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238 Part IV: Sounding Like the Masters: Blues Styles through the Ages Trippin’ the Blues
Peace, love, and screaming guitar solos became part of the genre-stretching
late-’60s sound. These so-called “psychedelic” guitarists were deeply interested
in mixing vintage blues licks with modern effects. By 1967, the guitar
was king in rock ’n’ roll because the blues renaissance was fueling the music.
Among the key players at this time were Chicago-born Mike Bloomfield,
whose clean electric-blues solos highlighted recordings by the Paul
Butterfield Blues Band and the Electric Flag, and Dave Mason, who added
Clapton- and Hendrix-influenced solos to the music of England’s Traffic
(“Paper Sun” and “Pearly Queen”).
One later but still important psychedelic band was Santana. Taking influence
from “the three Kings” of blues guitar (Albert, Freddie, and B.B.), guitarist
Carlos Santana laid his soulful guitar breaks over hot Latin and rock rhythms,
as heard in hits like “Evil Ways” and Peter Green’s “Black Magic Woman.” The
band’s groove might have been Latin-based, but Carlos’s soloing was pure
pentatonic-blues rock.
Among the top psychedelic blues-rockers, two names tower over the rest:
Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
TEAM LinG
Eric Clapton, the original guitar god
Eric Clapton formed the power trio Cream in 1966 and they quickly became a
focal point in the blues revival. The guitarist’s articulate, overdriven guitar
solos were a sensation, incorporating powerful bends, vibrato, and bluesscale
licks by the score. By 1968, he was the most famous rock guitarist in the
world and demonstrated his expertise on the live cut of the Robert Johnson
tune “Crossroads” from Wheels of Fire. As heard in Figure 13-2, Clapton
pushed the tempo and technique for playing pentatonic-blues-box solos — he
was making blues-rock history in real time.
To play fast blues scales like Eric Clapton, you must practice! What differentiated
Clapton, for example, from other ’60s guitarists was his clean technique —
you won’t find any sloppy or flubbed notes in his famous “Crossroads” solo. In
order for you to get to that level, you must practice your blues licks slowly at
first, and then gradually increase the tempo over the course of a few days or
weeks. You can use a metronome to help slow their playing down and then
help speed it up.