Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton?

Okay…about a week ago I made this thread asking about the greatest guitar player of all time.

The idea of it came from a discussion and mini disagreement that my roomate and I had. He said that of all the guitar players in the world, Eric Clapton was one of the best and would certainly be ranked up there as one of the greatest.

Me, I said that, without a doubt, Jimi Hendrix was the greatest guitar player if anyone was and could play Clapton into the ground.

My roomate did admit that Hendrix was good (just like I admitted that Clapton was good), but didn’t compare to todays style of Clapton.
After reading that thread and the replies from a lot of you, I know realize that we were both wrong. Well, not wrong per se, but really, really ignorant. There’s a LOT of guitar players out there who could be considered great. I mean, my roomate and I knew this–we knew of others that were really good–but some of the people that members listed we had never even heard of…but discovered that their playing IS very good.

So thank you all, for your opinions.

However, this still doesn’t really settle the score with my roomate and I. :stuck_out_tongue:

So…even if, to you, the greatest guitar player in the world is someone other than these two, which do you think, just of these two players, would be CLOSER to “Greatest” than the other?
Sorry to have to limit it like that. Like I said, after reading my other thread, I realize that there are actually many great players who could take that crown…but just out of Hendrix and Clapton, who would you say is better and more worthy of great?
Even if you don’t think either would be, don’t say “neither” or another person. If you had to just choose out of these two, who would you say was–even if it was just a little bit more “greater” than the other–the better of an all out and out guitar player?
Do you agree with me? Or my roomate?

Unlike your last question this one is easy.

Hendrix smokes Clapton then grinds him to dust. Or perhaps grinds him to dust first then smokes him. :cool:

Hendrix was an innovator that broke boundaries and opened people’s minds to what could be done with a guitar. He left people looking on simply blown away by what was happening in stage. He was far ahead of his time and is very worthy of legendary status.

Clapton is a tasteful, bluesy, talented guitar player with decent chops.

They had a little Mutual Admiration Society going for a while, so I’m sure Clapton would insist the answer is Jimi.

If we’re confining this just to guitar playing, and not singing and writing (I think Jimi gets the edge in both categories; Cream’s best work was mostly written by Bruce and Brown) I’ll give it to Jimi. It’s basically for the same reason I praised him in your other thread: his revolutionary qualities and the vibrancy of his playing, particularly his live shows. Clapton is a dedicated bluesman and a traditionalist, and has become more and more so as time goes by. And Jimi was Jimi. The live versions of “Layla” that I’ve heard can’t touch the original, while almost nothing can compare to the BoG version of “Machine Gun” or “Them Changes,” which rises above Buddy Miles’s singing and writing to become the greatest wah-wah workout I’ve ever heard.

If we make it a broader question, I still pick Jimi, but it’s closer. I dump on Clapton a lot for his latter-day work, but if you compare their output at their peak - the Jimi Hendrix Experience albums and Band of Gypsys and Woodstock, plus whatever posthumously-released stuff you are into vs. the Cream albums, Layla, etc. - that’s a tough one.

I have to say that body of work is a big factor. Or course Hendrix died long ago but Clapton has shown a wide range over the years. Had Hendrix lived who knows but I’d give it to Clapton. He could match chops plus also has a sensual side to his riffs. And I gotta say again if I’ve said it a hundred times, it’s also knowing when not to play a note.

I think Jimi was literally a genius on a level with Mozart. I love both Hendrix and Clapton but I think Jimi is the greatest ever, an opinion which I believe is shared by Slowhand himself.

I have never, NEVER heard anything Clapton has recorded that was monumental or even unique.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guitarist, but Hendrix, on the other hand, if he had recorded nothing other than his version of the Star Spangled Banner, would qualify in both categories and would as such rank ahead of that wanker Clapton, aka George Harrison’s Wife Stealer.

Given the rest of Hendrix’s body of work, Clapton is no competition IMHO.

Also IMHO Layla stinks

Idle Thoughts
Well it seems your roommate will not like the opinions of the SDMB.
I too think Jimi Hendrix wins.
I don’t know about the other posters so far, but I am a guitar player. And I was fortunate enough to be around when he first came onto the music scene. I had been playing guitar for about a year and when I heard “Purple Haze” I immediately thought - NOBODY plays like that. Yeah, he seriously shook up the rock world.

Clapton is one of the greats, but Hendrix was on a whole new level. So Jimi would be my pick.

Currently, the Google ads give Clapton three ads and Jimi one, so we know what Google thinks, and that should be the end of it.

But, it isn’t…

You asked for it, so here it goes:

The greatest guitar player in the world must be arguably the best in each of the following categories:

Technical skill - The guitarist most be arguably the best in the world technically. He must have a master’s grasp of basic and advanced music theory and he must be able to play and solo correctly over any key on the fly (not just by feel). He must have a strong grasp of the concept of the scales that compliment the song he is playing in, and he must know his instrument and every note on the fret board perfectly. Ultimately, he/she should have been educated formally in music instead of acquiring his/her skills in a bedroom. Fantastic examples of this are Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, and to a lesser degree, Yngwie Malmsteen. Players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix (yes, that’s right) do not score well in this category. Clapton gets into this club just barely.

Soul of the music - The guitarist must be arguably the best in the world in using his guitar to communicate emotion and making his audience feel what he feels when playing. He must be a world class bluesman. He must have total tonal control and have the ability to connect his voice to the voice of his audience through his instrument. Perfect examples of this would be Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and a ton of other musicians I have failed to name. Steve Vai would score much weaker in this category and Yngwie wouldn’t get through the front door.

Musical innovation / style - The guitarist must be arguably the best in the world in using his guitar to change the way the world thinks about music of any genre. He must be an innovator, someone who is mimicked and who’s trademark style is still being built upon and influencing generations of guitarists. Perfect examples of this would be Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Chet Atkins, and other players that gave a shot in the arm to guitar-based music when it was most needed.

Songwriting - The guitarist must be arguably the best in the world in using his guitar to create melodies that transcend time. These melodies will be a part of the very foundation that shapes the future of music. This guitarist’s work would effectively galvanize itself into the lexicon of music and completely change the path through the thicket. Perfect examples of this would be Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, and a ton of other musicians I have failed to name.

Perfect timing of death - The guitarist must die at his absolute peak, preferably in a plane crash or failing that, a drug overdose. This is the final element to the perfect musical career, as if you leave the world when you are at your best, you become greater than humanly possible in the conscience of the human collective. Look at players like Randy Rhoads and Jimi Hendrix, both of which owe at least some of their status to their premature exits in life. Think of where Eddie Van Halen would be in the ranking if he had died in a fireball during the 1984 tour. Think of how much better Stevie Ray Vaughan would have been considered to be if he’d died just a few years sooner. A perfectly timed death is essential to being the best.

Your two candidates come from the same stomping grounds. They both have mastered the styles in which they play, but aside from a few notable exceptions with Jimi and experimental music, and Eric and his ability to continue to adapt and be effective in pop culture, neither of them have mastered every musical facet of the guitar. As hard as it is to believe, even Jimi Hendrix didn’t have an ultra strong grasp of musical theory like the Satriani’s of the world. Both of them have had powerful influences on all music that followed them, but Jimi Hendrix managed to pull away from Clapton in this category. Clapton’s work altered the course of music, but Hendrix’s music destroyed what we knew and created a new path for others to follow (as did Eddie Van Halen).

Then Jimi died, and his martyrdom, like a rocket fired into the void, continues to penetrate the deepest parts of our imaginations to this day with questions of possibilities regarding what could have been. Eric Clapton and Eddie Van Halen cannot compete with a ghost that left, presumably just when he was getting warmed up.

Your answer, as far as I’m concerned, is that overall, Hendrix was about 10% better than Clapton before he died. His death accelerated his guitar player status forward exponentially. His untimely death contributes to his status as the greatest guitar player of all time nearly as much as his actual abilities.

Hendrix was a God among men.
Clapton is a pretty talented musician.

Decision: Hendrix.

OMG, it’s like you ripped my brain from my head, jammed it into yours and wrote my thoughts with your hands. Clapton is just lucky he knew Jack Bruce. And I’d like to point out that he has no chin.

mm

Can I vote “Neither of the Above”? Pompous gits, both of them.

Hendrix fact number 5,297: he was pronounced “dead” in St Mary Abbot’s hospital, the very same hospital in which I was born not 10 short years earlier.

Personally I prefer Clapton to Hendrix and always have but a few years ago I heard an interview with Richard Tognetti that demonstrates how influential Hendrix is. Tognetti is head of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and is its violin soloist. He did the music for Master and Commander and taught Russell Crowe violin for his role. Near the end of the interview he was asked who his greatest influences where and he answered, “Well Jimi Hendrix for fingering technique of course…” in a manner that made it seem obvious. I can’t imagine any other guitarist being cited in that manner.

Long-time guitarist here. Let’s put it this way: if someone even needs to ask the question of “Hendrix vs. Clapton” it is clear that they haven’t been listening very closely. Don’t even try to discuss it - just accept it, respect their right to their opinion and walk away.

There is no contest and Clapton would be the first to acknowledge it - and has on several occasions.

Clapton is a fine journeyman player - a “fast follower” who can copy a variety of blues styles very well, and was fortunate to be in the hotbed of the blues-rock evolution at the right time. His work on the “Beano” album (John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton), Cream and Layla set him up for life.

But he’s no Hendrix. Please.

Hendrix, in a landslide.

I’ve just never been able to grasp Clapton’s popularity. From Cream- to modern-era Clapton, I’ve just never found his stuff particularly inspiring.

Hendrix

IANAGuitarist, so I don’t look to either for inspiration. I’d give Hendrix a big edge over Clapton, but I enjoy the fluidity of Clapton’s style.

IANAGuitarist either. One need not play the instrument to be inspired by the music.

Point taken, but, generally speaking, I don’t look to music or musicans for any kind of inspiration.

Your inspiration may vary, of course.

No big shock here based on my posts on your other thread -Jimi - in a landslide!