Clapton pays homage to the blues masters

Riffs through classics by Muddy Waters, Elmore James and others

SAN JOSE -- Eric Clapton may no longer be God, but he certainly proved Friday night that he is still deserving of a seat at the supper table. Performing the same all-blues revue that he will bring to San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium Nov. 7, 8 and 9, Clapton dazzled those in attendance with a stunning display of blues guitar virtuosity.

Anyone who has ever seen Clapton turn in one of his desultory performances is aware of the guitar legend's predilection for walking through material that he deems boring. But by playing the music of his own heroes -- bluesmen like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and Lowell Fulson -- Clapton has virtually guaranteed that he will turn in an inspired performance. To do any less would be nothing short of sacrilegious to Clapton, who clearly still worships this musical form.

For nearly two hours, through two dozen songs, Clapton played with the joy of a young musician in first discovery, always crediting the original artists either before or after each song, and generally behaving in a chatty, very un-Clapton-like manner. Drawing largely on material from his current blues album, "From the Cradle," Clapton walked the crowd through a lesson in guitar-playing styles, from the awesome slide work he brought to James' "It Hurts Me Too" to the stop-on-a-dime, clean, crisp runs he used on Eddie Boyd's "Third Degree."

Other high points in a concert of high points were Boyd's "Five Long Years" -- a song Claptoon first recorded 30 years ago as a member of the Yardbirds -- and a rollicking version of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" that was every bit a match for the amazing rendition he performed whil a member of Cream.

The concert's only flaw -- and this is admittedly a trifle nitpicky -- was that, as a singer, Clapton is clearly no Mudy Waters or Howlin' Wolf. Of course, nobody is, but when he performs the songs of these masters, Clapton stands naked for what he is: a white Brit performing what is essentially a black American

musical form. But Clapton made up for his lack of singing talent with the sheer passion he brought to the performance. And it was easy to forget about his singing once he launched into one of his incomparable guitar solos.

While on his blues album Clapton seems slightly restrained -- perhaps leery of being seen as overshadowing the masters -- in concert he showed no such compunctions about cutting loose. Accompanied by an ace band that featured former Muddy Waters harp player Jerry Portnoy on many songs, Clapton was nothing short of astounding -- and he didn't force the crowd to sit through the 18,000th rendition of "Wonderful Tonight," either.

In short, it was a rare opportunity to see an artist reveal his feelings about the music that inspired him -- not unlike getting a chance to walk with Van Gogh through a gallery of paintings by Rembrandt and Daumier.

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