Why Ritchie Blackmore “never saw what was in” Eric Clapton
Former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is one of the finest axemen of his generation. Fusing natural talent with a tendency to push the instrument to its limits, Blackmore often veered into the darker realm of rock during his heyday, and with the London band, he partially inspired the emergence of the metal genre. Known for his heavy use of the whammy bar and ability to shred, Blackmore’s status as one of the finest six-string players is undoubted.
Given his status in rock music and guitar playing, Blackmore has often been asked to give his thoughts on other greats of his field and has, at different junctures, discussed the likes of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. He even labels the former “my favourite guitarist”. Blackmore explained: “He can play a very quiet passage with no sustain and in the next second, suddenly race up the fingerboard with all this sustain coming out. He seems to have sustain completely at his fingertips. Yet he doesn’t have it all the time, only when he wants it”.
Another prominent figure Blackmore has analysed on multiple occasions is Eric Clapton. When speaking to International Musician magazine in 1975, after revealing his above love for Jeff Beck, he questioned the pull of the former Cream axeman, saying he “never saw what was in Clapton at all”.
He said: “I like Jeff [Beck]. He’s my favourite guitarist. There are a lot of guitarists around that get overlooked. When you’re a guitarist yourself you tend to get so buried in what you’re doing. Mike Bloomfield is really good. Steve Howe’s always been a very good guitarist. I’m not too struck on Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, I never saw what was in Clapton at all. He’s a good singer.”
Later that year, when speaking to Creem magazine’s Cameron Crowe, Blackmore affirmed his point about Eric Clapton’s work, maintaining that he was “never knocked out with Eric Clapton’s playing”. He compared him to Jimi Hendrix, a man he is known to have deeply respected.
Blackmore said: “I gave up all that competitive shit five years ago. I don’t really care. Couldn’t care less about other guitarists. It’s ridiculous. Everyone plays guitar now. Doctors play guitar now. There are so many guitarists around now it’s unbelievable. I always find it embarrassing when people ask me what I play and I have to admit, ‘Uh, guitar.’ EVERYBODY plays guitar. But Hendrix gave me a faith in the music scene.”
Blackmore concluded: “And when Cream came along, I thought ‘Well, it’s all happening again.’ Although I was never knocked out with Eric Clapton’s playing, it was competent, and he was copping a lot of the English blues guitarist, and that was a good sign. He had a good sound, but Hendrix was way ahead of him because he could write, he could sing, he could perform. He blew it from 1970 onwards, though. People were supplying him with drugs, and certain managers were doing knotty things.”
