Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (2018)

One of my most vivid childhood memories related to music is my dad playing the first album by Cream. Having kept a casual interest in Eric Clapton, (and having read a number of music mags with pieces about him) I was intrigued to see the BBC show a recent feature film doc on him,which led to me playing with a slow-hand.View on the doc:Narrated by Clapton himself, director Lili Fini Zanuck plays an outstanding amount of archive material,from childhood photos of the Clapton's,grainy footage of infamous gigs,and joyful snaps from the present of Clapton enjoying life with his family. While Clapton takes centre stage in the doc, Zanuck stays far away from making this a fan tribute,by making this a warts and all title,with additional comments from family/former band members and Clapton's own self- criticism painting him at times in a self-centred, less than flattering light. Even with a 2 hour run time, the movie feels oddly lacking in depth, with the phases in Clapton's music career each being skimmed over, and people known to have played a big part in his life (like Pete Townsend) not getting one mention as Clapton plays the 12 bars of life.

Why are we hearing from Jimmy's baby mama when she was only with Eric for the very early days? Surely to not have mentioned Jimmy Page as his bass playing replacement in the Yardbirds but have the same girlfriend give a long interview was by design, its fine but set the tempo of making Eric the LEGEND who stands alone & its HIS movie so thats cool but the racism stuff & drug use is all forgivable if he had real humility( helping people get sober is so awesome of me...eek) but hes one of many artists who were inspired by real Blues & went on to become their own originators of unique sound. Clapton was a blues purist in the 60s & i agree but that doesnt make him the MOST important or influential. Hes has a some legendary songs & I love his playing & loved the idea that the guitarists had a nice rivalry but I always heard Townshend praise Eric as a friend and a hero & even Pete praise Jimmy. LOTS of omissions... LOL But we gotta learn theres NO real rock & roll fraternity where the men of Axes all hang out and golf or even jam. They all seem so competitive. The fans who love these artists enough to get ripped off by scalpers deserve MORE gratitude for TOLERANCE! Perhaps he doesnt want other guitarists of their own generation to seem on his level. Theres room for so many artists. In fact more than ever now. This was great for hero worship but is as good a linear life bio as any other artist. Even if i find myself not loving him too much. He has my respect for the music...which is the legacy that lasts beyong all the decades past. Layla will be around long after Eric leaves us. Very long.....like the run time. Winning Grammys for a song about your kid dying is also sad. Glad hes hard so many do overs! He does seem happy and thats good. BB the KING sure gave him props!! So there! Oxox

Ok, So trying to fit in Eric Clapton's life in 2hrs has to squeeze the story down but the omissions (as mentioned in other reviews) are suprising as are the errors (George Harrison is credited as Paul McCartney in one voice over is one example...Surely Eric must have seen at least a rough cut of the film!)...Also Eric comes across badly...He goes for what he wants Sod everyone else...Which at least makes an honest film not a puff piece. In all a decent Doc but could have been so much better but if it makes anyone discover The Yardbirds, John Mayall, Cream...etc then it's job is done...I saw it on BBC2 and I hope he had a sales boost after the showing like these docs usually give there subjects.

This starts out well, as Zanuck uses childhood footage with concert clips of Clapton. Some of the interviews are good, but I got tired of the endless Patti Boyd material. Clapton pined for George Harrison's wife and wrote "Layla" for her. Years later they hooked up, and it was the classic be careful what you wish for line. He continued to drink and use heroin even after he finally got his girl. I wish more music was included and Boyd should have ended up a footnote in music history. She was nothing but a glorified groupie. Zanuck's editing leaves a lot to be desired. At the end, we get to see Eric, as an older man with his young children. Watch Creams farewell concert instead.