Customer Reviews

Layla

5 star:		(153)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rolling Stone Magazine recently devoted a whole issue to the 500 best albums of all time. I was stunned that this album did not appear at least in the top 10. It drives me to drink that there are millions of rock fans out there who don't even know this music exists.

It is well known what the back-story is for this record. Clapton fell for George Harrison's wife, Patty. They had a fling and then she turned her back on him. The resulting emotional devastation for Clapton wound up expressed as these songs. When the original album came out, we knew none of this. For the first couple of years, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs was overlooked not only because the public didn't know the story but also because most didn't even know Eric Clapton played on it. But on first listen, we knew "something" happened. For all we knew, some girl who worked in a teashop could have dumped him. It didn't matter. Something real and wretched happened-this wasn't show business.

Most women, unfortunately, do not know men can feel this way this deeply. This is not to fault them. They simply fall into the common human mistake of assuming that if men do not express it then they do not feel it. Most men know well that these "blues" are all too real-they just rarely speak of them among themselves. Sometimes they can pretend they are immune to them. But deep down men know that "that certain woman" can destroy them.

For all too many the only way we can talk about these things is through the anesthesia of intoxication. While it is true that we often drink to forget, just as often we drink to remember because it is only with a numbness that we can deal and look at what's eating us. So it was with Clapton. He was taking large amount of drugs during the making of this album-heroin being just one. Some argue that it was only through the haze of drugs and alcohol that Layla could be made. Maybe yes. Maybe no. But even if were true that Layla had to have the "blessing" of intoxication to be made, it does not explain why this music is so beautiful.

I have listened to this album ever since 1971. Along the way, every single song at one time or another has become my favorite. "I Looked Away" is the nice, gentle quiet before the storm. It is deceptively a "light" beginning; but it immediately tells the listener what's going on. "Bell Bottom Blues" is more dynamic but interestingly many dismiss it the first couple of listens. Upon repeated hearings one becomes aware just how much this song "cooks". Thematically, I would argue that Clapton's story is first summed up here. "Keep On Growing" seems to a positive, exciting "rave-up" except a few notes of self-doubt which seep in. The end of the first LP side of the album is wrapped up with "Nobody Know You When You're Down And Out". Compared to "Keep On Growing", "Nobody Knows You..." is more somber. It is a blues musing on how as times are good and bad friends come and go and after a while one is no longer so certain what those "friends" are worth.

Side Two begins with "I Am Yours", an acoustic pleading that in spite the loved one's coldness the singers love still flows from the heart. This followed by "Anyday". I am surprised how many people do not care for this song; but you would have to have a heart of stone not the feel the combination of hope and anguish as the refrain is repeated:

The second side finishes a long version of "Key To The Highway" and the third side opens with "Tell The Truth". These two songs may seem to have little to do with the main story until one recognizes that both deal with "leaving". The album then continues with "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad". While good in its own way, this version seems to be a mere blueprint to the extended one which appears on the In Concert album: one of the all too few examples of where the "live" version is much better than the original. The third side concludes with "Have You Ever Loved A Woman". A sort of mediation and prayer over a love in which "the water is wide...I can't cross o'er". It seems it's all over.

But there's more. The fourth side opens with "Little Wing". Clapton worshiped the ground Hendrix walked on and he cried at Hendrix passing not because he left but because Hendrix didn't take Clapton with him. So it has been all the more surprising and delightful that Clapton took Hendrix' sad, quiet and gentle song and made it raw, emotional and thunderous. It is a successful example of two contrary emotions being expressed at the same time: the lyrics are worshipping and loving while the music is heartbreaking and cries of desperation. "It's Too Late" is a relatively simply and "clean" realization that "that one last chance" is gone. It is a little gem.

Then we end with "Layla". "Layla" restates the story of the whole album and begs the lost love to take the singer back. "Layla" ends with a dreamy, grand instrumental suggesting a sweet reconciliation of the two lovers. The time of distress and torment is over.

But with "Thorn Tree In The Garden" we realize that dreamy reconciliation existed only in the hopes of the singer. It is a new day and our lover is still gone.

This is one of the greatest rock and roll records ever made. Do yourself a favor and get it. Listen to it a lot. Make it yours. You will love it. And then maybe after twenty years you'll begin to understand it. May you never have to experience something like it for yourself someday.

"Have you ever loved a woman, so much you're tremblin' in pain, and all the time you know she bears another man's name - but you just love that woman so much, it's a shame and a sin ... and all the time you know she belongs to your very best friend!" If you'd never heard this album's title track, you would swear that "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" was the song that Eric Clapton wrote for Pattie Boyd Harrison; not only do the lyrics of Billy Myles' blues classic fit so perfectly, Clapton positively pours his heart out as he sings them, and his guitar screams with the pain of unrequited love. And even before get to this song, Clapton's own "Bell Bottom Blues" lays bare similar feelings and recalls his infamous heroin ultimatum to Pattie ("Either you come with me or I'll take that"): "Do you wanna see me crawl across the floor to you? Do you wanna hear me beg you to take me back?" And as the man pleads with her, so does his guitar, and you wonder what woman could possibly have resisted such an impassioned plea.

Until of course, almost at the end of the album, you hear "Layla," this record's motto more than a simple title track and, in many respects, its reason for being. Torn by personal insecurity, Clapton used the cover and seeming anonymity of yet another band, and the parable of a medieval Persian love story ("Layla and Majnun" - reportedly, "majnun," in Persian, means madman) to put into music what he couldn't put into words alone. From its opening riff to its last note the song is pure blues, Clapton audibly on the brink of the madness he sings about, and his guitar wailing, moaning and crying out all that was in his heart: "Layla ... you got me on my knees - Layla ... I'm begging darling, please - Layla ... won't you ease my worry now?" Sparks must have been flying in the studio while Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, recruited by manager Tom Dowd to add inspiration and take some of the lead guitar weight off Clapton's shoulders, drove each other to ever greater heights, simultaneously feeding off and to each other.

Like most of the album, "Layla" was recorded live in the studio, and only a live recording could transmit this feverish outbreak of passion. Merely listening to the song is emotionally exhausting, and you can only imagine what must have gone on in the studio and inside Clapton during its recording. To hear the Allman Brothers' drummer Butch Trucks tell the story (in an interview for "Off the Record"), Duane Allman gave "Layla" its finishing touch when he added the five notes immediately following its signature riff. Yet, Allman is not credited as a writer (if that story is true, though, how much more than those five notes would it have taken I wonder?); only drummer Jim Gordon is, for having written the song's piano closing - which he had to be persuaded to allow to be used.

While Eric Clapton continued to perform the song unaltered for years after its initial recording, he spontaneously decided to include it in the setlist of his MTV "Unplugged" appearance where, deprived of all its riffs, even its signature beginning toned down to a few simple notes, and Clapton's voice unexpectedly reflective, Layla assumed a different personality although not a word of the lyrics was altered. Yet, just as Eric Clapton's and Pattie Boyd's marriage was over by then, Layla was now less an object of burning desire than somebody the singer thought about - thought back to maybe, or sought a conversation with, possibly cautioning her about the consequences of her actions, or recalling his experiences with her: "What will you do when you get lonely, no one waiting by your side? You've been running, hiding much too long - you know it's just your foolish pride ..." And although Clapton has gone back to performing the song in its "plugged in" version during his recent tour in promotion of "Reptile," he has confined himself to talking only about its musical values, commenting on the technical difficulties of playing riffs and chords that are virtually opposite to what you are singing in an interview for the "Reptile" tour's official program.

Besides Eric Clapton and late addition Duane Allman, Derek And The Dominos consisted of the musicians "left over" by the breakup of Delaney and Bonnie, with whom Clapton had briefly found shelter after yet another supergroup of his (Blind Faith) had disintegrated way too quickly: Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon. Like virtually all of Eric Clapton's albums, solo as well as with his various bands, this record combines material written by Clapton himself and covers of songs he liked; and of course, there is much more to it than "Layla," "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" and "Bell Bottom Blues." As always, Clapton makes his mark with every song alike, and as always, he needs and has found (or Tom Dowd found for him) a cast of outstanding musicians to work with. Segar/Bronzy's "Key to the Highway" becomes an extended blues jam session as there ever was one, and Jimmie Cox's "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" forecasts the feelings which, among other things, later compelled Clapton to establish the Crossroads foundation.

Eric Clapton has said about Derek And The Dominos in the interview for the "Reptile" tour program: "[That] was a band I really liked - and it's almost like I wasn't in that band. It's just a band that I'm a fan of. Sometimes, my own music can be like that. When it's served its purpose to being good music, I don't associate myself with it any more. It's like someone else. It's easy to do those songs then." Hearing the raging pain of "Layla"'s original recording, you wonder whether this is maybe also the only way for him to do it now ... at least "plugged in."

Also recommended:
Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert
Crossroads
Unplugged
One More Car: One More Rider (CD & DVD Set)
Riding with the King
The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East

On the surface this album looks like not much more than an extended drug-inspired jam session by five strung-out session musicians. But delving further into it you quickly realize the story and the inspiration behind this masterpiece.

In case you were born yesterday, this album is the cover for Clapton's then-obsession with Pattie Boyd (a.k.a. Layla) who was married to George Harrison at the time. The album chronicles Clapton's love affair with Pattie and the depression and drug addiction that ensued as a result. Out of all of this came surely the greatest 77 minutes of his career and some of the absolute greatest guitar work of all time. After the 'Layla Sessions', Clapton spiraled downward into a serious, three-year depression and heroin addiction which nearly ended his life.

Enter Duane Allman. In his short career, this man became the quintessential slide guitar player with a style that 30+ years later has not been matched. His contributions to this album are enormous. He only lived one full year after this album was released, but his impact on Derek on the Dominos was enormous. The title track 'Layla' contains some of the most haunting slide and lead guitar harmonies EVER recorded. The slide harmonies in the second half of Layla are seminal. Allman's harmonies literally 'cried' the pain that Clapton was living through this song. I am still amazed to this day how Tom Dowd captured the exponential magic of these five musicians so flawlessly. The album would be worth five starts on that one song alone.

But there is so much more. Most of the songs in one way or another explore the hopelessness that Clapton faced in his obsession with Pattie. 'I looked Away' is a formidable opener to the set - perhaps Clapton realizing his lost opportunity to have her. 'I Am Yours' and 'Anyday' and are touching ballads with acoustic and electric harmonies that blend perfectly. Perhaps most interesting though is Clapton's classic remake of Hendrix's 'Little Wing'. In 'Little Wing', he places Layla on the immortal pedestal that becomes his own undoing. 'Thorn Tree in the Garden' (written by Bobby Whitlock for Clapton) is the bittersweet farewell to the love that he knows he cannot have. It's like a eulogy for her - knowing she is gone. "And if I never see her face again, I never hold her hand. And if she's in somebody's arms, I know I'll understand... But I miss that girl. I still miss that girl. Maybe someday soon, somewhere."

Sadly, Clapton's darkest days produced his finest work. Listen to this album and you will understand.

One of the 10 best albums in rock history, built on the foundation of Eric Clapton's personal life and a group of astounding musicians brought together only for a brief period in time. This album simultaneously leaves me wanting much more from Derek and the Dominoes, while wondering how in the world they could have produced anything better anyway. The combination of Clapton and Allman on guitar, plus Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock and Carl Radle is simply awesome. While the pieces come together to create great music, they all retain their own identity and visibility throughout, whether Duane's slide work, Eric's lead, or Jim Gordon's piano work on Layla.

An album like this comes along too infrequently, and because of the brevity of the existence of Derek and the Dominoes (as opposed to the Beatles, Pink Floyd, or others who have released such gems), Layla is frequently overlooked, and almost on the fringe of being forgotten. From the opening notes of "I Looked Away" to the closing piano solo of "Layla", this record weaves together the great story that virtually everyone knows (if you don't, see any of the other reviews) in awesome fashion.

Although opinions will differ, in my opinion Derek and the Dominoes ranks as one of the greatest assemblies of complimentary musicians of all time. The music on this record is the evidence. This is one of few records of which I always keep two copies - one to play, and one in inventory for when my current one wears out.

Finally, if I could have sat in on the recording sessions for a select few of the great records in history, this would have been one of them, along with Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon. Rating: 5-stars - easily.

Where popularity is concerned, Eric Clapton just keeps on keeping on, but he reached his artistic peak 30 years ago with the release of this superb double album. To be fair, how do you top this? Clapton was understandably devastated that the album he obviously put his heart and soul into failed to sell in numbers. Even the title track, which now seems to get as much air play as 'Stairway To Heaven', wasn't a hit until years after its initial release. Perhaps Clapton's tactic of releasing this 'anonymously', a la The Band, worked too well.

Having said that, it would be a mistake to see Layla as a solo album. While EC wrote the very best tunes, Bobby Whitlock makes important contributions, as does Jim Gordon, who wrote and played piano on the title track's beautiful 'second movement'. More importantly, despite the star-studded nature of the band and the extensive soloing throughout, this is ensemble playing at its best. The guitar marriage of Clapton and the great Duane Allman was made in heaven, evident everywhere but most especially on 'Any Day' and 'Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?'. Whitlock's keyboards and immensely powerful voice add vibrant colours to the sound, and Gordon's drumming is simply stunning (just listen to the intro to Bell Bottom Blues).

While Clapton's brilliant guitar playing comes as no surprise, his vocals are a revelation. For the most part he seems to be singing at the very top of his range, his voice about to crack at every turn, but this only adds to the emotion he is able to evoke. Here is a man on the edge.

It goes without saying that the title track is a classic, but other standouts include 'I Looked Away', 'Bell Bottom Blues', 'Anyday', 'Tell The Truth' and 'Why Does Love ...' MOJO's editors must have had a blank when they left this out of their top 100 albums. Essential listening.

After wrapping up his first solo album early in 1970, Eric Clapton pulled together the core of his session musicians -- Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock and Jim Gordon -- to create Derek & the Dominos. Later, Duane Allman temporarily signed on too, and this monumental album was the result.

LAYLA really is a concept album of sorts. He wrote and recorded it at a time when he was desperately in love with Patti Boyd Harrison, wife of his best friend George Harrison. (That was one strange friendship). Almost every song brims with a kind of determination and passion that Clapton has rarely shown before or since. "Bell Bottom Blues" and the title track "Layla" are raging epics of love. The cover songs, especially "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," "Have You Ever Loved a Woman," and "Key to the Highway," are chock full of invigorating instrumental interludes. It's as if Clapton's and Allman's guitars are talking to one another. Then there is the cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing." Hendrix passed away around the time this album was recorded. It was actually one of his more subdued songs, but the Dominos turned it into a roaring and moving tribute. Yet through it all, it's Bobby Whitlock's acoustic solo ballad "Thorn Tree in the Garden" that puts the icing on the cake.

In the summer of 1970, the Dominos worked as session musicians on yet another classic album: George Harrison's ALL THINGS MUST PASS. Clapton's CROSSROADS box set has a couple of outtakes from those sessions. One is a song called "Roll It Over" which was written by Clapton and Whitlock featuring Harrison and Dave Mason on guitars and backing vocals. The other is an early incarnation of "Tell the Truth" that was performed at a faster tempo than the LAYLA version. CROSSROADS also has five tracks from the Dominos' abortive second album. The more dedicated Clapton fans might want to look into these to get a more fully rounded view of this prime phase of his career.

This album is the defining moment of Eric Clapton's career. Now, that's not to discount Duane Allman's excellent contribution (especially on slide guitar), or the other musicians. Indeed, Jim Gordon's drumming is great throughout, especially on the cover of Little Wing. Bobby Whitlock handles easily his multitude of keyboards, and Carl Radle is steady as ever on bass. But it's Clapton who really shines, these are his most inspired performances ever. Just listen to Bell Bottom Blues, Tell The Truth, and Have You Ever Loved A Woman. The songs just ring out with emotion. The aforementioned cover of Hendrix's Little Wing is great as well, and I would say even better than the original. And, of course, who could forget the title track? It is, in my opinion, one of the best songs ever recorded. The riff is impeccable, and Duane's slide playing is phenomenal. And the piano coda at the end is beyond amazing. A must-own album indeed.

This is simply a wonderful album.EVERY SINGLE track is good.Eric and Duane playing together is wonderful.They both brought out the best in each other.For those wondering who plays what on the album,here's the tracks Duane played on:
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (slide)
I Am Yours (slide)
Anyday (slide)
Key To The Highway (slide)
Tell The Truth (slide)
Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad (lead)
Have You Ever Loved A Woman (slide)
Little Wing
It's Too Late
Layla (lead and slide)
Thorn Tree In The Garden (slide)

For those who thought that Duane simply played all the slide parts and Eric all the leads,that is incorrect.On nearly every number that Duane played slide,Eric also plays slide.Also,that is Duane playing the famous 12 note intro on "Layla",not Eric.

For those wishing for a Derek&The Dominos reunion,it is impossible.Duane Allman died in 1971,Carl Radle died in the late 1970s,and Jim Gordon is serving a life sentence in prision for killing his mother in the early 1980s.The only remaining members of D&D that aren't dead or incarcerated are Clapton and Bobby Whitlock.

Other suggested albums-Derek&The Dominos Live At The Fillmore (less Duane);George Harrison's All Things Must Pass,which features D&D as George's backup band.

If you are an Eric Clapton or Duane Allman fan do not own Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,you need to buy this album.It is both these artists' at their best as musicians.IMO this album is amoung the most over looked in music history.

What a one-shot group, Derek and the Dominoes! A sensational double album clearly having no redundancy or filler. More known for the teaming up of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman on the title cut's fabulous guitar work, Layla also benefits from the worthy contributions of Jim Gordon and Bobby Whitlock on keyboards and elsewhere and Duane's presence on most other songs.

The title track is one of rock's classic long, or any, songs. It is in the vein of passion and beauty rather than R&B--"Light My Fire" rather than "Brown Sugar," but while the former is otherworldly, "Layla" is the best of this world. Like The Doors' magnum opus, it has a terrific keyboard solo (Gordon) and great guitar soloing, tho in reverse order; the screeching slide guitar enraptures in advance of Gordon's majestic piano. Interestingly (and in reverse of the White Album), George Harrison appears on the credits. He was the husband of Patti Boyd, to whom the song was dedicated and who moved over to Eric's affections.

"Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad" is another highlight, and my second favorite. Again, Eric's passionate singing and soloing are characteristic of a recording that emphasizes beauty over the hard edges, but this song still is hard-driving and hints at the blues. Of course, with Eric, you can always expect no dearth of the blues, and this masterwork is no exception. The best moment is Eric's and Duane's jam on "Key To The Highway," whose moderate tempo allows you to absorb the fluid blues licks. The other best songs are the sweet and sentimental "Bell Bottom Blues" and a terrific rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing." For good rhythm guitar blasts, check out "Anyday."

Think about those performers you like whose songs have relatively simple structures but are great--"Be My Baby" will always be one of my favorites. But then you have a know-it-all friend who says "musically, it isn't that good." Who cares, your favorite is always better than his expansive junk. But then, cite Layla--it will be musically better than his junk or almost anything, and an absolute top notch group of songs to boot. What an accomplishment by this talented ensemble--oh, yes, Carl Radle (percussion and bass) is the one I did not yet mention. Moreover, the melodic strength and great structures of this superb collection of tunes have broad appeal, regardless of someone's genre focus. Actually, anyone who does not like Layla should have his or her head examined.

I absolutely love this album, as I do much of the best music of the 1970s. What sets it apart from a lot of popular music is its legitimacy, authenticity, and honesty. Clapton was legitimately strung out- on love, chemicals, and the pressures of success. Instead of burying these emotions to pander to the lowest common denominator, ol' Eric actually took a risk. He sloshed his messy emotions all over the canvas. And for that he lifted himself above the business, and the hype, and all that useless runaround that tends to lead to so much generic drivel in music, to create what I would now think of as the classic "get over a loss" album.

We've all been there by the time we reach adulthood (whenever that is). We've all fallen for someone and just wanted it to work so badly, but realized at some point that it just ain't happenin'. We've all wanted that job or career that we just didn't get. Something goes wrong for everyone, and that's where this album becomes so powerful. It takes all that loss and pain, and packages it in a format where we can confront it, deal with it, and move on.

To call this album "cathartic" is to put it mildly. Every instant of every song comes from the soul. If you can stand the fire, the kitchen's open.