具体描述
“I found a pattern in my behavior that had been repeating itself for years, decades even. Bad choices were my specialty, and if something honest and decent came along, I would shun it or run the other way.”
With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well known for his reserve in a profession marked by self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles, for the first time, his remarkable personal and professional journeys.
Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents, Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine, believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and inspire devoted fans to scrawl “Clapton is God” on the walls of London’s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the world's first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar, but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history, including the classic “Layla.”
During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while working with the latter that he fell for George’s wife, Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean Boulevard , with its massive hit “I Shot the Sheriff.” He followed that with the platinum album Slowhand , which included “Wonderful Tonight,” the touching love song to Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1979. A short time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the eventual breakup of his marriage.
In the eighties he would battle and begin his recovery from alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident. At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the achingly beautiful “Tears in Heaven.”
Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.
作者简介
埃里克•克莱普顿:
有史以来最伟大的吉他手之一,人称吉他上帝;传奇的布鲁斯音乐大师,《蕾拉》、《泪洒天堂》等都是广为流传的杰作;他尝试过多种音乐风格,布鲁斯、迷幻摇滚、雷鬼乐、每一种都获得了巨大成功;他获得过19项格莱美奖,3次入主摇滚名人堂。
克莱普顿是第二次世界大战时一个加拿大士兵的私生子,幼年失怙,命途多舛。他一度沉迷于毒品和酒精,感情生活长期混乱,其间还经历了很多好朋友的死;50岁育得一子,却在四岁时夭折。
现在的克莱普顿住在伦敦郊外,享受着天伦之乐。另外由于追悔自己的吸毒和酗酒经历,他建立了吸毒酗酒者的救助机构“十字路口中心”,并为这件事忙得不亦乐乎。
目录信息
读后感
2007年1月20日的上海大舞台,当我陶醉于埃里克•克莱普顿的琴声,并为他和小多伊尔•布拉姆霍尔、德雷克•特拉克斯这两个新生代布鲁斯吉他王者相得益彰的合奏、天衣无缝的配合惊叹不已时,我并不知道,当时的他正在紧锣密鼓地写着这本自传,而此书的部分内容就是在上海完...
很小的时候,大概六七岁的样子,我开始觉得自己的身世有点不对劲。时常有人当着我的面指指点点,还会窃窃私语。我家位于萨里郡雷普利村草地路 1 号,是栋正对着村里公共绿地的小房子。这栋房子原本是救济院的一部分,被隔成了四个房间。楼上是两间狭小简陋的卧室,楼下则是厨房...
我对克莱普顿的音乐,实在不怎么感兴趣,不插电是不错,泪洒天堂也着实在播放设备里循环了小半年,但其余大多数作品则听不出味道。 首先我不是一个纯正布鲁斯迷,而是一个摇滚乐爱好者。其次即使是摇滚乐范畴(不管真的假的,反正自打六十年代后一切流行音乐都有了摇滚血缘)...
原文刊于《新京报》 我从来不是Eric Clapton的歌迷,尽管他从60年代起便被尊为了“吉他上帝”,至今已经三次入主摇滚名人堂、收获了十九座格莱美奖杯,在任何一个吉他英雄榜上都名列前茅,但我依然只把他看做杰出的吉他匠人而非具备超凡创造力的艺术家。加在Cream(Clapton为...
前两天看完了陈震老师译的埃里克·克莱普顿的自传《天堂十字路口》,总觉得要说点什么。我自认为还不够格来评论一部如此激动人心的摇滚巨作,因为我听摇滚乐的时间很短,对摇滚乐的认识也还很浅,所以这篇文章不能称为书评,只能算是一点琐碎感受吧。 一直以来,阅读外文作品时...
用户评价
这本著作的文字功力是毋庸置疑的,它有一种近乎诗意的散文质感,尤其是在描述音乐本身的时候。我发现自己常常读到某一段,不得不停下来,闭上眼睛,试图在脑海中重构作者所描绘的那段旋律或即兴片段的画面感。作者似乎拥有将声音转化为视觉和触觉的能力。比如描述一段吉他独奏时,他用了“如同一道冰冷的光束刺穿了夏日黄昏的尘埃”这样的比喻,这种强烈的感官冲击力,远超那些枯燥的技术分析。这本书并不需要你成为该领域专家才能欣赏,它对非专业读者也展现了极大的友好度。它把那些晦涩的音乐术语巧妙地融入到叙事流程中,让你在不知不觉中学到了很多关于乐理和演奏技巧的知识,但重点始终是情绪的流动和故事的推进。这使得这本书成为了一本罕见的,既能满足硬核乐迷的求知欲,又能让普通读者享受文学之美的作品。
翻开这本厚厚的精装本,首先映入眼帘的是那封面设计,那种低调的奢华感扑面而来,仿佛预示着里面将是一场关于时间与技艺的深度对话。我原本以为这是一本纯粹的音乐传记,细读之下才发现,作者的笔触远超出了简单的生平叙述。他巧妙地将音乐史的宏大背景融入到个体命运的跌宕起伏之中,让你在跟随主角的脚步穿越各个黄金年代时,仿佛亲身经历了那些激动人心的音乐变革现场。特别是关于录音棚内幕的描写,那些关于混音、编曲细节的探讨,细致入微,简直就像是邀请了一位资深制作人坐在你身边,手把手教你如何从音轨中提炼出灵魂。读到那些关于创造性枯竭与突破的段落,我深有共鸣,那种在艺术巅峰徘徊,既渴望超越又恐惧失落的挣扎,被刻画得淋漓尽致。这本书的厉害之处在于,它不仅记录了“发生了什么”,更深入挖掘了“为什么会这样”,那些关于灵感来源、合作关系微妙变化背后的心理动机,都如同剥洋葱般一层层展现出来,让人在合上书页后,对这位艺术家的理解又增添了全新的维度。
阅读体验中,我感到最独特的是作者对“传承”这一主题的反复探讨。这本书不仅仅关注于个体的高光时刻,更着重描绘了他是如何吸收前人的养分,又是如何不经意间成为了后来者的参照系。作者花费了相当大的篇幅去追溯影响这位艺术家的根源,从早期的布鲁斯大师到六十年代的迷幻浪潮,描绘得极为详尽,就像绘制一张错综复杂的精神谱系图。而当谈到他后期的影响力时,叙述又变得非常克制和审慎,避免了过度拔高,而是通过引用年轻一代音乐家的访谈片段,侧面展示了这种影响力的广度与深度。这种对时间轴两端的平衡处理,让整部作品的格局一下子打开了,不再局限于个人的英雄叙事,而是上升到了对整个音乐文化生态变迁的宏大观察。读完之后,我感觉自己对过去几十年音乐发展的脉络有了更清晰的认识,仿佛手里多了一张解读时代精神的密钥。
我通常对这种厚重的回忆录敬而远之,总觉得它们会陷入冗长且自恋的自我赞美中,但这本书完全颠覆了我的固有印象。它最吸引我的地方在于其批判性的深度。作者显然没有被这位音乐家光环所迷惑,而是带着一种审视的眼光去解剖他的艺术选择和社会影响。例如,书中对某张备受推崇的专辑的市场化运作和艺术妥协之间的平衡点的探讨,进行了极其尖锐的分析,引人深思。这种不带粉饰的叙述,反而让人物形象更加立体和可信。更让我欣赏的是,作者在引用大量一手资料的同时,还巧妙地引入了许多当时乐评人、合作乐手的侧面评价,形成了一种多声部的对话,使得任何单一的结论都显得苍白无力。你读完之后,会发现自己不仅仅是了解了一个音乐家的生平,更像是参与了一场关于艺术价值、商业逻辑与个人坚持之间永恒博弈的深度辩论。
老实说,这本书的阅读体验像是一次漫长而又充满惊喜的公路旅行。它没有按照那种教科书式的线性时间轴来铺陈,而是采用了大量穿插回忆和现场访谈的碎片化叙事方式,这反而极大地增强了故事的张力和沉浸感。有那么几个章节,叙述节奏突然变得非常缓慢,聚焦于一个极小的生活片段,比如一次凌晨三点的即兴演奏,或者一段长途巴士上的独白。起初我有些不适应这种跳跃感,但很快,我发现正是这些“留白”构成了整部作品的呼吸。作者对环境氛围的渲染极其到位,你能清晰地感受到不同年代、不同城市那种特有的气候、气味,甚至是人群的眼神。读到关于早期巡演的描述时,那种简陋舞台、汗水与啤酒混合的味道几乎要从纸张中溢出来。更让我赞叹的是,作者在处理人际冲突和事业低谷时,没有采取那种廉价的戏剧化处理,而是保持了一种冷静的、近乎人类学的观察视角,客观地呈现了天才光环下那些真实而脆弱的人性侧面。