"The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition [Box]" (09/18/1990) Rock & Pop Derek & the Dominos, Polydor (USA)Derek & The Dominos: Eric Clapton (electric & acoustic guitars, vocals), Duane Allman (electric & acoustic guitars, slide guitars), Bobby Whitlock (organ, piano, acoustic guitar, vocals), Carl Radle (bass, percussion), Jim Gordon (drums, piano, percussion). Engineers include: Ron Albert, Steve Rinkoff, Chuck Kirkpatrick. Producers: Tom Dowd, Derek & The Dominos, Bill Levenson. Recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida from August to October 1970. This box set was digitally remixed and remastered by Bill Levenson and Steve Rinkoff at The Power Station, New York from May to June 1990. Includes a 16-page booklet with session notes, annotations and an essay by Gene Santoro. Personnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Bobby Whitlock (vocals, piano, organ); Dickey Betts, Duane Allman (guitar); Albhy Galuten (piano); Jim Gordon (drums, percussion); Butch Trucks (drums); Carl Radle (percussion). Audio Mixer: Steve Rinkoff. Liner Note Author: Gene Santoro. Recording information: 08/26/1970-10/02/1970. By digitally remixing and remastering these sessions, the producers have resurrected one of Eric Clapton's greatest achievements, his instrumental and songwriting peak. Musically, Clapton was inspired by his new rhythm section and challenged by fellow guitar hero Duane Allman, whose torrid slide guitar makes blues-blasts like "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" and "Key To The Highway" so compelling. And from the classic title song (with drummer Jim Gordon's famous piano coda), to rivetting performances of "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad," "Have You Ever Loved A Woman," and Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" each and every metaphor is etched in blood and longing, framed in wailing guitars. Disc 1 is the legendary LAYLA double-LP. The jams which comprise disc 2 illustrate the evolution of the session, while the alternate masters, jams and outtakes on disc 3 will certainly be of interest to casual fans and completists alike. All in all, few rock albums from this era have the staying power and poetic immediacy of LAYLA. In the years after Cream disbanded and his collaboration with Steve Winwood in Blind Faith had sunk, Eric Clapton teamed with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon, bassist Carl Radle, and guitarist Duane Allman under the name Derek & the Dominos to write and record some new material. The result was this 1970 masterpiece. Shot through with a passion informed by the tumultuous nature of Clapton's own life and career at the time, LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS plays like a primer for classic rock, with incendiary dueling guitars, swirling organ, blues-styled vocals, and punchy bass and drums. Covers of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" and Hendrix's "Little Wing" are given fresh interpretations, and the originals, most of which Clapton co-wrote with Whitlock, are by turns fierce, melancholic, and celebratory. The epic "Layla," clocking in at seven minutes and featuring blazing solos all around, pushes the album to its culmination. Throughout, Clapton's playing, spurred by Allman's stellar leads, is beautiful enough to induce cardiac arrest, and LAYLA ranks among the most inspired, soulful, and affecting works in his entire discography.
