Layla 40th Anniversary

From the SACD credits:

Surround sound program produced by Simon Climie
Surround sound mix by Mick Guzauski at Barking Doctor Studios
Mastered by Bod Ludwig at Gateway Mastering

 

I'm listening to an alternate version of the title track. Really cool. I wander what the source for this was.

Layla is my all time favorite Clapton related track. The energy level, especially in the first half is amazing. It's sad that there is no proper live version. I never got the 20th Anniversary box but I listened in the record store when it was new and the jams just seemed to go on forever. I need to listen to this stuff again.

Tim

 

The Dominos (minus Duane Allman) in a live take of "Little Wing" --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuRVXKwU-jM&feature=related

I didn't check but it sounds like the LATF version...

 

I'm with Pool Of Tears on this one. There's something about the In Concert version, the first solo in particular is just perfectly constructed, it seams as though each note is exactly the right note. Clapton's finest hour IMHO.
Nothing wrong with the other night's version either!

 

I'm not quite sure how to put my finger on it. But I'll try..perhaps it's just a matter of personal preference. I do agree that neither are bad.

The 10/24 take on In Concert is "perfect". Everything in this take just flows. Jim Gordon swings and locks in with Carl Radle. Bobby and Eric sing wonderfully during the choruses. Bobby's organ work adds some wonderful color. And Eric's solos just seem to come out of nowhere. As the song slows down, Eric and Bobby give the song a sombre feel. This fits the song perfectly.

The 10/23 take is a nice alternative. But I think they play this a tad too fast. I've nothing bad to say about it. A big factor (I think) is that I heard the 10/24 first and accounts for why I like it better.

 

The bonus CD should and hopefully will include the abandoned single version of Tell The Truth and Roll It Over produced by Phil Spector. Along with the tracks from the cancelled second LP and Johnny Cash show, it will be nice bonus for fans who don't own the Clapton Crossroads box set. I wonder why they seem to have created new 5.1 mix for Layla? The one on the 2004 SACD was recently done and sounds quite good. I was hoping for some video content. Finally I'm definitely excited about the remastered In Concert. Between this release and the Live At Fillmore CD set, we should have most of the Fillmore East performances.

 

Its CD's 2 and 4 that intrigue me the most. The 5 tracks from the 1971 Domino's album sessions, released on the Crossroads boxset were:

Got To Get Better In A Little While (incomplete - no keyboards or chorus/backing vocals)
Evil
One More Chance
Mean Old Frisco
Snake Lake Blues (instrumental)

I wonder what the 6th track from those sessions will be? And hopefully a finished version of GTGBIALW - I love that tune.

Hopefully Tell The Truth/Roll It Over will also be included. If so that leaves 2 tracks from the Cash show and only 3 of the studio outtakes previously issues on 20th Anniversary boxset.

I dunno, just speculating.

As for the live album, I have the original on vinyl and the newer issue on CD. Will need to dig them out for a listen to compare.

But very interested on seeing the final tracklisting for CD 2..........and also seeing the price for the super deluxe version.

 

FYI (sorry about the formatting):

10/23 (late)
1. Got To Get Better In A Little While
Live At The Fillmore
In Concert
2. Key To The Highway
unreleased
3. Tell The Truth
Live At The Fillmore
4. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?
Live At The Fillmore
5. Blues Power
unreleased
6. Have You Ever Loved A Woman
unreleased
7. Bottle of Red Wine
Live At The Fillmore
In Concert
8. Presence of the Lord
unreleased
9. Little Wing
Live At The Fillmore
10. Let It Rain
Live At The Fillmore
11. Crossroads
Live At The Fillmore

10/24 (late)
1. Got To Get Better In A Little While
unreleased
2. Tell The Truth
In Concert
3. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
Live At The Fillmore
4. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?
In Concert
5. Presence of the Lord
Live At The Fillmore
In Concert
6. Blues Power
Live At The Fillmore
In Concert
7. Have You Ever Loved A Woman?
Live At The Fillmore
In Concert
8. Key to the Highway
Live At The Fillmore
9. Bottle of Red Wine
unreleased
10. Roll It Over
Live At The Fillmore
In Concert
11. Let It Rain
In Concert
12. Little Wing
unreleased

 

Re the 10/23-24/70 dates captured on the Domino live CD's: I know the early show soundboard recordings circulate, so I know they were recorded in some fashion, but was it only the two late shows that were actually multi-tracked?

Also, the LATF CD liner notes suggest these dates were recorded surreptitiously - is there any other evidence to support this statement?

 

I'm only aware of 3 tracks from the 10/23 early show that circulate: Got To Get Better, Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad, and Little Wing (Presence of the Lord is attributed to 10/23 early, but is one of the late shows). I'm not aware of any 10/24 early show tracks out there. Do you believe more circulates?

 

3. Layla 5.1 Surround Sound DVD (Elliot Scheiner mixes)

Sweet!

The SACD 5.1 mix kinda sucks

 

Interestingly, after listening more today, the tempo for most of the slow on 10/24 was slower than either of the 10/23 shows. The feel is similar on both the early and late takes of GTGBIALW and WDLGTBSS from 10/23, but the 10/24 takes (late only) of those are less driving and more in a laid back groove. I like both approaches.

 

I hope they also let Elliot create a new alternate stereo remix for the DVD. I'm not a big fan of the 1990 remix by Tom Dowd and so I won't mind if they took a fresh approach and played around a bit with the master tapes.

 

Tom Dowd was (to my knowledge) not involved in the '90 remix.

 

Hmmm, maybe I got it wrong then. Does anyone know who remixed the Layla album for the 20th anniversary box?

 

Steve Rinkoff. Jay Mark mixed Live At The Fillmore.

Tom Dowd *was* involved in the Allman's The Fillmore Concerts. Perhaps that's what you were thinking of?

 

Maybe, not sure why I had the impression that Down remixed it in 1990. What are the opinions about the mixes on the Live At Fillmore album?

 

Personally, I don't think they are bad, but I like the wider stereo separation of the original mixes, which also feel a bit more organic to me. That said, I'm not sure which releases of In Concert, if any, represent them well. The LP set I have (RSO?) is a bit on the thin side.

LATF does have the advantage of being sequenced more like an actual show, rather than the somewhat random order of In Concert.

 

The press release says "remastered from the UK Master Tapes". What does that mean? Was the album recorded in Miami but the master mix was created in the UK?

 

I don't believe there has been an official press release yet. I would hesitate dwelling too much on certain details until all of the details are known, either via a press release or post from Bill Levenson.

I haven't seen him post here, but I noticed this comment from Phil Cohen:

I believe he's speaking of the version similar to the Crossroads version, but with a Clavinet. That was not original to the track, but was added either early on in or just before the 461 sessions.

 

The mastering engineer for this project is based in the UK- IIRC.

 

Just going back to Got To Get Better In A Little While. The mention that there's already a bootleg version of the song in circulation which features keyboards. I've not heard that before.

Can you advise if that bootleg version also includes the chorus vocals from both Eric and Bobby? Thats a version I would to hear if it exists. The only way to officially hear that tune in complete form is on the live album.

Maybe thats one of the tunes Bobby has gone in to finish.

But I wonder why a version with keyboards and chorus vocals wasn't released back in 1988 on the Crossroads boxset???

 

It does not. I believe the *only* difference is the addition of Clavinet, which as I mentioned, was added a few years later.

Because no keyboards or chorus vocals (or third verse vocals) were recorded in 1971.

Ahem:

 

I find that surprising given how open Eric has been to revisiting his past collaborations over the last few years. Any additional insight there?

 

Sorry, I missed your original post.

So my curiousity now is about the Clavinet added a few years later. There was mention of Clapton and Pete Townshend returning to the 2nd Domino's album tapes after his recovery from heroin addiction, prior to the recording of 461OB.

Do we know what musicians were involved in these sessions? Does Bobby play Clavinet or was this Dick Simms who played keys on 461OB?