The Definitive Derek and the Dominos Live Collection

When I started here on epinions, I could crank out music reviews like nobody’s business. Now, I am lucky if I finish 5 of them in a year. Months ago I started writing this review, at least the first section. Recently, I began to revise it after finding my notes about the songs. This is what began to slow down my reviews is the time I spend on them. I can watch a movie once and write a review on it, but a CD, I have to listen to at least 3 times then take some notes about the songs, then listen to it again as I write it. Book reviews can be tough too, because once I finish a book, I want to start another one instead of write about the one I just read. Maybe someday I will get to those two books I finished that are still sitting on the shelf, mocking me in their unreviewed state.

So, as I begin this over-long self-indulgent over-hyphenated review, I thought some explanation might be in order, or maybe I am just dragging my feet on finishing this epic.

The History

In 1970, after massive success in The Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith, Eric Clapton took a step back from the rock star whirlwind and hooked up with a band known as Delaney and Bonnie who had opened up for Blind Faith on their American tour and with whom he jammed frequently. He subsequently appeared on one of their albums. He enjoyed playing with them so much he decided to take part of the band with him and form his own group with Jim Gordon on drums, Carl Radle on bass and keyboardist/vocalist Bobby Whitlock, calling it Derek and the Dominos.

After a successful 1970 summer tour, the group gathered in a Florida studio to record. Clapton was in the throes of romantic longing for Patti Harrison, wife of Beatle, and best friend, George. Also fueling the creative fire, was an appearance by Duane Allman (who also had worked with Delaney Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie) who had been brought in to add slide guitar. After a month of studio time, they came out with the masterpiece entitled “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.”

Live at the Fillmore was taken from the band’s concerts at the Fillmore East in New York City on October 23 and 24, 1970. Most of the songs were previously released on the Dominoes’ Live In Concert record and on Clapton’s own Crossroads box set.

The Music

On this 2-disc set there is over 2 hours worth of music, yet only 13 songs. So, the average song length is nearly 10 minutes. Before you read any further, I can tell you there is not a version of Layla on here. There’s no Bell Bottom Blues either. Despite these inadequacies, this is a very enjoyable set. There is a good balance between Clapton originals (Blind Faith’s Presence of the Lord is given reverential treatment with Clapton replacing Winwood’s vocal parts), Dominos’ album tracks (a slowed down version of Tell The Truth), and blues standards (a similarly slowed down rendition of Crossroads, the live Cream version of which still gets airplay these days and was a template for the likes of Eddie Van Halen).

Other highlights include songs you might not know very well from the Clapton repertoire. Bottle of Red Wine, written by Bramlett and Clapton, is a rollicking blues stomp that features some strong vocal harmonies between Clapton and Whitlock (who contributes some great organ parts) and the most focused soloing on these songs. Roll It Over, another original that didn’t make the final cut of “Assorted Love Songs”, is a more laid back song but features some searing solos from Mr. Clapton.

The best moment on the collection is the solo on Have You Ever Loved A Woman. One can almost see the guitar strings bending under Clapton’s vise-like grip, pouring out all his emotion into this impassioned solo. I get chills simply thinking about it. As if to introduce his pain he sings “let me tell you all about her” right before launching into it. The crowd gives quite a reaction when the solo concludes.

If there are any drawbacks to this collection it would be in the length of the tracks. Ironically, Little Wing is among the least jammed-on tracks, clocking in at less than a minute longer than the studio version. Let It Rain features about 5 minutes of drum solo which won’t make anyone forget John Bonham. It comes in at over 18 minutes. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? is nearly 15 minutes with nothing much of note happening after the 9 minute mark. The titles of some of the songs get repeated ad nauseam.

In The End

While recording their follow-up to “Layla…”, the band split up. Perhaps, it was just time for Clapton to become a solo artist. The outtakes from the aborted second release from the Crossroads box set hint at what might have been.

While some of the songs could use some editing, this set is a good cross-section of Clapton’s career up to that point. This is definitely a must for any fans of music from that era, or of Clapton in particular.

This 1994 release pays a fitting tribute to the short lived rock and roll collective known as Derek and the Dominoes.