainton on the keyboards…Wow! They only way it could be any better is if Leon Russell was on the keys in addition to Stainton.

    Eric Clapton has always been one of my favorite guitarists. I admire his versatility, his tone and how cleanly he plays. My favorite Clapton tune is his work with Robert Cray on Journeyman’s Old Love. Back in the day, I was always defending him. My guy friends were into Randy Rhoades–me too, he was phenomenal–and they’d say,” …Eric Clapton! He plays slow!” And I’d say, I guess you’ve never heard Crossroads.

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    1. Yes…I love the live version as well. I love Dunn’s bass playing in anything.
      I played with a lot of heavy metal guys back then…and they would say the same thing. Rhoads was great but he played scales very very fast…and I couldn’t do it! But I like feel more like Clapton did.

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      2. Well…yes it was great unless you were a bass player playing with just rock guys who had to learn those damn scales. But yes I admit it was great.

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    1. Yea…I do like his solo albums…sometimes though I get antsy and want to hear those Marshall stacks but that is ok…I got the old Cream records I can go back to. But truly…he played more for the song in his solo stuff…can’t fault him for that.

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  12. There is something off on the timing of the live video. That drummer sucks! The studio version is so much better. I remember this song but not sure if it was from an album or on the radio. Clapton is always the gentleman guitarist (even if his political views are reported to be racist.) I really like his protege, Doyle Bramhall II, who I’ve mentioned a time or two.

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