A shot, a sheriff, a reptile and the news over the rainbow

It was 1987 more or less when I was walking with some friends in Malasaña, one of the classic drinking & having fun zones of Madrid. Wandering the streets looking for a place to have the second dozen of beers, passed by a doorstep to a small pub that suddenly opened, probably just someone leaving the place... The music that came out of tha place was unmistakable, that slow soulfull, JJ Cale's cover "Cocaine" by the slow hand of Eric Clapton. And it was enough, I have enjoyed and spent more time in that pub, called Angie than in the rest of pubs and bars along my life (a lot I must admit), and I'm not exaggerating.

If you wanna hang out you've gotta take her out, cocaine

If you wanna get down, down on the ground, cocaine

She don't lie

She don't lie

She don't lie... cocaine

When your day is gone, and you wanna run, cocaine

If you got bad news you wanna kick them blues, cocaine

She don't lie

She don't lie

She don't lie... cocaine

If your thing is gone, and you wanna ride on, cocaine

don't forget this fact, you can't get back, cocaine

She don't lie

She don't lie

She don't lie... cocaine

It's a cool song, allways controversial lyrics that some find pro-cocaine and some anti-cocaine related. I guess of course people reads it as they want to read it. Some pay attention to "She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, cocaine" and others to "Don't forget this fact, you can't get back, cocaine"... Choose your option. Anyway Clapton allways called the song 'quite cleverly anti-cocaine song' and he personally noted:

"It’s no good to write a deliberate anti-drug song and hope that it will catch. Because the general thing is that people will be upset by that. It would disturb them to have someone else shoving something down their throat. So the best thing to do is offer something that seems ambiguous—that on study or on reflection actually can be seen to be ‘anti’—which the song "Cocaine" is actually an anti-cocaine song. If you study it or look at it with a little bit of thought... from a distance... or as it goes by... it just sounds like a song about cocaine. But actually, it is quite cleverly anti-cocaine." (Thanks to wikipedia)

What I've found pretty funny through the years is that a lot of people never listened to the original song by JJ Cale, so there is it for those who never did...

Though I have allways liked Clapton music, it didn't became one of my main addictions and influences until pretty recently. My complete devotion for this great guitar player came true in 2001, when I had the luck to live the gig in Madrid from his "Reptile" tour. The opening and closing song, probably not the most representative of his career, really shocked me out. They showed me how versatile he can be, and how nice and full of feelings his singing can be.

This two pieces of pure music and soul, that day, those friends there, I will never forget it no matters what the future showed up.

Reptile, instrumental and jazzy, incredible beginning for a show, you could see all the musicians enjoying the playing along the whole song. And after a long, incredible concert, this "Over the rainbow" cover. I have no words to describe the feelings it provided and it still provides.

This post would be a never ending story if I had to talk about all the Clapton songs and the feelings and emotions they bring up, but it's late and I am pretty tired after a long work day, it's almost time for bed so... I have chosen this song to finish this post for a lot of reasons. First it is another cover, Clapton have allways had the ability to give his own personal touch to other musicians songs and this one is a good example, second is that this is probably, personally at least, best solo ever played in history, not for it's technical skills (what it undoublty has) but for the complete powerfull soulfull improvisation, just listen to it and judge.

Absolute demonstration of inspiration, it starts slowly at 5:09 with soft rithmical touchs of strings, feeling the silences and taking time to slowly introduce you in the solo atmosphere, then about 6:06 it increases the pitch and a bit the speed with some touchs full of soul, then it comes back to low rithmical sounds and, suddenly it fast grows up and at 7:00 it seems to come out from the stomach coming up to the throat, still moving up and up until it explodes in 7:28, then goes down again to low notes and rithmical chords to let everybody take a breath (I personally think I allways stop breathing during those seconds) and then, from 7:44 to the end it again starts increasing speed, pitch and strength to and incredible end. I have tried, though it's pretty difficult for me due most of it it's feeling, to describe this solo the best I can. If you think it sounds more to a transcription about making love, well, if amongst all others one solo has to describe what making love is, this one can without a trace of doubt.

And remember, "I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot no deputy, just read it in the news..."