10 Mistakes Purposefully Left In Classic Rock Songs
6. Crossroads - Cream
Whenever people bring up the greatest guitar songs of all time, Crossroads by Cream always seems to take a prime spot. One could argue that this is one of the few songs that instilled the "Clapton is God" myth in rock fans' minds, as Slowhand weaves in and out of the time changes with almost minimal effort. However, Clapton has actually exposed the secret of this fantastic solo: rhythmic incompetence.
During the live recording of this song, Clapton has discussed never locking in on the timing of the initial groove, instead playing most of his solo on the offbeat. Even though this kind of thing would be cause for a trainwreck live on stage, the note choice actually goes in a bit of a different direction and gives the track its unique character.
While Clapton may find shame in not doing justice to one of his heroes Robert Johnson, perhaps the actual execution of the solo he heard in his head would have hurt the song in the long run. As such, the version as it stands now feels like watching some of the greatest musicians in England at a sweaty club, putting every single ounce of their energy into shaking the walls with the raw sound of blues rock. It's still great... but you might want to put in a few more hours with the metronome, Eric.