Layla - Derek and the Dominos

Hello:
I have six versions of Layla and other Asssorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos. They are as follows:

Polydor - B0003640-36 - SACD edition
Polydor - 31453 1820-2 - The Eric Clapton Remasters edition
Polydor - 823 277-2 - 2 CD set
RSO - 823 277-2 - 2 CD set
Mobile Fidelity - UDCD 585 - UDCD II
Polydor - 847 083-2 - The Layla Sessions 20th Anniversary Edition

I would like to get some feedback on how these versions sound to you.

Thanks

 

For the original mix, I prefer the MFSL.

However, I reach for the remix when I want to listen to the album. I know that's blasphemy, but I prefer to hear the album that way. I think Bill Levenson did an excellent job.

If I don't hear the scream at the beginning of Keep on Growing, it doesn't sound right to me.

 

I had several of the versions mentioned, and I prefer the RSO double.

 

RSO - 823 277-2 - 2 CD set is all I need.

I've got some ATCO vinyl but I never listen to it.

I think the Polydor and the RSO may be the same?

 

How do they sound to you? Which one is your prererence?

 

The SACD for me! Everytime I listen, I fall in love with this album all over again.

 

I go with the MFSL - to me it has the best overall sound. Keep in mind, this is not exactly an audiophile recording.

 

I can't get to enjoy the remix of the whole album owing to the Apogee-assisted remastering.
The same remixed tracks on Crossroads sound pretty good to me, they aren't fizzy or shrill like the later remasters.

Honestly, i think the original mix is best herd on the MoFi cd,
and the best remix is the MC version on the SACD, just turn the bloody treble down when you play it.

 

I recently won a German RSO where the number on the booklet and inserts is 823 277-2 but on the actual discs it's 823 392-2 and 823 393-2. What's going on here?

 

That is blasphemy - the "Jim who?" mix as I refer to it. I mean, I know that Jim Gordon was a lunatic and murdered his mother and everything. But the sound of the percussion was a big part of Layla and I've always felt that it was a creepy bit of revisionism to bury his playing in the (re-)mix.

 

I've grown accustomed to this as well.

 

stereo SACD or Simply Vinyl's deluxe treatment (one of the 'good' simply titles) for me. i don't have the MFSL. i'd like to hear bill levenson's remix--this album could benefit from some revisionism, IMO.

-eddie

 

What percussion, exactly, do you hear (or don't hear) buried in the remix? I don't think any of the percussion is missing and it's all audible. Unless I'm really missing something . . .

 

From that list I'd go with the RSO (I think I've had all of those at some point). If you were looking for vinyl I'd say the UK Polydor first pressing version.

 

I have the same one and Dave responded in the Classifieds this week-end it's the one he prefers. I like it too.
It's the same as 823 277-2 on both and I am paraphrasing shows the MFSL how it's done.

 

Thanks to all for replying.

finley1956

 

SACD blows away all comers.

 

Same here.

 

I got rid of the remix a long time ago so I can't compare, but working from memory... the drums were mixed WAY DOWN throughout the album (not the title track in particular) and the polyrhythmic work that Gordon added was largely buried. I think of it as the most radical remix of a classic album that has ever been issued.

Am I alone in this assessment? People?

 

So true. I was anxious to hear the version of "Layla" mastered by Steve Hoffman from the Rock Of The 70's series. And it still revealed several sonic flaws.

Cheers,
Ivan

 

Personally, I could not stand the remix. The original mix on the RSO Cd is all I need.

 

I just got thru listening to the UK vinyl and the SACD. I am really impressed with the SACD, both surround and stereo. To get the sound of the vinyl to compare to the SACD, I had to adjust the VTA of the table. The table is a Kenwwood LO7D and the player is the Pioneer 578a

 

Is the SACD the remix or the original mix? (Not that it matters, I can't really tell the difference between the two anyway).

 

The stereo version on the SACD, as I understand it, is the original version; no remix here. Evidently, the 5.1 is a new mix.

 

This is correct. The stereo and redbook layer on the SACD is the original mix while the 5.1 is a new mix.