Andy Fairweather Low, who has extensively toured with Eric Clapton, recently appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 2’s Sound of the ’70s with Johnnie Walker and revealed Clapton’s trick to mesmerize the crowd who comes to listen to him.
Low started to work with Clapton in the early 1990s as a sideman in the rocker’s backing band. The guitarist also played on Clapton’s live albums, ‘Unplugged,’ and ‘One More Car, One More Rider’ along with his 1994 record, ‘From the Cradle.’ In the following years, Low continued to be a part of Clapton’s touring band.
So, as a musician who took the stage numerous times with the legendary guitarist, Low surely knows about Clapton’s stage tricks. In his latest interview, he chose Clapton’s ‘Lonesome and a Long Way From Home’ as one of his favorite tracks from the ’70s. Then, he went on to talk about Eric’s guitar-playing style, emphasizing the distinctiveness of his sound.
According to Low, it doesn’t matter what guitar Clapton has because he will always achieve just sound like himself. So, that’s the trick he uses to stand out and mesmerize the audience. He will somehow make it work, as he has this hidden knowledge deep inside him.
Low’s words on Eric Clapton:
“The thing about the track I picked [‘Lonesome and a Long Way From Home’] is that first solo album of his was where he’s basically with the beginning of the dominoes with Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock, Leon Russell, and all. They’re all in there, and his guitar playing, he gives it any kind of…it is a different guitar sound he’s got on this particular album, too.
It’s the strength of the man that whatever guitar you give him, he’s just gonna sound like Eric Clapton. That’s the trick; he makes it work. This track, I think, was written by Delaney and Leon. It’s got a fabulous vibe. It’s got an energy; it is a young Eric.”
When the host said Clapton made it so easy, the guitarist replied:
“Yes, it is. This man, all his life, he’s been playing. He’s been playing lead. It’s what he does. He can access his information. He’s, excuse the expression; he’s well-oiled. I played with him for 13-14 years, and I loved the soundchecks. Actually, I loved the rehearsals, there weren’t many soundchecks, but every gig was different.
If he had one gear, he had two gears, and you could push him for three, and at a push, you could push him for four. It’d be all different, and they’d all be going upward. I’d been there for a couple of nights when that happened. I’ve also been in the audience when he gave us the slot opening for him. I said, ‘What’s this thing?’ It is like there are ten thousand people there, and they’re all glued to a guitar player.”
Thus, Low was mesmerized by the audience’s reaction whenever he saw Clapton play live. According to him, Clapton has such a distinctive tone and style that it doesn’t matter which guitar he is playing. He will find a way to make it work and sound exactly like himself.
