The “craftsman” guitarist who was the king of improvisation, according to Neil Young
Over the decades, Neil Young has shared a stage with a host of all-time greats, ranging from Bob Dylan to Paul McCartney. Each of these icons is fun to play with in its own unique way. However, for Young, those who have mastered the art of improvisation are the most thrilling of the bunch.
Live music shouldn’t be rehearsed and polished to within an inch of its life like other art forms. Instead, no two shows should be identical, and the energy of those in the crowd, combined with those on stage, should be in command of how events will go down. While setlists might stay broadly the same, that doesn’t mean the delivery can’t be altered.
Young has earned a reputation for his ability to mix things up while on the road. Take his most recent tour as an example, at soundcheck in Chicago, he recorded the protest anthem ‘Big Crime’ and that very night, he was performing a rough cut of the song to thousands of fans. Not only does this method keep fans on their toes, but it also has the same effect on artists, too.
Another musical figure that Young has shared a stage with, who also likes to roll with the punches, is Eric Clapton. They first jammed together at The Last Waltz in 1976 as part of an all-star group, also featuring the likes of Ronnie Wood, Robbie Robertson, Paul Butterfield, Dr John, Garth Hudson, Stephen Stills, Ringo Starr, and Levon Helm.
Then again, 16 years later, they joined forces for a special celebration of Bob Dylan at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1992, marking the 30th anniversary of Dylan’s recording career.
During the show, the duo joined Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, and George Harrison for an exceptional performance of ‘My Back Pages’. The evening was momentous, bringing together a host of famous faces who paid tribute to a vital musical figure and allowed Young the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with Clapton in an experimental environment once more. Again, this was more evident proof of the chemistry they shared and their ability to bounce off each other triumphantly.
Reflecting on their past encounters on-stage with MuchMusic in 1996, Young detailed his admiration for the former Cream guitarist and explained the precise skill that made it such an unbridled joy.
He shared, “I love the way that Eric plays. We played a couple of tunes at that show, which I really got off playing with him, and it reminded me of playing with Stills in Buffalo Springfield.”
Explaining why he sees similarities between Clapton and Stephen Stills, Young added, “Because he’s such a craftsman, such an artist, the way he plays. He’s so good, and there wasn’t anything that you’d go for that he wouldn’t get. And that’s fun to play with.”
Although they have only had the opportunity to share the stage on two occasions, both performances have been for the history books. The Last Waltz is quite rightly widely accepted to be the greatest concert film of all time; meanwhile, the 1992 show at Madison Square Garden was another momentous night that saw a litany of legends come together to toast their friend.
While there are many reasons away from music to hold a disdain towards Clapton, his ability to improvise and express himself freely no matter whose beside him, is unquestionable, as is proved by the glowing testimony from Young.
