Could Eric Clapton, in his prime, perform Jimi Hendrix's songs live?

Yes Eric and others have played Hendrix songs. It so much easier to play something already done so much harder to create from scratch. That being said I never heard exact duplication of Hendrix songs by Clapton, SRV or Frank Marino and all the others. It never comes out exactly how Hendrix did them that I've heard such a personal trait no one can achieve exactly.

 

And they insist on marking her as a country artist.

 

By The Way:

What is defined as Eric's prime?: 1965 to 1970? Or...?

 

I know. I have everything from Eric Clapton up to August and the 5.1's for Back Home and Layla ... I have a couple of cream albums, but they leave me a little cold
oh and Blind Faith

 

For me the pinnacle is Just One Night at the Budokan 1980. Eric, Albert and the Grease band really giving it something special

 

Yep. In this 'painting by numbers' world there are teenagers making YouTube clips of them performing classic guitarist work but really the only thing they are creating is a YouTube clip.

 

I'd say Beano to Derek. After he came back from the smack he was too reserved and polite. I think I said it elsewhere, but it's like Peter Green FM vs. Buckinham/Nicks era. Only early Clapton had better material and later Clapton lesser.

 

Yes, of course he could play them. I still voted no. He couldn’t play them in the same way. I don’t think Clapton, or many people period, could play the guitar the way Jimi did. Physically alone, not many can wrap their hand around the neck and play a bass line along with the rest.

Not to take anything away from Clapton, but he just was never as creative as Hendrix either. If Jimi hadn’t tragically died at 27 y/o I doubt there’d even be much basis for comparison.

 

I think that video pretty much says it all.

 

Why would he want to? They are very different players. I’m glad we got both.

 

I can't see Clapton setting his guitar on fire.

 

Did Clapton have the dexterity to play Hendrix's lines? Probably. But I'm not sure that he had the application to do so. He got to a technical level and seems to me (not a big Clapton listener, admittedly) to stay there. Hendrix, had he lived, would likely have carried on expanding his technical vocabulary because that's how he had lived up until that point. It's like the difference between, say, Dave Gilmour and Pat Metheny: it's not that one's “greater” than the other but one works with a limited vocabulary and the other is always expanding his vocabulary.

The net result is that Jimi would certainly have studied Eric's lines but it wouldn't have occurred to Eric to learn Jimi's.

 

But could Jimi melt his guitar?

 

Indeed,

literally, figuratively, metaphorically, cosmically...

 

Completely different style in playing, you can't compare. Both are brilliant at what they did back in the 60s & 70s.

 

Not a Clapton fan but hell yeah he could.

 

In the days when he was 'Fasthand'. The guitar fees were just too much though.

 

I couldn't choose because none of the poll choices hit the right notes. Clapton and Hendrix had completely different styles. Talk about apples and oranges.

 

Dumbest comment in a dumb thread. Thanks!

Not worth voting on.

 

He could perform them even now, but they wouldn't sound like Jimi because that wasn't his style.

 

No, because their instincts are so different. Even if he learned everything note for note, he wouldn’t have the same feel, the same intuitive sense of the right millisecond to do this or that. Eric also wouldn’t be able to play Live At Leeds even though he’s a much better guitarist.

And Jimi would never be able to play like Clapton.

 

As someone who first was exposed to later Clapton, and then to Cream Clapton, I was stunned—stunned—when I heard the raw emotion and loud, desperate playing from Derek and the Dominoes. That’s his finest period, to me, the one where he’s not just about dexterity or melodicism but about combining both of those gifts to punch you in the heart.

 

Everything doesn’t have to be a contest..

And this is going to be yet another vs. thread

 

To be fair to Eric, he did get his perm down....or should I say up.

 

He'd be able to do a decent version of Sunshine Of Your Love.