Neil Young’s opinion on Eric Clapton

Although Neil Young is mainly remembered as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, he is also a very good guitar player. He has always been a fan of some of the greatest guitarists from his generation and has spoken about many of them over the decades. One of those guitarists is Eric Clapton, whom Neil has already shared his opinion on and with whom he had the chance to play.

What is Neil Young’s opinion on Eric Clapton

“Eric Clapton (is) a survivor, isn’t he? He’s worked hard, real conscientiously, at what he does. He’s earned my respect. I didn’t used to be that into his music fifteen years ago, but I am now. Everything he does seems to mean somethin’ to him, y’know—I guess since he did the Unplugged. A lotta things have happened to him.”

“He’s very much like Ry Cooder—very studious kind of blues guy—but also there’s a broad appeal to his playing style, the fact that he was in Cream, his history. I think he’s come a long way. I liked playing with Clapton. Steady—you can always hand it to him and you know it’s gonna happen. He’s clean, real good.”

He continued:

“And I can add a funky edge to his leads with my rhythm, ’cause I’m really a rhythm guitar player. I’m not like, all over the guitar. I play half-speed to these fuckin’ other assholes, Steve Vai and whoever the new-incarnation Mutant Guitar God is. And y’know—they’re great, they’re fast and more power to ’em. Fuckin’ stock-car-racer guitar players, heh heh,” Neil Young said, as pointed out by Jimmy McDonough in “Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography.”

Although he admires Eric and thinks he is an incredible guitar player, he also pointed out that J.J. Cale, who influenced the British guitarist and whose songs he covered, also deserves to be praised.

“What is it about J. J. Cale’s playing? I mean, you could say Eric Clapton’s the guitar god, but what the fuck does that mean? I mean he can’t play like J.J. J.J.’s the one who played all that shit first. Most of the songs and the riffs—the way he plays the fucking guitar is so great,” Neil Young said.

Neil Young enjoyed playing with Eric Clapton

Neil Young had the chance to share the stage with Clapton a couple of times, including on Bob Dylan‘s 30th Anniversary Celebration concert in 1992. They were on stage together at that show to perform “My Back Pages”, which also had Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty and George Harrison.

“I love the way Eric plays, we played a couple of tunes right at that show that I really got off playing with him. He reminded me of playing with (Stephen) Stills in Buffalo Springfield because he is such a craftsman, such an artist the way he played. He’s so good, you know, there wasn’t anything he’d go for that he wouldn’t get. (So he is someone) fun to play with,” Neil Young told Much Music in 1996 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

Although they both admire each other musically, these days the two musicians are on opposite sides of many issues. Politically, Neil Young is against Donald Trump’s government and policies, while before the American elections, Eric Clapton praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now part of the Republican government. During the pandemic, Neil became an advocate for preventing the spread of misinformation about vaccines, whereas Clapton embraced that rhetoric and even campaigned against lockdowns.

Interestingly, when someone send Neil a message, saying: “Eric Clapton has balls. Do you Neil Young? Eric Clapton says he reserves the right to cancel shows at venues that require proof of vaccination”. The Canadian musician answered the question, saying:  “That has zero to do with balls. Be well! Love Neil.”

The funny story of when Eric Clapton went to see Buffalo Springfiled rehearse

Neil Young had the chance to meet Eric back in the 1960s when he was still part of Buffalo Springfield, band who Clapton admired a lot, and was formed with Stephen Stills. The band was at Stills’ house in Topanga, which was an old rock structure with a kind of barn behind. As Eric recalled in the documentary “Echo in the Canyon” (2018).

“I had got an invite to go and watch Buffalo Springfield rehearsing in a house in Laurel Canyon. I had met this girl called Mary Hughes, who was the kind of beauty queen of the strip at that time. Jeff Beck was dating her, Keith Moon was dating her and I somehow managed to get into the equation. I’m with this beautiful girl and there’s joints being passed around, and they start to play.”

“They played at a level where it wasn’t too loud for everybody. They were rehearsing a set, I think, to play for a show. Then there’s a knock on the door and someone goes to answer and there’s an immediate vibe in the room that something is wrong. They opened the door and there’s a policeman standing there and there’s a squad car in the background. He says: ‘You’ll have to keep it down, we’ve had some complaints about the noise.”

He continued:

“(Then he smells and says:) ‘What’s that?’ Next thing you know they’re in the room. I had just put down a joint but I had nothing in my hands. I was handcuffed to somebody. So we were all taken to L.A. County Jail. Meanwhile, people were like ‘What happened to Stephen?’ Stephen, when he realized who was at the front door, jumped out of the bathroom window and ran off (laughs),” Eric Clapton said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).