Alaska Employment Law

My sister loaned me Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. I haven’t quite finished it, but finishing it won’t change my conclusion. It stinks. It’s badly written. It’s a real letdown. Commendably, Mr. Clapton decided not to use a ghost writer, but he should have used a collaborator because as a writer, he’s just a great guitarist. It’s hard to think of anyone else with a life this interesting who could make that life seem so monochromatic and tedious. Clapton’s problem is that everything comes across in the same flat emotional tone, the good, the bad and the ugly (lots of ugly). To his credit, Mr. Clapton conquered (if that’s the word), a really odd and tainted childhood, a major heroin addiction, an even more awful bout with alcoholism, and finally a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit. But it’s hard to care. Really, it’s just not worth your time.

REVIEWER’S NOTE: Clapton is revered for his guitar work - the famous 1960s graffito was “Clapton is God,” which first appeared when he was only 20 - and some of it is indeed brilliant, though a lot of it eventually sounds like adult MOR radio. My recommendations: Five Live Yardbirds (try to find the longer version on the German Repertoire label), Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, Fresh Cream, the live version of “Crossroads” on Wheels of Fire (which version is, I think, the greatest live cut ever recorded by anybody anywhere, and kudos as well to Mr. Bruce and Mr. Baker, the other members of that highly unusual band, which I had the good fortune to see twice), Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, and finally Clapton’s live recording (in Japan, I think) of the Otis Rush song “Double Trouble” that appears on the Crossroads box set. And of course you can find him playing the guitar lead on the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” where, I just learned to my considerable surprise, his piece was done in a single take.