I’m taking a rare break from classical music to post this video of Eric Clapton and Mark Knoffler playing a Blind Faith song. Mark Knoffler is that rare breed of rock guitarists who eschews a pick and fingerpicks instead. He joins the ranks of Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Robby Krieger of the Doors, and Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and later Hot Tuna, a spinoff band he formed with Jefferson Airplane bass player Jack Casady. I saw Hot Tuna live once. Great band.
Alas, embedding is disabled for this video so you have to go here to listen to it. I hate it when they do that.
Didja notice that Knoffler is playing lead instead of Clapton? I love the bass solo near the end.
When I perform at blogmeets I usually play this song. Elisson and I were both Blind Faith fans and he loves this song as much I do. Too bad they only made one album. Pumpman’s brother Dave sings this song and when he does, he sounds almost exactly like Steve Winwood who wrote and sang this song on the Blind Faith album.
Here’s the original.
Very cool. I play fingerstyle a lot more these days, depending on the style and genre. I get more subtlety in tone with the skin than I can with the pick. Many licks that involve arpeggios and multiple strings are much easier to do fingerstyle, or with a combination of pick and fingers.
Knopfler anchors the ring finger and pinky of his right hand on the guitar, which works fine for his improvisational melodic style of playing. As a general rule, however, I tell my students not to do that because it becomes a crutch and can limit their range of motion and actually lead to accuracy problems. Many self-taught players have to work very hard to break that bad habit.
Knoffler, Buckingham, and others do Scruggs style which only uses the thumb, first finger and middle finger which is how banjo players play. I play more classical style and use my ring finger as well, which means I use the thumb for the top three strings and first, middle, and ring for the bottom three, so if I want, I can play four strings at once. I taught myself that way so it was easier to do four string arpeggios. Now that I’m playing some Bach, it fell into place using my style.
Be careful, Denny – that album cover is technically child porn. If the government ever decides to get you, you’re done.
Great album, though. I’ve got the original 12-inch vinyl version, picture and all.
I take that back. When you click to get the whole-screen version of the vid, said youngster has a pastie covering the one formerly-visible nipple.
Simple. Thanks.
Sorry G.O.C., its ‘Hot F’n Tuna’.
I remember hitchhiking into NYC when I was about 14 with a good friend to find this album many years ago. Still have the original vinyl, what an amazing album! They just don’t make albums like this anymore.
Thanks very much for that; a beautiful rendition.
I’ve loved Clapton’s playing since the Yardbirds.
Knoffler’s picking is superb on that.
And they all got that technique from the great James Burton.