A good friend of mine is getting married tomorrow, so I thought that now would be an appropriate time to write about a love song. Of course, there are a great many love songs in this world, and to choose only one is pretty difficult. So, of course, I have referred myself to my Top 100. Having already written about "Wichita Lineman" and "Time of the Season," I thought that perhaps I would write about a different kind of love song altogether: "Layla."
Yes, "Layla" is a song about Eric Clapton wanting to steal George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd away, which, let's face it, would be quite a feat--I mean, this is George Harrison we're talking about. But that's not the point. It's the sentiment of the song--the pure need--that makes it spectacular. Although the original by Derek and the Dominos is a perfectly wonderful song, full of urgency and passion (at least in the first part; the second is more love song-ish), I quite prefer Clapton's acoustic take, recorded for MTV Unplugged in 1992. The passion is still there, to be sure, but this is a more laid-back and self-assured rendition; whereas in the original, the singer is not at all certain about the object of Layla's affection, in the unplugged version, he is certain that she is on her way over. And, really, it's a damn sexy way of tempting a girl. If I was in Layla's position, you'd better believe I'd be easing Clapton's worried mind. (For the record, she eventually did; Boyd and Clapton were married for nine years, after Boyd had been married to Harrison for over 10 years.)
Buy Eric Clapton's solo recording through Amazon for $0.99.
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Yes, "Layla" is a song about Eric Clapton wanting to steal George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd away, which, let's face it, would be quite a feat--I mean, this is George Harrison we're talking about. But that's not the point. It's the sentiment of the song--the pure need--that makes it spectacular. Although the original by Derek and the Dominos is a perfectly wonderful song, full of urgency and passion (at least in the first part; the second is more love song-ish), I quite prefer Clapton's acoustic take, recorded for MTV Unplugged in 1992. The passion is still there, to be sure, but this is a more laid-back and self-assured rendition; whereas in the original, the singer is not at all certain about the object of Layla's affection, in the unplugged version, he is certain that she is on her way over. And, really, it's a damn sexy way of tempting a girl. If I was in Layla's position, you'd better believe I'd be easing Clapton's worried mind. (For the record, she eventually did; Boyd and Clapton were married for nine years, after Boyd had been married to Harrison for over 10 years.)
Buy Eric Clapton's solo recording through Amazon for $0.99.
-Cate-
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