(quote)
"Well, danged, Tal, how do you really feal about Neil?"
Yeah, I know I sounded a tad harsh and I 'm never under the delusion of "As if my opinion really matters". Ol' Neil will never starve nor lack fans to adore at his feet.
And ,C'mon ,as if whatever I and anybody has to say about Neil will ever diminish your enjoyment of his work on wit. ;-)

(quote)
"Hey, I still like him as an individual folk singer than any one of the other *three guys*. "

I'll give you that without any reservations , but then that's what i meant by the magic of what happened when all these talents "collaborated" and produced something inarguably "greater" than any one of them as well.
I guess I shoulda taken more into account that my critiquing "your boy" might ,somehow ,be taken a little bit *personal*
which is why I started out by saying Rev.Bobert *my friend* ;-)

I guess I've grown impatient with the past stars that didn't exactly
"measure up" . You know my opinion of Clapton is that he's gone all *lazy assed* and has been just coasting on his celebrity for atleast a decade while one of his peers, Jeff Beck , has remained true to his craft. Yeah , he doesn't win any grammy's, but Jeff Beck can command a loyal audience who appreciates his mastery of the craft. I guess with audience its a choice over quality of audience over quantity. Clapton's gone quantity and has allowed himself to lapse into near Pop-blues croons. Hell I'll show you harsh ; Clapton's damn near a Las Vegas act . in my book and I couldn't think of a recent "CD" of his worth my dollar to listen in solitude the way on chooses a choice book to curl up with and get lost in.

So, as far as Neil goes ; if his personal best is as the "unplugged" gritty troubador then he should remain true to that self and allow that to be his medium of choice. But Nooooo, he's got to thorugh a little past-midlife crisis tantrum as some ragin' agin' rock ffreakshow for the kids.
Sorry but there are times when a fine hooker knows it's time to get behind the desk and become that refined madam and keep her damn clothes on...... Ouch! there I go gettin' all harsh again. ;-)