Clapton by Chris Welch (Voyageur Press, 256 pages) $21.99
For more than 40 years, Eric Clapton has been a guiding force in rock music.
His influence has extended through to successive generations of guitar players who yearned to achieve his mastery. For his first assignment for Melody Maker in 1964, freshly hired reporter Chris Welch interviewed the Yardbirds and had his first contact with Eric Clapton. Their paths would cross repeatedly over both their careers, and from those interviews and shared moments Welch has drawn a study of not just a rock legend but also of an artist's evolution.
From his earliest bands through his various super groups and then his long solo career, Welch documents the rise and occasional stumbles of this brilliant musician. Filled with photographs, posters, album covers and memorabilia, there is much to look at throughout the book. Lots of interesting background history comes alive through the visuals such as a photograph of Clapton's much-loved guitar, Blackie, that is accompanied by Clapton's description of where he bought it and how it became his main instrument.
Fans will find plenty of details to discover in this well presented history of one of rock's greatest stars.
