Eric Clapton : La vie en blues

Some of this documentary was good; the Blind Faith, Cream, and the Derek and the Dominos areas were quite good. However, Can someone please tell me how George Harrison was his only 'best' musician friend during the late '60's and early '70's? It is a glaring omission that Pete Townshend was not interviewed, or even shown in this film.Eric's comeback occurred at the Rainbow Concert, in January of 1973, after two years of inactivity, and was organized by, yes, you guessed it, Pete Townshend. Oh, and also, Pete was with Eric the first time that he saw Jimi Hendrix perform on stage. It's completely ridiculous that the producers of this film left Pete out of it, especially since he's alive, and could have easily have been interviewed.

A look at his early life, the sins of his Mother, and the pain it caused leading to his obsession with the blues and subsequent drug and alcohol addictions.

Very beautifully and interestingly done.

The filmmakers were obviously granted access to so much of his life in his effort to provide a testimony to his substance abuse and recovery in an effort to help others suffering the same problems.

Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (2017)

**** (out of 4)

This documentary, clocking in over two hours, features Eric Clapton discussing his life and career as we get clips from various concerts and television specials. Throughout the running time we learn about how his career took shape, his friendship with George Harrison and the love affair that shaped some of his greatest songs.

If you're a fan of Clapton then I'm sure you're going to already know a lot of the stories told here but the documentary is extremely well-made and there's no question that you can get some added joy out of hearing Clapton discuss these events. This includes the various high points of his life but also the low ones including the death of Jimi Hendrix as well as his son, which also led to one of his most loved songs.

There's no doubt that getting the interview footage with Clapton was a major plus but the greatest aspect of this documentary is that it has a lot of really great video footage. This includes a lot of early concert footage from Clapton's time with Cream as well as some earlier projects that Clapton worked on. There's no doubt that the brilliance of Clapton as a guitarist gets to shine here and if you're not a fan then you will be after watching this.

ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS takes a look at a brilliant but troubled man and I thought it was extremely fair handled and entertaining.

I don't know how it got such a low rated score here (I assume it was trolls). But 'Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars' was spectacular, it delved into the personal life of Clapton: his struggles through drug and alcohol abuse, his girlfriends, his family life and career. It was very revealing. It showed another side of him, a more vulnerable and real side. It shows his early music influences in Blues and also includes other musicians that Eric was associated with in that era. Many people close to him are featured in the documentary. It was very well done. Brilliant.

I didn't learn anything new from this documentary. It also seemed longer than it actually was, which is not a good thing.

Delaney & Bonnie & Friends aren't even mentioned. This is criminal since Eric is supposedly telling his own story. The legendary Derek & the Dominos were all members of that band and that's how they met. Delaney Bramlett produced Clapton's first solo album which begat the Dominos and the All Things Must Pass sessions.

Delaney & Bonnie opened for Blind Faith on their summer 1969 US Tour. Clapton liked what he saw. He was disgusted with the direction of both Cream and Blind Faith. He hopped on the more rootsy Delaney & Bonnie & Friends bandwagon for tours of Europe and the US in 1969-1970. Delaney & Bonnie were the frickin' catalyst to his new direction. Clapton and the film makers didn't even take the time to mention them once. That is an insult.

I don't recall J.J. Cale mentioned in the documentary either. Weird since Clapton copped Cale's whole vibe in the 1970's.