It's been a long break - almost a six month one. And yours truly has been going through various blues-rock albums. Mostly dominated by Clapton and his various bands. He's been watching concerts and relishing newly acquired albums. But one that needs a special mention is this - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, being the only work by the Derek and the Dominos (the Dominos being Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle). An album with exceptional guitar work by guest Duane Allman (who plays the slide in most tracks) and 'Derek' Clapton, it'll take atleast six runs to settle down in you. But boy, once it does, you'll love every bit of it. Typical blues-rock that way. Not quite the catchiest tunes, but then, isn't that what most blues is about? It has an impressive tracklist, mostly Whitlock-Clapton compositions. And intermittently featuring some really good covers, like 'Little Wing' (being a tribute to its creator, Jimi Hendrix), 'Key to the Highway' (written by Charles Segar and Willie Bronzy in the mid 1940s) and 'Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out' (written by Jimmie Cox, which later became one of Clapton's favourites to perform - it can also be found on his Unplugged album).
In sum, a great album, which would make you wonder why it didn't top the charts when it was released. And then everytime you finish the album, you would wish that Derek and the Dominos had produced more albums. But then, Derek had caught up both with heroin and the heroine soon thereafter.
Must watch out for:
"I Am Yours" (Track 5)
"Anyday" (Track 6)
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