Why I Love Layla

A post or two back, I told an abbreviated tale of Derek & The Dominos. As a follow-up, I'd like to review their lone studio disc, "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs."

Now, I have known the song "Layla" for years. Long before I knew who Eric Clapton was. Long before I even knew it was called "Layla." But it was when I was in eighth grade, becoming a full-fledged Beatles fan that I heard the story that it was inspired by Beatle George's wife, and I was getting into Q104.3, a great classic rock station in New York. So I soon became very familiar with it, as well as the other famous number, perhaps one I love even more, "Bell Bottom Blues."

When I finally bought the album last June, I was certainly interested, but would not have bought it right away had it not been for a nice sale at the CD store. So, I couldn't take it in fully when I first got it. It is a long album, and I had to force myself to sit through my first play. Needless to say, I didn't get too much out of it. But, thankfully, I played it more since then.

The album opens with "I Looked Away." The song is very catchy and upbeat. For most bands, this would be the perfect single. Of course, Clapton & Co. can do even better, but that does nothing to belittle this song. Bobby Whitlock takes the vocals once or twice, and proves from the get-go that he is as much an important force on the album as Clapton (Whitlock co-wrote most of the material with Clapton.) The solo is also cool. Like the song in general, it is short, but very sweet.

Next is "Bell Bottom Blues." I've loved this song for quite some time, so hearing is always a treat. It is a bit droning, with the organ, and is very desperate. Clapton sings like his heart is about to break in most tragic of fashions, and his guitar gives off the same desperation. The drums change to a very tribal like beat in the short section that prefixes the refrain. The song is such a plea for love, and it does not resolve, making it all the more dramatic.

"Keep On Growing" opens with a very funky rhythm. Yes, funky is the best word for it. It is not the deepest number on the album, but is all the same cool to listen to. Very upbeat too.

"Nobody Knows You (When You're Down & Out)" is a true blues number. Duane Allman plays on it, and his slide carries the number just as much as Clapton's gruff, defeated vocal. The song is not fast nor heavy, but it grabs me in and holds me hard. It is the grittiest blues number the album has to offer.

Perhaps the black sheep of the album is "I Am Yours." It is not at all blues. It is a pretty song, very sweet, telling of devotion. It kind of falls towards MOR, but I'm trying to be careful, because I mean it in the best way. The chords get higher and higher in the most peculiar way. The rhythm is very American, like a CCR song, but the lead guitar gives it a Hawaiian twist. (I assume a bottleneck guitar is used.)

"Anyday" is often give praise as a classic 'deep cut', but for me, it comes off as hard to listen to. The refrain itself is the best part (and the intro), but the song seems to have problems linking the parts together. It just does gel for me.

While all the other songs are well-crafted and arranged, "Key To The Highway" is just the band flexing their music muscles. In another room, a group was recording this number. Clapton and the gang could hear them, and decided to jam on it themselves. The engineer had not intended to make a recording, and only started the tapes after the group had begun (hence the fade-in.) For me, the song just doesn't do enough. It lacks the consistancy the other songs have. When they did this live, they showed how good they could do it. Here, it sounds like they are just competent.

The last two songs don't do it for me, and there is still one more song to go before the album picks up. "Tell The Truth" can be a good song. I love the fast paced single version. I love the long instrumental versions. But the album version is not one I like (besides, it is kind of "fake". The vocals were taken from the fast single, and just slowed down onto one of the aforementioned instrumentals. Doesn't work.) I don't care for the live recordings either.

But now it gets good again. "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?" is one of the greatest songs. Live, it was a long number, and showed the virtousity of both Clapton, as well as drummer Jim Gordon, whose drums would carry the intro while Clapton played some very restrained licks before jumping in. The studio version is a bit different. It lacks the same punch that the live versions have, but makes up for it with the guitars, which are magnificent and in your face. They carry the song, conveying the songs emotion better than even the vocals. The guitar reminds me of Harrison's "Art Of Dying." In both songs, the guitar plays lead, but jumps in and out of the rhythm. They go non-stop, and are as insistent as can be.

"Have You Ever Loved A Woman" is a blues number. Their are other versions that are bare, but here the arrangement makes it a little to produced to be pure blues. Still, it is a great number. It may not be an original, but it is so much a part of the theme of Clapton's love for Pattie Boyd. Because Clapton is so connected to the songs story, he gives it a better treatment than other singers I've heard, because their general ability does not compare to Clapton's deep connection.

"Little Wing" is a cover of a Hendrix tune, recorded only days before the composers death. It would be an emotional tribute when done in concert, but here, it is just a nod to a friend. The intro is cool and upbeat, cutting into the lower key composistion of the song.

"It's Too Late" is tinged with some country. It is a light number, but fun to listen too. Clapton does some call and response with Whitlock. While many songs on this album are emotional, this one, though maybe in the subtext is a bit, on the outside is just a tight performance.

The album draws to a close now, and "Layla" is up. What to say. The first have of the song is so desperate, the most outright plea to Layla, to Pattie, this plea of love, this admitting that he would more or less die without her love. And then, finally, the song, with guitar solos approaching some sort of crescendo, turns into a piano instrumental, no more desperate, but calm and beautiful. Pure satisfaction. For a few minutes, we get no longer Clapton bearing his breaking heart on his sleeve, but instead a presentation of his dream, his fantasy.

Bobby Whitlock wrote and sang the album's last track, "Thorn Tree In The Garden." It has none of Clapton's situation.. Instead, Whitlock presents a love that may not be working any longer. It is sad, yet beautiful. On an album lead by Clapton's deep desire for Pattie, blinding him to the rest of the world, Whitlock gives a more sobering take on love, undercutting Clapton's ideal but also presenting a greater picture, underscoring that Clapton is coming from more of a fantasy, by giving a taste of reality.

And that's why I love "Layla."