Bdp
Re: The Band
Another way to state your observations (particularly Clapton's view) is that The Band's greatest admirers were often high profile rockers that had simply their lost interest in rock, preferring The Band's blend of roots styles.
It's not like Clapton looked exclusively at The Band either. Clapton indulged a similar instinct when he hooked up with Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. You could even reasonably argue that The Band was simply one flavor of the moment for Clapton, tho it is true that he never really looked back to electric blues rock. To this day, Clapton plays little rock music in concert. However, he does not play a lot of Band style roots music, either. His shows now tend to be acoustic blues sets littered with a few hits to keep the audience satisfied.
In recent years, it's become quite clear that Clapton is looking more at guys like JJ Cale than he is at The Band. Is he more astute today, or was he more attuned back when he was more specifically enthralled with The Band?
As to musicianship, The Band was hardly the standard bearer for instrumental technique. (I do understand that that is a big part of your point.). That does beg the question of why you'd accord them such respect as musicians. They were fine players, but not remarkable. As to their fine ensemble playing, that's largely a matter of personal preference. Bands from Yes to Rush to Earth, Wind and Fire combined expert technique with fine with ensemble playing. I'm not at all sure that I'd put them at the head of the line.
To me, the more remarkable aspect of The Band was their ability to incorporate American roots music into expertly played pop music. I'd suspect that that was more of the attraction for their admirers. The Band's particular roots blend was self evidently appealing to many musicians that were looking for avenues of expression that harkened back to acoustic blues, but IMO that doesn't make them singular. A terrific band, but not singular IMO.
Re: The Band
Another way to state your observations (particularly Clapton's view) is that The Band's greatest admirers were often high profile rockers that had simply their lost interest in rock, preferring The Band's blend of roots styles.
It's not like Clapton looked exclusively at The Band either. Clapton indulged a similar instinct when he hooked up with Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. You could even reasonably argue that The Band was simply one flavor of the moment for Clapton, tho it is true that he never really looked back to electric blues rock. To this day, Clapton plays little rock music in concert. However, he does not play a lot of Band style roots music, either. His shows now tend to be acoustic blues sets littered with a few hits to keep the audience satisfied.
In recent years, it's become quite clear that Clapton is looking more at guys like JJ Cale than he is at The Band. Is he more astute today, or was he more attuned back when he was more specifically enthralled with The Band?
As to musicianship, The Band was hardly the standard bearer for instrumental technique. (I do understand that that is a big part of your point.). That does beg the question of why you'd accord them such respect as musicians. They were fine players, but not remarkable. As to their fine ensemble playing, that's largely a matter of personal preference. Bands from Yes to Rush to Earth, Wind and Fire combined expert technique with fine with ensemble playing. I'm not at all sure that I'd put them at the head of the line.
To me, the more remarkable aspect of The Band was their ability to incorporate American roots music into expertly played pop music. I'd suspect that that was more of the attraction for their admirers. The Band's particular roots blend was self evidently appealing to many musicians that were looking for avenues of expression that harkened back to acoustic blues, but IMO that doesn't make them singular. A terrific band, but not singular IMO.