Clapton played by the numbers
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (M, 134 mins) Directed by Lili Fini Zanuck
Eric Clapton has one of the more storied musical lives you’re likely to hear. He grew up in the midst of the greatest creative explosion of a century, joined and ditched bands like they were suits of clothes, fell into addiction and despair, won, lost and won again the love of his life – who was also his best mate’s wife – went through unimaginable tragedy, and generally out-lived and outplayed almost every one of his peers.
The man they called God really did change the sound of modern music when he first paired a 1964 Gibson Les Paul with a 1962 Marshall Combo.
But a quick rummage around the internet and the liner notes of a couple of albums could tell you as much. (Did you think I knew it was a 64 Gibson off the top of my head?)
Lili Fini Zanuck’s (1991’s Rush) documentary Eric Clapton: Life in
12 Bars does a perfectly adequate job of laying out the beats of Clapton’s story. Gratifyingly, Zanuck also manages to trace Clapton’s path with a minimum of voice-over or contemporary interviews. And she also takes care to pay due attention to the theory that it was Clapton and his contemporaries who helped keep the flame of the blues alive and introduce the music to a wider (read ‘‘white’’) audience. Clapton was the gateway drug who led a lot of people to BB King and John Lee Hooker for the first time.
But there is something maddeningly pedestrian and bythe-numbers about Zanuck’s pacing and direction. The story is haunting, but the film barely hums when it should be a crackling, squealing, beast of a thing. The prickly, heart-broken conundrum at its centre is reduced to a chronological compendium of archival footage.
Of course, I watched Life in 12 Bars with interest from beginning to end. It’s a great yarn. I just wish it was also a great film.
❚ Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars will open in select Christchurch cinemas on February 22.