Clapton's 'Layla Sessions' tone appreciation

[HurricaneJesus]

Yeah, that's the good stuff.:agree

[realityczech]

Yeah, that's the good stuff.:agree

Evidence that some good can come from some bad.

Drug years.

[TwoTubMan]

The solo in "Nobody Knows You..." is simply incredible.

[SGNick]

The solo in "Nobody Knows You..." is simply incredible.

Indeed it is, but am I the only one who feels it's WAY to loud in the mix?

[GCDEF]

Some of the worst guitar tone ever recorded IMHO. Always puzzles me how they could have been happy with that.

[wire 247]

I might be in the minority but, I do not like the guitar tones on this album but the playing is stellar. There is something that has always bothered me about this album. I do not especially like the mix on it.... Duane and Clapton are 2 of my favorites and this album was monumental but I just do not like it that much.....

[GuitarsFromMars]

some just fail to get it...

[dets1]

one of my top 5 recordings ever!

[rah3]

Some of the worst guitar tone ever recorded IMHO. Always puzzles me how they could have been happy with that.

The guitar tones on the Layla album are rich in variation. Huge range of color.

-RAH3

[drgonzoguitar]

"I Looked Away" has some of my favorite tones. Seriously....one of my top five favorite albums!

[GCDEF]

The guitar tones on the Layla album are rich in variation. Huge range of color.

-RAH3

Most of it sounds like really cheesy solid state distortion to me. Great songs and playing. Horrible tone. Layla itself isn't bad, but something like Key To the Highway sounds like guitar - fuzz - board. Close to unlistenable IMHO.

[pickaguitar]

That instrumental following Layla sux.

[winkofaneye]

Wasnt that Clapton's Fender Champ era? I agree that they were great songs and not great tone.It was almost the anti-cream sound.No bollocks as they say over here.When he played those tunes on his recent tour he sounded much better IMO.

[SGNick]

sounds like guitar - fuzz - board. Close to unlistenable IMHO.

Not a Zeppelin fan I take it?

[cvansickle]

There's a cool article about Allman's Goldtop used for these sessions in the November 2008 Vintage Guitar magazine.

[GCDEF]

Not a Zeppelin fan I take it?

Most of Page's tone is really good. Doesn't sound like the Derek stuff to me at all.

[rog951]

I can see where people might complain about the guitar tone of this album, but the way in which it was recorded definitely fit its vibe IMO. The recording seems really intimate to me; in your face and immediate. I can almost imagine being in the room. I can't think of a recording that conveys more emotion. Nothing about it seems contrived at all. Definitely in my top 10.

[Badfinger]

Tone Schmone. Feel the passion, that is what it is all about

http://www.bluetoneguitars.com/Ice%20Blue%20Strat%20back.JPG

[SGNick]

Most of Page's tone is really good. Doesn't sound like the Derek stuff to me at all.

Jimmy used the fuzz-board technique a few times...

ROger McGuinns 12 string was often recorded direct to the board

The into to Revolution by the Beatles... same thing.


I'm not a huge fan of the overall sound on the album, but it sounds far from cheesy

[johnhenry]

I think rog951 got it exactly right-- intimate. I know this isn't a "well recorded" album by some standards, but far too often intimacy is sacrificed in a pristine recording. If you need more proof, listen to some old Chess recordings of Wolf's band. If you want to hear crappy tone, listen to Eric the last 25 years.

[sampleinajar]

Love the album/songs, love the playing. Think the guitar tone is just OK. That said, the first two criteria are most important..I'd rather have those two. And, would it be the same album if it hadn't been recorded the way it was, and Clapton wasn't in the state he was in? Probably not. So I enjoy it for what it is..a creative phase of some great musicans lives that got captured on tape. Cool stuff.

Steve

[guitarplayaman]

I never made it through listening to the whole record...but as a kid borrowing my dad's record..I went straight for "Little Wing" to compare it to Jimi's version and to me it fell way short....

[sampleinajar]

Tone Schmone. Feel the passion, that is what it is all about

http://www.bluetoneguitars.com/Ice%20Blue%20Strat%20back.JPG
That's really cool. Where did you get the trem plate, if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers,

Steve

[Badfinger]

That's really cool. Where did you get the trem plate, if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks, Cliff at Shark Inlay did it.http://www.sharkinlay.com/

[darth_vader]

Great songs, great playing, terrible buzzy, muddy, spiky guitar tones. That's just to my ears though.

[wire 247]

some just fail to get it...

You seem insulted by the fact that some do not like it, its only opinion. Like I said I love Duane and Clapton but do not like the guitar tones. The emotion is definitely there. I get it and love these songs live through the years because clapton does not use anywhere near the same tone live as he did in those sessions. Saying failing to get it makes me think they were speaking directly to you. Are you the chosen one?

[GuitarsFromMars]

You seem insulted by the fact that some do not like it, its only opinion. Like I said I love Duane and Clapton but do not like the guitar tones. The emotion is definitely there. I get it and love these songs live through the years because clapton does not use anywhere near the same tone live as he did in those sessions. Saying failing to get it makes me think they were speaking directly to you. Are you the chosen one?

are you asking?

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I love " Layla ". I think that it was the best band that Clapton has
been in. The emotive playing far outweighs the less than stellar
sound. That's like complaining about the scratches in Robert John-
son's recordings.

[mrMix]

Wasnt that Clapton's Fender Champ era? I agree that they were great songs and not great tone.It was almost the anti-cream sound.No bollocks as they say over here.When he played those tunes on his recent tour he sounded much better IMO.

From what I've read it was his "Brownie" into a tweed champ. I nail the tone using a 56 CS strat direct into a Victoria 20112 on the bright channel with volume and tone all the way up.

[GCDEF]

I love " Layla ". I think that it was the best band that Clapton has
been in. The emotive playing far outweighs the less than stellar
sound. That's like complaining about the scratches in Robert John-
son's recordings.

I think we all agree the playing and song writing is first rate. This thread is about the tone though.

[EataPeach]

I can see where people might complain about the guitar tone of this album, but the way in which it was recorded definitely fit its vibe IMO. The recording seems really intimate to me; in your face and immediate. I can almost imagine being in the room. I can't think of a recording that conveys more emotion. Nothing about it seems contrived at all. Definitely in my top 10.

Totally agree...
Personally I love everything about this record.Its one of two of my desert island albums.

[stucker]

I think they were going for more of the classic "American" blues tones that inspired Clapton in his youth - that means small Fender amps cranked, no Marshalls. Even Duane's tone is much cleaner than on is Allman Brothers recordings - more like his early studio our blues recordings. I think this album is Clapton's best effort, although, there are some individual recordings I like as much.

[JamminJeff]

The guitar tones on the Layla album are rich in variation. Huge range of color.

-RAH3

Too much blow always messes up a mix.

Yes, I just said that.

[Terry McInturff]

The guitar signal chain for most of the tracks was thus:

guitar>Vibro Champ>MCI console (upgraded from stock)

[HurricaneJesus]

I can see where people might complain about the guitar tone of this album, but the way in which it was recorded definitely fit its vibe IMO. The recording seems really intimate to me; in your face and immediate. I can almost imagine being in the room. I can't think of a recording that conveys more emotion. Nothing about it seems contrived at all. Definitely in my top 10.

I think that's why I like it so much. It's Clapton stripped down to the bare essentials. That and maybe Ed King's tone are what strats are supposed to sound like to me.

[WahmBoomAh]

The guitar signal chain for most of the tracks was thus:

guitar>Vibro Champ>MCI console (upgraded from stock)

I remember reading somewhere .... a Vc modded to a 6L6 ?If so .. that would make it glassier

[Terry McInturff]

I remember reading somewhere .... a Vc modded to a 6L6 ?If so .. that would make it glassier

That may be true, but back in those days modding amps wasnt being done much.

However...if you are familiar with MCI consoles...J series...the high EQ on the channel strips can sound pretty glassy, almost too much....especially the shelving @ 10K.

[bluesmain]

Found this..http://members.aol.com/CKIRKP1021/DEREK.HTML

[slider313]

It has always been one of my favorite recordings. Maybe even my favorite. The musicianship and love for blues and roots music shines through. That said, I always thought the guitar tones could have been better. Clapton always seems to be up in the mix more than Duane and the whole recording, overall, is not a good representation of Duanes tone. But in all fairness it is an "Eric Clapton" record.

[fullerplast]

The guitar signal chain for most of the tracks was thus:

guitar>Vibro Champ>MCI console (upgraded from stock)

What is the source of that info Terry, and assuming you don't mean a line level tap off the speaker was used, what mic was in that chain?

Although I've never seen or heard anything but second hand information regarding the amps being tweed, BF, or SF champs or vibro champs, the most credible info seems to suggest a VC with a tone stack bypass mod....giving it more of a tweed agressiveness in a bigger box.

Sure wish there were some more photos of those sessions....It was a landmark album and I think EC got turned onto the whole small amp thing from working with Delaney Bramlett. I wonder if EC even remembers what was really used.

[keninsyr]

One of my favorite albums. I think there are some tracks with great tone and others that are so so. "Bell Bottom Blues" to me has a wonderful intimate tone to it. The "Why does" and "Have you ever" guitars sound great to me. The intro to "Have You Ever" still kills me. One of my all time favorite Clapton moments. I prefer Clapton's tone to Duane's on this. Listen to the original and not the remastered. The remastered put the guitars way out front compared to the original. I think the tone suffered from this.

[rah3]

Too much blow always messes up a mix.

Yes, I just said that.

Care to speculate how much blow Tom Dowd was doing?

-RAH3

[AlChuck]

The "Why does" and "Have you ever" guitars sound great to me. The intro to "Have You Ever" still kills me.

"Have You Ever?"

What's that? No song of that name on Layla...

[AlChuck]

Duh, never mind, of course you mean "Have You Ever Loved a Woman"...

I think I need a nap or something :messedup

[keninsyr]

Sorry,abbreviation for "Have You Ever Loved A Woman"

[slider313]

Have you ever loved a woman.

[rah3]

"Have You Ever?"

What's that? No song of that name on Layla...

Have you ever loved a women

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layla_and_Other_Assorted_Love_Songs

Last of 3 songs on the 3rd side of the vinyl release.

Playing and tone just kills!!!

-RAH3

[MarcJ]

In the Vintage Guitar article with Joe Bonamassa awhile back Joe says Tom Dowd told him the Layla album was a blackface Vibro-Champ running into a blackface Princeton Reverb with the volume all the way up, treble all the way up and bass all the way down.. I happen to love the guitar tones on that album. Sure there are imperfections here and there, it is a record of a place in time with two young guitarist who had just become best friends and were doing lots of drugs while making a great record. So I chose to look at the album as just that.

[SGNick]

Duh, never mind, of course you mean "Have You Ever Loved a Woman"...

I think I need a nap or something :messedup

Even though you figured it out, you should probably take a nap anyways. Nothing beats a good nap.

[fullerplast]

In the Vintage Guitar article with Joe Bonamassa awhile back Joe says Tom Dowd told him the Layla album was a blackface Vibro-Champ running into a blackface Princeton Reverb with the volume all the way up, treble all the way up and bass all the way down.. I happen to love the guitar tones on that album.

OK, I found that quote. First time I've heard of that setup. It sounds like jumpered in parallel:

He describes his blackface Fender Vibro-Champ and Princeton Reverb amps as "...my Layla rig. Tom Dowd said (Eric) Clapton used those two models to do the Layla album - he [connected] one to the other, turned the volume all the way up, treble all the way up, and the bass all the way down; that's the 'Layla' tone."

Then from an actual interview with Tom Dowd that was done by Alan Paul:

Clapton and Allman were set up in the studio facing each other, looking one another in the eyes and playing live through small Fender amps--a Princeton and a Deluxe. “These guys weren’t wearing earphones,” Dowd recalls. “They were just playing softly through those little Fenders. If they talked while they were recording, you would have heard it over the amplifier. It’s funny, too because when I did Cream, Eric was playing through double stacks of Marshalls and it literally hurt to be in the room with those guys. When Eric showed up for Layla, he had a Champ under one arm and a Princeton under the other and that was it. He and Duane used those amps, switching back and forth.”

The two also often swapped guitars, with Clapton primarily playing a Strat, Allman a Les Paul. “They did whatever seemed best at the moment for a given part,” Dowd recalls. “It was never gonna happen again. It just happened and if you didn’t catch it, you blew it. The spontaneity of that whole session was absolutely frightening. A lot of it flew and then when they heard it, they’d say, ‘Oh man, here’s a part I gotta put in there.’ But it was not because it was misplaced the first time, but because they would have another flight of inspiration when they could step back and hear it. They had all this positive feedback to add. There was no jealousy or ego-type thing at all among them.”

Also, Dowd adds, contrary to ever-growing legend, there was no excessive drug use during the album’s actual recording: “We started sessions every day at 2:00 and everyone arrived clear eyed and ready to work. As I dismissed people, they may have floated away, but it did not interfere with the album. Even in his wildest moments, Eric arrived at the studio on time with his instrument in tune, ready to play -- and he would give absolute hell to anyone who didn’t. Eric and Duane shared that. They didn’t know each other from Adam before the sessions began, but they were both taskmasters. They didn’t give a damn what anyone did on their own time, but when they were in the studio, it was their time, and you better be ready to go.”

After approximately two weeks of recording, the band went out on the road and Duane returned to the Brothers, leaving Dowd to mix the album on his own. “I sent them cassettes and then Eric called and said they wanted to come back to alter a part on one or two songs and remix one song. When they returned--with Duane--among the things they had in mind was adding a piano part to ‘Layla’ and I thought, ‘Oh my god, where does it go? The song is tight as a drum’ I played them the cut, mixed, and they said, ‘Okay it’s going to go here and we’re going to do this and that.’

“I thought, ‘You’re all absolutely stark-raving mad. How are we going to get everyone to match the brilliance of what they did the first time and make it fit?’ But I had no choice, so we gave it a go.”

Drummer Jim Gordon, who played the coda’s piano part is credited with writing it as well, a fact which has been disputed over the years. Dowd says that no one ever explicitly told him who wrote the music, but Gordon played it beautifully, in one take.

“When I set up, I expected Bobby Whitlock to play the piano, but [drummer] Jim Gordon played it. I can’t say whether or not he wrote it, but he had it mastered; that part was in the end of his fingers. Duane’s guitar part on that coda is just absolutely intense and, of course, I was absolutely wrong about not being able to make the new part fit. We spliced it right in and it made the song. I knew immediately that we had something really, really special –as anyone would have.

“The whole session was just so damn impromptu and fly-by-the-seat-of-your- pants brilliant. It was just a wonderful experience to witness such meshing of musical minds, such telepathic sympathies. When we walked out, I told the band, ‘This is the best damn album I have done since The Genius of Ray Charles.’ And then the damn album didn’t sell for a year. We all knew how great it was --including everyone at Atlantic --but we couldn’t get arrested with it. That was very hard to understand, and very disappointing. Then a year later ‘Layla’ was like the national anthem. And that seemed appropriate.”


Then from a Sound on Sound interview with Dowd's apprentice engineer brothers Ron and Howard Albert:


With their backs to the nine-foot Baldwin piano, Clapton and Allman sat side by side during the session. And what with the three other band members and all of their equipment, conditions were pretty cramped inside Criteria's Studio B live room.
"If you looked through the control-room glass, the piano was to the left," Howard Albert recalls, "and on top of the piano, which had the lid closed, were our [Fender Tweed] Champ amps that Eric and Duane both used."
"We had to be inventive," adds Ron. "The room was not a large space, so what we had to do was figure out a way to get everybody in there. The piano took up most of the space along one wall, and cue systems in those days were pretty basic. We only had one stereo send and it was hard for everybody to hear themselves, so for acoustic purposes we used the little Champ amps because they wouldn't make a lot of sound in the room, enabling us to get isolation between the drums and the piano and the guitarists. However, since Duane and Eric couldn't hear themselves with the live drums, live piano, B3 and so on, Howard or I came up with the idea to place [AKG] 414 mics inside the piano on some foam, close the lid and then completely encase the piano with three layers of quilts and a roll of gaffer tape."
A combination of Shure SM57s and Electrovoice 635s were employed on the guitar amps, while on the other side of the room sat Bobby Whitlock's Hammond B3 and a sole Leslie speaker, miked with a couple of SM57s at the top and another at the bottom. In the far-left corner of the room was a round drum booth — likened by the Alberts to a space capsule — inside which Jimmy Gordon's kit was recorded with a telescopic Sony ECM51 on the hi-hat, a pair of Neumann U47s overhead, a Neumann KM84 on the snare, an Altec 633 'Salt Shaker' on the bass drum and Neumann U87s on the toms. Carl Radle was positioned next to the booth, his bass DI'd.

So the picture is gradually being drawn, if a little fuzzy at times. I learn a little bit more each time one of these Layla threads come up....more pieces to the puzzle. Certainly there are some discrepancies in the exact setups, so we may never know the "exact" guitar-amp setup but that album was all about emotion and the performance anyway. I think Tom Dowd captured it beautifully.

[billdurham]

I would agree with the sentiment of the playing and the vibe.. but I'm not real down with the tone either. Just too thin for me.. would love to have heard it done with a little more balls.

BD

[HiddenCharms]

Clapton's had a variety of tones throughout his career. My favorites are the entire Derek and the Dominos phase -the Layla album and the Live DATD album. Very different, but equally great, were the Beano albums and Fresh Cream.

[EataPeach]

Great info in those interview excerpts!!!

[GTRJoe]

I have always loved the Layla album. Maybe it isn't the best recorded album ever but the performances and the overall vibe are stellar. I've never found the guitar sounds objectionable. There's some serious magic happening between those guys and that's what matters. I have a feeling that Tom Dowd did an excellent job of accurately capturing the sound of what was happening in the studio at that time.

[rog951]

Forgot to mention this before, but if any fans of this album haven't yet seen the Tom Dowd documentary, go out and rent it right away! It's great all the way through, but the sequence where he's at the console with the original Layla master tapes is absolutely spine-tingling.

[bluesjuke]

Wish the remastered version would be done more like the vinyl.

[cSuttle]

Tone Schmone. Feel the passion, that is what it is all about

http://www.bluetoneguitars.com/Ice%20Blue%20Strat%20back.JPG

I've never seen that picture. Mind if I use it on the web-site? Nice photography. So much better than I can do.

[dets1]

Sorry,abbreviation for "Have You Ever Loved A Woman"
i prefer the title track "Lay".

[nondeplume]

For those interested/inclined: Bobby Whitlock and Coco are having a running dialog currently on the Layla sessions, as well as many other topics traversed within the scope of their life-experience, over at the Steve Hoffman forums

here.. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=160164)

and here. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=161734)

....alot of insight and good reading....may be awhile before you get back here though...

[Terry McInturff]

What is the source of that info Terry, and assuming you don't mean a line level tap off the speaker was used, what mic was in that chain?

Although I've never seen or heard anything but second hand information regarding the amps being tweed, BF, or SF champs or vibro champs, the most credible info seems to suggest a VC with a tone stack bypass mod....giving it more of a tweed agressiveness in a bigger box.

Sure wish there were some more photos of those sessions....It was a landmark album and I think EC got turned onto the whole small amp thing from working with Delaney Bramlett. I wonder if EC even remembers what was really used.

The info came from interviews with Tom Dowd, who engineered the sessions. I do not know what mic was used.

Again, there may have been mods made to the amp...but doing so was extremely uncommon back then, so I rather doubt that the amp was other than stock. I could be wrong!

The MCI console at Criterion (now removed and sold) is famous largely due to the Layla sessions. For a treat, get the Tom Dowd DVD and watch him bring up the original tracks on the song "Layla".

[fullerplast]

The info came from interviews with Tom Dowd, who engineered the sessions. I do not know what mic was used.

Again, there may have been mods made to the amp...but doing so was extremely uncommon back then, so I rather doubt that the amp was other than stock. I could be wrong!

The MCI console at Criterion (now removed and sold) is famous largely due to the Layla sessions. For a treat, get the Tom Dowd DVD and watch him bring up the original tracks on the song "Layla".

Yeah, I've read those interviews and have the DVD. See my previous post above for the mic info (that I found since asking the question). Unfortunately, there seems to be considerable conflicting information even about which amps were being used, let alone any mods, so we may never know. I am inclined to agree with you that the amps probably were stock.

[fullerplast]

For those interested/inclined: Bobby Whitlock and Coco are having a running dialog currently on the Layla sessions, as well as many other topics traversed within the scope of their life-experience, over at the Steve Hoffman forums

here.. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=160164)

and here. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=161734)

....alot of insight and good reading....may be awhile before you get back here though...

Thanks so much for those links! I've only just skimmed the surface but there's some gold there for sure!:AOK

[dsiebenh]

For those interested/inclined: Bobby Whitlock and Coco are having a running dialog currently on the Layla sessions, as well as many other topics traversed within the scope of their life-experience, over at the Steve Hoffman forums

here.. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=160164)

and here. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=161734)

....alot of insight and good reading....may be awhile before you get back here though...

Those threads are amazing; anyone who likes Layla owes it to himself to spend (many hours) reading them.

[bluesjuke]

For those interested/inclined: Bobby Whitlock and Coco are having a running dialog currently on the Layla sessions, as well as many other topics traversed within the scope of their life-experience, over at the Steve Hoffman forums

here.. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=160164)

and here. (http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=161734)

....alot of insight and good reading....may be awhile before you get back here though...




Thanks so much for those informative links!
I really enjoyed that.

[Aardvark]

I never made it through listening to the whole record...but as a kid borrowing my dad's record..I went straight for "Little Wing" to compare it to Jimi's version and to me it fell way short....You may not be aware that Clapton's version was recorded very shortly after Hendrix's death. It was not meant to be in competition with Hendrix's version. Rather, it was a somber dirge played to comemorate the passing of a friend. As such, I think it's stellar.

[Aardvark]

For anyone wishing for a fuller tone for these recordings, you must get a hold of the Derek and the Dominos Live album. Sadly, it lacks Duane, but Eric's tone and playing are an inspiration.

[bluesjuke]

Here's a link to it on Wolfgang's Vault;
http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/derek-and-the-dominos-concert/50565-1787.html#

I'm listening now and have it saved to my favorites.

[57gold]

The tone is multilayered Strat into small Fenders, cranked.

For those who say recording is muddy, get a frickin' remastered CD. The first out sucked, the remasters, of which there have been a few, are all more like the album is as clear as studio tapes of the era sound. Would say this is one of the most alive sounding studio albums of the time along with LZ II. Strings rattle, amps hum, finger noise on wound strings...kinda raw, like people playing the blues.

The voice of EC's 1956 Strat, reedy and with pluck, is about as good as a Strat can sound to me. It's like straight bourbon, you like your whisky straight or you need Coke or drink light beer.

Cool example of this tone and the feel EC was after post Cream and after a gig with Bonnie & Delaney (never remember who gets first billing) is on youtube.com, a clip from the Johnny Cash show of "I Looked Away". spine tingling stuff. It's what the album was about....

Wouldn't change a thing if I could and one can't. Soul and playing on that album is one of the reasons I picked up and stayed playing for 35 years.

It's about the songs and the performance.

[AlChuck]

Right on, 57gold

[jimmyj]

The tone is multilayered Strat into small Fenders, cranked.

For those who say recording is muddy, get a frickin' remastered CD. The first out sucked, the remasters, of which there have been a few, are all more like the album is as clear as studio tapes of the era sound. Would say this is one of the most alive sounding studio albums of the time along with LZ II. Strings rattle, amps hum, finger noise on wound strings...kinda raw, like people playing the blues.

The voice of EC's 1956 Strat, reedy and with pluck, is about as good as a Strat can sound to me. It's like straight bourbon, you like your whisky straight or you need Coke or drink light beer.

Cool example of this tone and the feel EC was after post Cream and after a gig with Bonnie & Delaney (never remember who gets first billing) is on youtube.com, a clip from the Johnny Cash show of "I Looked Away". spine tingling stuff. It's what the album was about....

Wouldn't change a thing if I could and one can't. Soul and playing on that album is one of the reasons I picked up and stayed playing for 35 years.

It's about the songs and the performance.

+1

I used to listen to "Key to the Highway" many times in a row because I've always loved how "real" it felt. You can hear Clapton shout his appreciation for something Duane played on slide in several places. Finding out later that it was a spontaneous jam and they didn't even know they were taping just increases the fun of knowing that they were just playing for the love of jamming on this blues tune. I love the tone of this album but I do prefer the live D&D In Concert tone.

[es3456]

57GOLD says it all. Very well put. There's Magic in that album.
Was it "I looked away" on the Johnny Cash Show or "It's to late She's Gone"
If they did "I Looked Away" I want to see it !

[SnidelyWhiplash]

You may not be aware that Clapton's version was recorded very shortly after Hendrix's death. It was not meant to be in competition with Hendrix's version. Rather, it was a somber dirge played to comemorate the passing of a friend. As such, I think it's stellar.

According to the studio log," Little Wing " was recorded before Hendrix
passed away.

[SGNick]

57GOLD says it all. Very well put. There's Magic in that album.
Was it "I looked away" on the Johnny Cash Show or "It's to late She's Gone"
If they did "I Looked Away" I want to see it !

They did It's Too Late.

Johnny and Carl Perkins join in for Matchbox

According to the studio log," Little Wing " was recorded before Hendrix
passed away.

Just a few days it seems. much in the same way George Harrison recorded Dylan's If Not For You, not a competition thing.

I heard that it wasn't really considered for the album until after Hendrix died, and that Clapton was excited for HEndrix to hear it version, though he never got the chance.

[57gold]

Have problem with names: people; books; movies; albums; and songs.

To me, "Little Wing" is a standard, a classic tune that is worthy of covering.

Hendrix did covers: "Hey Joe"; "Wild Thing"; "Watchtower"....

Saw EC with Doyle and Derek Trucks do LW...it was the Layla album version and smoked, even without the Jimi comping (SRV emulated), it's a great song and revealed EC's deap funk that permeated the album.

[Guitar55]

SOme slightly conflicting recollections as one might imagine.

Dowd: "Clapton and Allman were set up in the studio facing each other, looking one another in the eye"

The Alberts: "Clapton and Allman sat side by side during the session"


Regardless, I love this album and never tire of it. There are some points where the guitar tones get a bit brittle and Allman's slide intonation isn't always perfect, but none of that matters to me. The emotion is almost overwhelming.

[bab]

This thread got me started on a couple of days of EC, D&B listening :)

Here is a cool one of Delaney with James Burton on the telecaster. I always associate D&B with Layla too. Not completely misplaced I hope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4qRQ1vwgC4&NR=1

[PerfectTommy]

sorry, it's just not that good.

[Average Joe]

ECs sound on that album is kinda ugly but it's the absolutely perfect kind of ugly for the emotions conveyd - should he have expressed the rage and pain of his unrequited love with a sweet and mellow tone?

Besides, at this time he'd moved on to emulating the Chicago blues players. The layla sound is as much an interpretation of that as beano is an interpretation of Freddie King.
imho of course