The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition [Box set, Original recording remastered, Original recording reissued]

Derek & The Dominos | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered, Original recording reissued
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000001FZ5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,451 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #99 in Music > Box Sets

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you thought the origanal was good,wait till you hear this, December 7, 2001

By 

Brian Mayes "brian-m" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

First,we'll start with the first disc,which is a remaster/remix of the origanal "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" album.

First,nothing was really taken or added to these tracks.The origanal album is 77:06 minutes long.This remaster is 77:00 minutes long.I can live with an album that is six seconds shorter.

The origanal version of this album,even the re-released remaster,sounds a bit muddy.By that I mean you can hear vocals,bass,drums,and in the background the other guitar and organ.

This new remix changes all of that.You can hear everything clearly,including all of Clapton and Allman's guitar parts.

Take for example the exellent song,"Why Does Love Got To Be Sad".In the origanal mix,when Clapton comes in twards the end of Allman's solo,it sounds like Allman stopped playing after a few notes.In this remixed version you can hear that he just moved lower on the neck,playing some very deep guitar lines.In the origanal mix this is burried under Clapton's playing.Now you can hear how it was meant to be heard,with both Allman and Clapton playing leads.

Plus,on tracks like "Anyday" and "Key To The Highway",you can hear Allman's slide parts much clearer.They ring out much more than the origanal versions.

Now,onto the jams disc.It should be noted that there are no vocals on this disc,just insturmental jamming.The first three jams are just Clapton and the other Dominos.Exellent playing,some of Clapton's best for sure.On the fourth jam,everything changes.This jam not only has Eric and the Dominos playing with Duane Allman,but also Dickey Betts,Berry Oakley,Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers.It is an insturmental take on Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor".There is no real virtuoso playing on this track (though Clapton,Allman and Betts were the most capable of any to do that),just clean guitar lines and a wonderful beat provided by Jim Gordon and Butch Trucks.Each guitarist takes turns playing.It is probibly the most exellent guitar playing ever put on disc.It was taken from the night Eric and Duane met,and the Allman Brothers came into the studio to jam with the Dominos.Out of an unreal 15 hours of jamming,all of which Tom Dowd smartly put on tape,this 12 minute track is the only part of it released.

On the fifth jam,it is what turned out to be the origanal line up of Derek&The Dominos,with Duane Allman.This jam is simmilar to the D&D/AB jam just before it for the first 8 minutes or so-just good easy playing between the two.Just at 8 minutes or so,things change.Allman slips on a slide and for the next 10 minutes you hear some of the most unreal slide playing ever.When Duane described his playing on this album,he called his own playing "something like a full tilt screech".That's about what it is on this track,and it is certainly the best screeching I have ever heard.

Now,for the alternate takes disc.Out of the three discs,I enjoy this one the least.The Tell The Truth jams are interesting,but after awhile seem boring and pointless without Allman's slide parts,which really make the album version of the song what it is.The tracks on this album that Duane perform on,which are all the Mean Old World takes and a few blues improvisions,are fantastic.The two versions of "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" on this disc,even though they do not have Duane Allman performing on them,are without a doubt much better than the album version.

Overall,if you are a Clapton fan and liked the origanal version of this album,you will LOVE this boxed set.It is worth every penny.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll tell the truth, February 7, 2000

By 

chaerae (Williamstown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

The reviewer below states the truth when commenting that the new remix emphasizes the guitars and de-emphasizes drums and bass. If you're only going to have one copy of this album, then you'll probably be better off with the original remaster.

That said, this remix is a dream for me because, finally, I can hear all the different guitar parts distinctly. Like the aforementioned reviewer said, the original remix was muddy -- you can usually hear the main lead line, and the rest are lost in the mix. This new remix brings out the other guitar lines to the front. So now, among other things, you can hear the three simultaneous leads in "Keep on Growing" crystal clear, and so on. More importantly, you can finally hear Clapton's slide countermelody to Allman's lead in the coda portion of "Layla"!

So... The original remastered album makes a more "unified" statement and is probably more listenable. It brings out the important melodies and relegates the rest to the background. This boxed set mix can sound a bit cluttered (so many guitar lines going at once can be distracting), but it's great for the collectors/completists and the guitar fanatics.

As for the unreleased material: "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (alternate master #1) is, IMO, even (yes!) better than the album version (a pretty mean feat! ). I always love "Mean Old World," and I enjoy all the other outtakes as well. I do tend to find my attention wandering during the jams, mostly because they're so long. Much of it is very enjoyable, nevertheless.

I won't speak for others, but for me (Clapton completist/guitar fan) this set was worth every penny -- and that's the truth.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one and only., August 8, 2003

By 

Snorts - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Layla Sessions Box (Audio Cassette)

Well, now. I do not think, in the history of recorded music, that the moon and tides have ever been so right for a great album. Clapton was broken hearted, at the top of his game, his band was fantastic with two all-worlders on board (Allman and Gordon), two top sidemen (Radle and Whitlock), and he was ready to work.

The result is a double album that probably features the best pair of guitarists to ever grace an album. And do they grace it. After the third song, Duane Allman joined the ensemble for "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", and he and Clapton proceede to tear the house down. I mean, if you want top notch, legendary guitar heroes trading licks, pushing the other to the limit, in all types of songs (not only da Blues is featured), then this is the top album of all time. Jim Gordon is just fantastic, and Radle is about as solid a bottom as it gets. Whitlock sings lead fairly often, keeping his keyboards in the background.

The original mix, as released on the double record set, was kind of "muddy". One had to put the treble all the way up to get a proper sound. The first CD release had the same problem. The mix on this version fixes some of that, thankfully. But, the new mix also brings out so much more. The rhythm and second guitars are much more up-front, allowing the listener to hear things the other mixes never allowed us to hear. Clapton and Allman's guitar fills are just mesmerizing, and there are a lot more guitar tracks on some songs than the original mixes ever let us hear.

The folks who think Allman out-played Clapton on the album need to give a listen to one of the alternate takes of "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" available on this "Layla Sessions" CD. Clapton plays a solo that defies description, notes flowing at a pace that makes a joke of his nickname. Hendrix at Woodstock in the "Woodstock Improvisations" may match it, but I've never heard anything better. It is absolutely blistering. It is a tie ball-game if I've ever heard one, two truly great musicians pushing and matching each other all the way through.

If you like blues-based rock and roll, with virtuoso guitars on prominent display, this is the holy grail.