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."

Derek Claptoe

When disscussing Eric Clapton's first solo album in my last post, I resisted temptation to go off on a long tangent (since it would have little/nothing to do with Delaney Bramlett.) But today, I think the time is right.

While on tour with Delaney & Bonnie, Clapton became good friends with the musicians. They would go on to work with him on his solo disc, and some would play with him as he worked on Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album. Three musicians in particular became close to Clapton: drummer Jim Gordon, keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, & bassist Carl Radle. During the "All Things Must Pass" sessions, in addition to working on proper songs, their were many jams. 3 of the 4 jams released on the third disc of the record featured all of them playing together. It was through these jams that they became pretty tight, and as Harrison worked on his album, they decided to do a single.

Harrison played on both sides, and Phil Spector took production credit (though one can not be sure he ever heard the record), and the musicians recorded "Tell The Truth," and "Roll It Over." The single was a complete flop. But that made no matter. These musicians had a name now, Derek and The Dominos, Clapton's attempt to shield himself from his fame a bit, to start off fresh. They had first used the name for their first concert (which featured Dave Mason, who was slated to be a member, but never again played with the group.) The audience was briefly fooled into thinking it was an unknown group (Eric Clapton & Friends had been on the bill, so these Dominos sounded like a possible opening act.) It was not long before the crowd realized what was going on, a burst into applause and cheers. More shows would follow, all small scale, perfect oppurtunities to tighten up as a group.

"Tell The Truth" is now a popular Clapton song, but it is not the single arrangment that the Slowhand does in concert. This one had a very fast pace, and a pop vibe. When later working on their album, the band did a slow jam version of "Tell The Truth." This instrumental was sped up (though still not at all fast), while the vocals were taken from the single, and slowed down, making a mix of two takes for the release. The jam version was released as early as 1972 on a Clapton compilation, and later re-released with other session outtakes.

So, with a single completed, much practice garnered from their shows, and obligations to Harrison's album completed, Derek & The Dominos moved on to work on their album.

The album would be called "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs." The driving theme of the record was Clapton's forbidden love of Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd. The song "Layla" was the most striking realization of this theme, and Clapton had actually played a rough mix of it for Patti, who knew exactly what it was about. Clapton would wind up marrying Boyd.

Trouble with romance was not Clapton's only problem. He was still trying to shake his image of guitar God, still nervous about singing, and was getting into heavier drugs like heroin. His problems would soon lead him into a period of isolation, but before this happened, Clapton worked with the Dominos.

Aside from Clapton, the band was American, and took to Miami to cut a record. While working on the album, Clapton heard The Allman Brothers were going to play in Miami. Clapton was excited to attend the show, as he was very much enthralled by what he had heard of the young guitarist Duane Allman. He sat front row, and when Duane saw him, he could not help but stop playing, in awe that he was able to attract Eric Clapton in the audience. Afterwards, Clapton jammed with the Allman Brothers Band, and Duane was given the oppurtunity to work on the sessions a bit. However, once he began working on the album, his work proved so fantastic that he was promoted from a session worker to a full member, and laid down tracks for nearly every song.

Clapton & Whitlock were the main writers for the album. The had put together a catalogue of songs before they began working on "All Things Must Pass." Their were also a good number of cover songs. All the songs, however, carried the same sort of vibe, mixing an urgency with a laid-back, struggling sense of carrying the weight of the world. (Clapton would give into the second one, briefly retreating from the world not long after this album.)

The album was a flop. Like the single, nobody knew this was Clapton (his name only appeared on the back of the record.) The album would be a hit only after the album "The History Of Eric Clapton" came out in '72. This album covered Clapton's career from the Yardbirds up to the Dominos. The last side of this double record carried the single and jam takes of "Tell The Truth", and closed with "Layla." Now that Clapton was associated with the song, a demand for a single arose, and with it the success that the song had missed a year and a half earlier.

Anyway, after the album, Derek & The Dominos did a US tour (minus Allman, who went back to the ABB, although did manage to rejoin for two shows.) It was full of drugs and the like, but all the same was well recieved. The tour was first recounted in '73 on "In Concert," a live album taking from two Fillmore shows. Later, in '94, a CD "Live At The Fillmore" was released, copying most of "In Concert" ("Let It Rain," "Tell The Truth," and "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad" from "In Concert" were replaced with different versions), and adding more songs from the Fillmore shows. The tracklisting is great, pulling together songs from Clapton's eponymous album, the "Layla" album, "Presence of The Lord," the solo Blind Faith number that Clapton wrote, plus Clapton's signature, "Crossroads." Many songs turned into extended instrumentals, great displays of Clapton's virtousity. The singing still showed a nervous Clapton, who rarely sang without Whitlock sharing the vocals, less as a back up singer than simply shielding Clapton.

Critics of the album often site the fact that it was their first big show, and that their was markable improvement over the course of the tour. However, the sound quality of later shows is suspect, and for that reason, have not been released.

The band went downhill after the tour. Clapton was already hurt by the fact that Jimi Hendrix had died (the Dominos had covered his "Little Wing" days before hearing the devestating news.) Coupled with Allman's death from a motorcycle accident, Clapton began fearing his own demise. He was also hurt by reviews of the Dominos' work, since he was hoping to build in this a new image, and seemed to be failing. Finally, he was wrapped up with Pattie Boyd, and felt he was simply using Derek and The Dominos as a rouse, as disguise to wear as he stole Pattie, her disguise being "Layla." It was all very trying on his weakening psyche (no doubt also damaged by the drug use) and finally, the band was dissolved, whilst attempting a second LP.

That second LP remains unfinished, but Clapton has opened the vaults to those sessions, releasing 5 songs from them on his "Crossroads" Box.

Also, in 1990, the sessions for the "Layla" album saw the light of day on the "Layla Sessions" box. In addition to a remixed album, there was a disc of jams, and a disc of unfinished songs and alternate takes. Sadly, this box proved a bit dissapointing, as little material really proved necessary to release, most of it below the standard of quality set by the proper album. Still, it proved a fun look at the band.

To own everything official by the Dominos, one needs their first album, "Layla", which can be bought along with the disc of jams and the disc of outtakes by getting the "Layla Sessions" set, the box set "Crossroads," which has "Evil," "Got To Get Better In A Little While," "Snake Lake Blues," "Mean Old Frisco," & "One More Chance," 5 songs from the unreleased second album, plus the "Tell The Truth/Roll It Over" single, "Live At The Fillmore," and for the three other live songs mentioned earlier, "In Concert." ("In Concert" might be rare now, but is worth tracking down as its' versions of "Let It Rain," and even more so "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad" are better than the ones on "Live At The Fillmore.")

Clapton returned from his depressed and isolated state after Pete Townshend got him out, and did the famous "Rainbow Concert." By this point, "Layla" was famous. Things began to turn around for him. The drugs were still there, and his marriage to Pattie proved ultimately unsuccessful (they were married from '79 to '88.) But he would even overcome those issues in time.