Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Encyclopedia
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is a blues-rock
album by Derek and the Dominos
, released in November 1970
, best known for its eponymous title track, "Layla
". The album is often regarded as Eric Clapton
's greatest musical achievement, in ensemble with a talented supporting cast of Bobby Whitlock
on keyboards and vocals, Jim Gordon
on drums, Carl Radle
on bass, and special guest performer Duane Allman
on lead and slide guitar.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs peaked at #16 on Billboards Pop Albums chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album again made the Billboard 200
in 1972, 1974 and in 1977. In 2011, it was charted in Britain
, peaking at No. 68.
In 2000, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
. In 2003 the TV network VH1
named Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs the 89th greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 115 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
and the short-lived Blind Faith
. After their dissolution, he joined Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, whom he had come to know while they were the opening act for Blind Faith on a British tour.
After that band also split up, a Friends alumnus, Bobby Whitlock
, joined up with Clapton; the two spent some months writing a number of songs "just to have something to play", as Whitlock put it. These songs would later make up the bulk of the material on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
After a tour with Joe Cocker
, some more of the personnel from Delaney and Bonnie joined up with Clapton. He attempted to avoid the limelight under cover of the anonymous Derek and the Dominos, booking a British tour of small clubs. The group's name had reportedly resulted from a gaffe made by the announcer at their first concert, who mispronounced the band's provisional name, "Eric & The Dynamos," as "Derek & The Dominos". In fact, Clapton chose the name because he did not want his name and celebrity to get in the way of maintaining a "band" image. When the tour was over, they headed for Criteria Studios
in Miami to record an album.
At this point the album's future centerpiece Layla did not yet exist. Its source was rooted in Clapton's personal life; he'd fallen in love with Pattie Boyd
, the wife of his friend George Harrison
. Not even heroin, which Clapton had then begun to use, could dull the pain. Dave Marsh, in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll, wrote that "there are few moments in the repertoire of recorded rock where a singer or writer has reached so deeply into himself that the effect of hearing them is akin to witnessing a murder, or a suicide... to me, 'Layla' is the greatest of them."
in contact shortly after the Dominos had begun to record at Criterion Studios in Miami, Florida, in August of 1970. Veteran producer Tom Dowd
was behind the mixing board for the Allman Brothers second album, Idlewild South
, when the studio received a phone call that Clapton was bringing the Dominos to Miami to record. On hearing this, Allman indicated he'd love to come by and watch, if it would be OK with Clapton.
A week or so after the Dominos arrived, Allman called Dowd to let him know his band was in town to perform a benefit concert on August 26. When Clapton learned of this from Dowd he insisted on going to see their show, saying, "You mean that guy who plays on the back of (Wilson Pickett
's) 'Hey Jude'?...I want to see him play... let's go." Clapton and company managed to sit in front of the barricade separating the audience from the stage. When they sat down, Allman was playing a solo. When he turned around and opened his eyes and saw Clapton, he froze. Dickey Betts
, the Allmans' other lead guitarist, took up where Duane left off, but when he followed Allman's eyes to Clapton, he had to turn his back to keep from freezing, himself.
After the show, Allman asked if he could come by the studio to watch some recording sessions, but Clapton invited him there directly: "Bring your guitar; you got to play!" Overnight, the two bonded; Dowd reported that they "were trading licks, they were swapping guitars, they were talking shop and information and having a ball — no holds barred, just admiration for each other's technique and facility." Clapton wrote later in his autobiography that he and Allman were inseparable during the sessions in Florida; he talked about Allman as the "musical brother I'd never had but wished I did."
were included.
, Bobby Whitlock
), "Bell Bottom Blues
" (Clapton), "Keep on Growing" (Clapton, Whitlock), "I Am Yours" (Clapton, Nizami), "Anyday" (Clapton, Whitlock), "Tell the Truth
" (Clapton, Whitlock),"Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?" (Clapton, Whitlock), "Layla
" (Clapton, Jim Gordon
), and "Thorn Tree in the Garden" (Whitlock).
"Tell the Truth" had been initially recorded in June 1970 as an up-beat song, with George Harrison's producer, Phil Spector
. It was issued as a single
, with "Roll It Over" on the B-side. However, as Bobby Whitlock recalls, Spector's Wall of Sound
production did not fit the band's style, and they had the single pulled. During the Layla sessions "Tell the Truth" was recorded as a long and slow instrumental jam. The final version combines the original lyrics with the jam's slower pace. Both vocal versions were later released on The History of Eric Clapton
(1972).
The last track on the album, "Thorn Tree in the Garden," was according to Tom Dowd "the perfect stereo recording": Whitlock, Clapton, Allman, Radle, and Gordon sat in a circle with the mic placed strategically in the center and they played live.
s "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
" (Jimmy Cox
), "Key to the Highway
" (Charles Segar, Willie Broonzy
), "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (Billy Myles
),
Jimi Hendrix
's ethereal "Little Wing
", and an up-tempo version of Chuck Willis
's doo-wop ballad "It's Too Late".
According to Dowd the recording of "Key to the Highway" was a pure accident. The band heard Sam the Sham
in another room at the studio doing the song for his album Hard and Heavy. They liked it and spontaneously started playing it. Dowd told the engineers to start running the tape, which is why that song begins with a fade-in.
.Allman never toured with Derek and the Dominos, but he did make three appearances with them on December 1, 1970 at the Curtis Hixon Hall (Soulmates LP) and the following day at Onondaga County War Memorial, and one appearance (or possibly just Delaney Bramlett or both Duane and Delaney) November 20, 1970 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Calif.
Clapton continued to play the song Layla live, such as in 1985, at Live Aid
(in Philadelphia). In 2006, Clapton and J.J. Cale
recorded The Road to Escondido
, on which Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks
played guitar; following that album, Clapton went on tour with Trucks as part of his band. Clapton explained later that the presence of Trucks made him feel like he was playing as Derek and the Dominos again, and as the tour progressed, the set changed to where the first half of the show consisted entirely of songs from Layla, the show ending up with the song "Layla" itself.
:
The first CD release (manufactured in 1983 in Japan) is a two-CD version. Because this album is more than 77 minutes it did not fit onto early CDs, which had a maximum play time of approximately 74 and a half minutes. The first CD was full of tape hiss
, since it was made from a tape copy many generations removed from the original 1970 stereo master
. Because the first CD release was disappointing to fans, there was at least one more attempt to remaster the CD during the 1980s. Improvements, however, were not very significant because the original 1970 stereo master tapes could not be found at the time.
To mark the album's twentieth anniversary in 1990, an extended version of the album was released as a deluxe three-CD set, with extensive liner notes titled The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition
. The first disc has the same tracks as the original LP, remixed in stereo from the 16-track analog source tapes and digitally remastered. This 1990 remix, issued by Polydor, has also been released as a single CD apart from the box set. The remix has some significant changes including center placement of the bass, which in the original mix was often mixed into either the left or right channel. The other two discs of The Layla Sessions include a number of jam session
s, including the historic jam from the night that Clapton and Allman met. Also included were out-takes of some of the songs, and the previously unreleased tracks "Mean Old World
," "It Hurts Me Too
," and "Tender Love."
In 1993, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
gave the original 1970 stereo master tapes meticulous treatment for the first time and pressed the album on an expensive, limited edition 24kt gold CD. This MFSL 20-bit remastering of Layla preserved more of the fidelity of the original recordings than had previously been heard on CD. The MFSL version was significantly cleaner than the first CD releases, but also removed some of "Wall of Sound
"-like technique that was added during mastering for vinyl. Polydor's 1996 remaster as part of the Eric Clapton Remasters series was done in much the same manner as the MFSL version, but on a standard aluminum CD at a normal price. The Polydor 2004 SACD/CD dual layer hybrid release remixed the album in 5.1 surround sound on the SACD layer and remastered the 1970 stereo version yet again on the CD layer.
The 2011 40th Anniversary Edition comes in two versions. The two-CD "Deluxe" edition features five previously unreleased tracks, "It's Too Late", "Got To Better In A Little While", "Matchbox" (with Carl Perkins
) and "Blues Power" (from the The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)
) and a jam version of "Got To Better In A Little While". The "Super Deluxe" version comprises the two-CD "Deluxe" album, a 5.1 Surround Sound
DVD
of the album, a newly remastered In Concert
two-CD set, a double LP
version of the album, a hardcover book, and a number of other extras.
All four sides of the original LP were combined into one disc in most CD versions.
The LP was re-released on 180g vinyl by Simply Vinyl in the 1990s and re-mastered and re-released on 180g vinyl by Universal Music in 2008.
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
album by Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...
, released in November 1970
1970 in music
- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....
, best known for its eponymous title track, "Layla
Layla
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
". The album is often regarded as Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's greatest musical achievement, in ensemble with a talented supporting cast of Bobby Whitlock
Bobby Whitlock
Robert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
on keyboards and vocals, Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon (musician)
James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
on drums, Carl Radle
Carl Radle
Carl Dean Radle was a bass guitarist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s...
on bass, and special guest performer Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
on lead and slide guitar.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs peaked at #16 on Billboards Pop Albums chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album again made the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in 1972, 1974 and in 1977. In 2011, it was charted in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, peaking at No. 68.
In 2000, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
. In 2003 the TV network VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
named Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs the 89th greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 115 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Background
The short-lived collaboration which created Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Derek and the Dominos, grew out of Clapton's frustration with the hype associated with the supergroups CreamCream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
and the short-lived Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
. After their dissolution, he joined Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, whom he had come to know while they were the opening act for Blind Faith on a British tour.
After that band also split up, a Friends alumnus, Bobby Whitlock
Bobby Whitlock
Robert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
, joined up with Clapton; the two spent some months writing a number of songs "just to have something to play", as Whitlock put it. These songs would later make up the bulk of the material on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
After a tour with Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, some more of the personnel from Delaney and Bonnie joined up with Clapton. He attempted to avoid the limelight under cover of the anonymous Derek and the Dominos, booking a British tour of small clubs. The group's name had reportedly resulted from a gaffe made by the announcer at their first concert, who mispronounced the band's provisional name, "Eric & The Dynamos," as "Derek & The Dominos". In fact, Clapton chose the name because he did not want his name and celebrity to get in the way of maintaining a "band" image. When the tour was over, they headed for Criteria Studios
Criteria Studios
Criteria Studios is a music-recording studio in Miami, Florida, started in 1958 by Mack Emerman.In 1999, The Hit Factory purchased Criteria Studios, revamping and reopening the studios under the new name The Hit Factory Criteria Miami.-Notable artists:...
in Miami to record an album.
At this point the album's future centerpiece Layla did not yet exist. Its source was rooted in Clapton's personal life; he'd fallen in love with Pattie Boyd
Pattie Boyd
Patricia Anne "Pattie" Boyd is an English model and photographer, and the former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton...
, the wife of his friend George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
. Not even heroin, which Clapton had then begun to use, could dull the pain. Dave Marsh, in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll, wrote that "there are few moments in the repertoire of recorded rock where a singer or writer has reached so deeply into himself that the effect of hearing them is akin to witnessing a murder, or a suicide... to me, 'Layla' is the greatest of them."
Duane Allman joins
A serendipitous event put guitar greats Eric Clapton and Duane AllmanDuane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
in contact shortly after the Dominos had begun to record at Criterion Studios in Miami, Florida, in August of 1970. Veteran producer Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
was behind the mixing board for the Allman Brothers second album, Idlewild South
Idlewild South
Idlewild South is the second album of The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1970.Unlike the band's self-titled debut album, Idlewild South enjoyed some popular success as well as critical enthusiasm, mostly due to what Rolling Stone magazine called "briefer, tighter, less 'heavy' numbers" which...
, when the studio received a phone call that Clapton was bringing the Dominos to Miami to record. On hearing this, Allman indicated he'd love to come by and watch, if it would be OK with Clapton.
A week or so after the Dominos arrived, Allman called Dowd to let him know his band was in town to perform a benefit concert on August 26. When Clapton learned of this from Dowd he insisted on going to see their show, saying, "You mean that guy who plays on the back of (Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
's) 'Hey Jude'?...I want to see him play... let's go." Clapton and company managed to sit in front of the barricade separating the audience from the stage. When they sat down, Allman was playing a solo. When he turned around and opened his eyes and saw Clapton, he froze. Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...
, the Allmans' other lead guitarist, took up where Duane left off, but when he followed Allman's eyes to Clapton, he had to turn his back to keep from freezing, himself.
After the show, Allman asked if he could come by the studio to watch some recording sessions, but Clapton invited him there directly: "Bring your guitar; you got to play!" Overnight, the two bonded; Dowd reported that they "were trading licks, they were swapping guitars, they were talking shop and information and having a ball — no holds barred, just admiration for each other's technique and facility." Clapton wrote later in his autobiography that he and Allman were inseparable during the sessions in Florida; he talked about Allman as the "musical brother I'd never had but wished I did."
Recording
The majority of songs on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs were products of Clapton and Whitlock's writing co-operation. In addition to nine originals, five coversCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
were included.
Original songs
Among the original songs are "I Looked Away" (Eric ClaptonEric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Bobby Whitlock
Bobby Whitlock
Robert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
), "Bell Bottom Blues
Bell Bottom Blues (1970 song)
"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971...
" (Clapton), "Keep on Growing" (Clapton, Whitlock), "I Am Yours" (Clapton, Nizami), "Anyday" (Clapton, Whitlock), "Tell the Truth
Tell the Truth (song)
"Tell the Truth" is the eighth song from the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. The song is composed primarily by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, with guitarist Eric Clapton adding the last verse.-History:...
" (Clapton, Whitlock),"Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?" (Clapton, Whitlock), "Layla
Layla
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" (Clapton, Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon (musician)
James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
), and "Thorn Tree in the Garden" (Whitlock).
"Tell the Truth" had been initially recorded in June 1970 as an up-beat song, with George Harrison's producer, Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
. It was issued as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, with "Roll It Over" on the B-side. However, as Bobby Whitlock recalls, Spector's Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
production did not fit the band's style, and they had the single pulled. During the Layla sessions "Tell the Truth" was recorded as a long and slow instrumental jam. The final version combines the original lyrics with the jam's slower pace. Both vocal versions were later released on The History of Eric Clapton
The History of Eric Clapton
The History of Eric Clapton is a compilation double LP, released in 1972 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom, and Atco Records in the United States. It features Eric Clapton performing in various bands between 1964 and 1970, including The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos...
(1972).
The last track on the album, "Thorn Tree in the Garden," was according to Tom Dowd "the perfect stereo recording": Whitlock, Clapton, Allman, Radle, and Gordon sat in a circle with the mic placed strategically in the center and they played live.
Covers
The covered songs included the blues standardBlues standard
A blues standard is a blues song that is widely known, performed, and recorded by blues artists. The following list identifies blues standards and some of the blues artists that have recorded them...
s "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard, written by Jimmy Cox in 1923. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire during the Prohibition era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.-Recording...
" (Jimmy Cox
Jimmy Cox
Jimmy Cox was an American songwriter famous for his Depression-era hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"....
), "Key to the Highway
Key to the Highway
"Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by blues pianist Charlie Segar in 1940. The song was also recorded by Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy in 1940–41, and it was later a R&B record chart success for Little Walter in 1958...
" (Charles Segar, Willie Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
), "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (Billy Myles
Billy Myles
William Myles Nobles , known as Billy Myles, was an American R&B songwriter active in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for " All My Love" recorded by Jackie Wilson , and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" recorded by Freddie King , then Eric Clapton .-History:Billy Myles specialised in love ballads...
),
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
's ethereal "Little Wing
Little Wing
"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
", and an up-tempo version of Chuck Willis
Chuck Willis
Harold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For" , both reached no. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart...
's doo-wop ballad "It's Too Late".
According to Dowd the recording of "Key to the Highway" was a pure accident. The band heard Sam the Sham
Sam the Sham
Sam the Sham is the stage name of the American rock and roll singer Domingo “Sam” Samudio . Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon velvet curtains...
in another room at the studio doing the song for his album Hard and Heavy. They liked it and spontaneously started playing it. Dowd told the engineers to start running the tape, which is why that song begins with a fade-in.
Live performances
Derek and the Dominos went on tour to support Layla and performances from the November/December 1970 US tour were released in January 1973 on In ConcertIn Concert (Derek and the Dominos album)
In Concert is a live double album, recorded by Derek and the Dominos in October 1970 at the Fillmore East and released January 1973.Six of the album's nine tracks were subsequently included on the 1994 album Live at the Fillmore...
.Allman never toured with Derek and the Dominos, but he did make three appearances with them on December 1, 1970 at the Curtis Hixon Hall (Soulmates LP) and the following day at Onondaga County War Memorial, and one appearance (or possibly just Delaney Bramlett or both Duane and Delaney) November 20, 1970 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Calif.
Clapton continued to play the song Layla live, such as in 1985, at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
(in Philadelphia). In 2006, Clapton and J.J. Cale
J.J. Cale
JJ Cale , born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has...
recorded The Road to Escondido
The Road to Escondido
The Road to Escondido is an album by J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton. It was released on November 7, 2006. Contained on this album are the final recordings of Billy Preston, to whom the album is dedicated....
, on which Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
played guitar; following that album, Clapton went on tour with Trucks as part of his band. Clapton explained later that the presence of Trucks made him feel like he was playing as Derek and the Dominos again, and as the tour progressed, the set changed to where the first half of the show consisted entirely of songs from Layla, the show ending up with the song "Layla" itself.
Compact disc releases
There are at least six distinct releases of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs on compact discCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
:
- The 1983 two-CD set (one per LP) on RSO RecordsRSO RecordsRSO Records was a record label, formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in 1973. The "RSO" stands for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair...
, 16-bit remastering; - The Layla Sessions, the September 18, 1990, remixed on one CD, with two additional "sessions discs";
- The September 15, 1993, Mobile Fidelity Sound LabMobile Fidelity Sound LabMobile Fidelity Sound Lab is a company known as an innovator in the production of audiophile-quality sound recordings. All releases are advertised as being produced from the first-generation analog master recordings, and using proprietary technology, which MFSL claims allows for improved sound...
24-kt limited edition gold CD release, 20-bit remastering. - The August 20, 1996, Polydor 20-bit remaster, part of the Eric Clapton Remasters series;
- The November 9, 2004, Polydor hybrid SACDSuper Audio CDSuper Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
/CD remaster. - The March 21, 2011, UMC, 40th Anniversary Remaster
The first CD release (manufactured in 1983 in Japan) is a two-CD version. Because this album is more than 77 minutes it did not fit onto early CDs, which had a maximum play time of approximately 74 and a half minutes. The first CD was full of tape hiss
Tape hiss
Tape hiss is the high frequency noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings caused by the size of the magnetic particles used to make the tape. Effectively it is the noise floor of the recording medium. It can be reduced by the use of finer magnetic particles or by increasing the amount of...
, since it was made from a tape copy many generations removed from the original 1970 stereo master
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
. Because the first CD release was disappointing to fans, there was at least one more attempt to remaster the CD during the 1980s. Improvements, however, were not very significant because the original 1970 stereo master tapes could not be found at the time.
To mark the album's twentieth anniversary in 1990, an extended version of the album was released as a deluxe three-CD set, with extensive liner notes titled The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition
The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition
The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition released September 1990 is an anniversary edition reissue of the Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs album by Derek and the Dominos, who disbanded in 1971...
. The first disc has the same tracks as the original LP, remixed in stereo from the 16-track analog source tapes and digitally remastered. This 1990 remix, issued by Polydor, has also been released as a single CD apart from the box set. The remix has some significant changes including center placement of the bass, which in the original mix was often mixed into either the left or right channel. The other two discs of The Layla Sessions include a number of jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
s, including the historic jam from the night that Clapton and Allman met. Also included were out-takes of some of the songs, and the previously unreleased tracks "Mean Old World
Mean Old World
"Mean Old World" is a blues song recorded by T-Bone Walker in 1942. It has been described as "the first important blues recordings on the electric guitar"...
," "It Hurts Me Too
It Hurts Me Too
"It Hurts Me Too" is a blues standard that is "one of the most interpreted blues [songs]". First recorded in 1940 by Tampa Red, the song is a mid-tempo eight-bar blues that features slide guitar...
," and "Tender Love."
In 1993, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is a company known as an innovator in the production of audiophile-quality sound recordings. All releases are advertised as being produced from the first-generation analog master recordings, and using proprietary technology, which MFSL claims allows for improved sound...
gave the original 1970 stereo master tapes meticulous treatment for the first time and pressed the album on an expensive, limited edition 24kt gold CD. This MFSL 20-bit remastering of Layla preserved more of the fidelity of the original recordings than had previously been heard on CD. The MFSL version was significantly cleaner than the first CD releases, but also removed some of "Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
"-like technique that was added during mastering for vinyl. Polydor's 1996 remaster as part of the Eric Clapton Remasters series was done in much the same manner as the MFSL version, but on a standard aluminum CD at a normal price. The Polydor 2004 SACD/CD dual layer hybrid release remixed the album in 5.1 surround sound on the SACD layer and remastered the 1970 stereo version yet again on the CD layer.
The 2011 40th Anniversary Edition comes in two versions. The two-CD "Deluxe" edition features five previously unreleased tracks, "It's Too Late", "Got To Better In A Little While", "Matchbox" (with Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
) and "Blues Power" (from the The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)
The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)
The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969 to March 31, 1971 on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The show reached No...
) and a jam version of "Got To Better In A Little While". The "Super Deluxe" version comprises the two-CD "Deluxe" album, a 5.1 Surround Sound
5.1 surround sound
5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of the album, a newly remastered In Concert
In Concert (Derek and the Dominos album)
In Concert is a live double album, recorded by Derek and the Dominos in October 1970 at the Fillmore East and released January 1973.Six of the album's nine tracks were subsequently included on the 1994 album Live at the Fillmore...
two-CD set, a double LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
version of the album, a hardcover book, and a number of other extras.
Side one
- "I Looked Away" (Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Bobby WhitlockBobby WhitlockRobert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
) – 3:05 - "Bell Bottom Blues" (Clapton) – 5:02
- "Keep on Growing" (Clapton, Whitlock) – 6:21
- "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and OutNobody Knows You When You're Down And Out"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard, written by Jimmy Cox in 1923. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire during the Prohibition era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.-Recording...
" (Jimmy CoxJimmy CoxJimmy Cox was an American songwriter famous for his Depression-era hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"....
) – 4:57
Side two
- "I Am Yours" (Clapton, Nizami) – 3:34
- "Anyday" (Clapton, Whitlock) – 6:35
- "Key to the HighwayKey to the Highway"Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by blues pianist Charlie Segar in 1940. The song was also recorded by Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy in 1940–41, and it was later a R&B record chart success for Little Walter in 1958...
" (Charles Segar, Willie BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
) – 9:40
Side three
- "Tell the TruthTell the Truth (song)"Tell the Truth" is the eighth song from the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. The song is composed primarily by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, with guitarist Eric Clapton adding the last verse.-History:...
" (Clapton, Whitlock) – 6:39 - "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?" (Clapton, Whitlock) – 4:41
- "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (Billy MylesBilly MylesWilliam Myles Nobles , known as Billy Myles, was an American R&B songwriter active in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for " All My Love" recorded by Jackie Wilson , and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" recorded by Freddie King , then Eric Clapton .-History:Billy Myles specialised in love ballads...
) – 6:52
Side four
- "Little WingLittle Wing"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
" (Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
) – 5:33 - "It's Too Late" (Chuck WillisChuck WillisHarold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For" , both reached no. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart...
) – 3:47 - "LaylaLayla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" (Clapton, Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
) – 7:05 - "Thorn Tree in the Garden" (Whitlock) – 2:53
All four sides of the original LP were combined into one disc in most CD versions.
The LP was re-released on 180g vinyl by Simply Vinyl in the 1990s and re-mastered and re-released on 180g vinyl by Universal Music in 2008.
Personnel
- Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
– Lead, rhythm, slide and acoustic guitars, lead vocals - Bobby WhitlockBobby WhitlockRobert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
– Organ, piano, vocals, acoustic guitar - Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
– Drums, percussion, piano - Carl RadleCarl RadleCarl Dean Radle was a bass guitarist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s...
– Bass, percussion - Duane AllmanDuane AllmanHoward Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
– Slide and lead guitar (tracks 4 through 14)
Personnel – production (Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs)
- Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
– Executive producer - Ron Albert – Engineer
- Chuck Kirkpatrick – Engineer
- Howie Albert – Engineer
- Carl Richardson – Engineer
- Mac Emmerman – Engineer
- Albhy GalutenAlbhy GalutenAlbhy Galuten is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and technology executive.He produced 18 number 1 singles with songs and albums selling over 100,000,000 copies...
– Piano & Assistance - Dennis M. Drake – Mastering
- Emile Théodore Frandsen de Schomberg – Cover painting "La Fille au Bouquet"
Personnel – production (The Layla Sessions)
- Bill Levenson – Producer
- Steve Rinkoff – Mixer
- Dan Gellert – Assistant engineer
- Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– Mastering - Scott Hull – Digital editing
- Gene Santoro – Notes
- Mitchell Kanner – Art direction
- George Lebon – Art direction
Singles
- "Tell the TruthTell the Truth (song)"Tell the Truth" is the eighth song from the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. The song is composed primarily by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, with guitarist Eric Clapton adding the last verse.-History:...
" / "Roll It Over" (Non LP "B" side) (Atco RecordsAtco RecordsATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
, 1970) (Withdrawn) - "LaylaLayla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" / "Bell Bottom BluesBell Bottom Blues (1970 song)"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971...
" (PolydorPolydor RecordsPolydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
, 1970) - "LaylaLayla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" / "I Am Yours" (Atco RecordsAtco RecordsATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
, 1971) - "Bell Bottom BluesBell Bottom Blues (1970 song)"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971...
" / "Keep On Growing" (Polydor, 1971) - "Bell Bottom BluesBell Bottom Blues (1970 song)"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971...
" / "Little WingLittle Wing"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...
" (RSORSO RecordsRSO Records was a record label, formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in 1973. The "RSO" stands for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair...
, 1973)
Further reading
- The Layla Sessions liner notes (Polydor, 1990)
- Jan Reid, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos (Rock of Ages, 2007)