Marty Stuart on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:

"But Prog bands, they make music which assumes complicated song structures and hard-to-physically perform instrument parts are ends unto themselves. And the music is made as, it sounds to me, a form of bragging: see how good I/we am/are? At the risk of drawing the ire of perhaps some (or even many) here, I must disclose that I feel the same about the music of Frank Zappa. Sorry. ;-)"

And there seem to be an analagous, "bragging" attitude among Prog fans-- "Prog is the best music and we are the most sophisticated music aficionados" or some such nonsense.

I feel the same about shredder guitarists like Steve Vai (who of course, played with Zappa, early on)... they seem to be on a quest to see how little they can communicate with as many notes as possible-- the exact  opposite of say, BB King!  

The live Derek and the Dominos material is certainly a much better showcase for the rhythm section than for Clapton, whose long solos seem pretty uninspired, compared to the studio versions od the same tunes.. Perhaps if EC had been sharing a stage with Duane for those shows, he would've risen to a higher level. 

Excellent point about the Prog audience, @stuartk! I’ve known some of those guys, who were exactly as you describe. Smug superiority to spare. I neglected to mention how much I dislike the attempt to combine Rock with Classical, a ridiculous notion imo. If I want to hear Pictures At An Exhibition, it sure ain’t gonna be by ELP. However, Matthew Fisher’s insertion of a J.S. Bach line in "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" is brilliant!

Clapton’s playing over the years has sure been hit-or-miss, all over the map. Seems like he wants to be first one thing, then another. I respect the guy, but own only one of albums---the debut.

   "I neglected to mention how much I dislike the attempt to combine Rock with Classical, a ridiculous notion imo"

I don't know if it's ridiculous but I don't like it. 

"Clapton’s playing over the years has sure been hit-or-miss, all over the map".

Yeah. I don't care for (or own) 461 O. Blvd. or anything after that but am still a fan of the earlier recordings. I stil own and listen to Layla, Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Blind Faith, the John Mayall Beano album and the London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. That's definitely enough EC for me. 

I kept my copy of Fresh Cream (and the John Mayall album, as well as it’s followup with Peter Green playing guitar), but ditched Disraeli Gears long ago. Did you hear Atlantic Records President Ahmet Ertegan’s reaction to hearing the album tapes? He characterized the music as "psychedelic h*rsesh*t." ;-)

I was surprised that after having disbanded Cream (in reaction to hearing Music From Big Pink), Clapton formed another band with Ginger Baker, whose drumming style is diametrically opposed to that of Levon Helm and Jim Gordon.

After the Blind Faith side project, Steve Winwood was back with Traffic full-time, and drummer/songwriter Jim Capaldi wanted to move to the front of the stage (on piano). He enlisted the services of two of his favorite drummers (mine too)---Jim Gordon and Roger Hawkins. Wish I had seen THAT lineup live!

Clapton asserts he never invited G. baker to join Blind Faith and given the ongoing war between Baker and Bruce, which had thrust Clapton into the thankless role of perpetual mediator, it makes sense that he wasn't eager for a reunion with either of them. According to the liner notes in my Blind Faith deluxe, Baker "just showed up" at Clapton's home during a rehearsal and apparently, EC didn't have the will to refuse him. It's not clear to me whether Winwood had invited Baker or not, but I happen to like his playing with B. Faith. 

While Disraeli Gears is admittedly dated, I still enjoy listening to it,once in a great while, although I tend to skip over S.O.Y.L. -- heard that one a few too many times. Fresh Cream is my favorite Cream album because it's more bluesy, less psychedelic. 

There is a concert dvd of the version of Traffic you mention: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocjSc7v83pk