I remember going into one of my favourite record stores way back when they used to hand out the radio stations "Top 40" record charts. Glancing at it I saw a new entry by a group called "Derek and the Dominos". It made me think of the many groups from the 50's and 60's with names like "Blank and the Blanks". Like most people , the first time that I heard the opening riffs on "Layla" I was instantly hooked. It took a few more years to figure out most of the words and their actual meaning. And the rest as they say is history. There are other decent tunes on the album, my favourite being "Bell Bottom Blues" but all (unfortunately) fade in comparison with the title cut. Not bad for three guys named Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock, and Carl Radle who originally were with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. They were brought on board by Delaney Bramlett. Eric Clapton even played with Friends for a short while. Its too bad that this was another one of a Clapton connected project that ended even before it had begun.We've had a Cream reunion that nobody thought would ever happen. Here's hoping. And oh, thank you Delaney. Some trivia for you. Recently I was at a shop and was going through boxes of old 45's. I found a copy of "Layla" from 1977 on Epic by the "Valverde Brothers". It was a cross between the "Chipmunks" doing disco and those infamous one drum beat of the "Stars On" albums. I never knew of anyone else covering "Layla" and I still wish I hadn't. Just terrible.

Sure,most of Mr. Clapton's stuff is reasonably good, but really that's only when it's compared to the immediate competition. Truly, when one is a rather naive 17 year old, some of these tunes may not sound half bad! But with some musical and worldly experience, this album, like just about all "Rock", fades away into the realm of adolescent sentimentality,bordering on noisy nonsense. Indeed, listening to say "Bell Bottom Blues" for a wizened old timer (now over 50) is simply an embarrassment, and the idea of these performers playing them now is even worse. Same with just about everything here. And the copy cat version of "Little Wing", originally written/recorded by Eric's old rival, J. Hendrix, does not come close to the original! Really, the best Clapton can still be heard on the older (1967-68)"Cream" albums, much of which still sounds fresh and unique, not just thumping re-treads of 3 chord blues with banal lyrics.

I love this album. It's pure blues rock. So bittersweet and painful and soulful. The album was a template for a generation.

This will make most of you mad, but I compare this album in my own mind to Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood. I think both describe the woes of different generations in their own special way.

Listen to both. Crossreference and compare. Am I stupid?