I’m not much of a fan of so-called classic rock, but there are 20-30 standards from the 50-80s that I can listen to repeatedly and still find something fresh. One is Derek & the Dominoes’ “Layla,” a song whose beautiful melodies are driven by some amazing, nuanced musicianship.
A peek into that musicianship is captured in this great video interview with producer Tom Down and Dominoes guitarist Eric Clapton. There’s a wonderful sense of rediscovery as Dowd, sitting at the mixing board 30 years after the fact, isolates instrumental tracks to peel back the many layers of genius inside “Layla.” We’ve heard the stories of guitarists Duane Allman and Clapton feeding off each other in taking their performances to new heights, but the detail in their technique jumps out in a dramatic way when Dowd plays them in isolation.
Sometimes the behind-the-scenes story can remove too much veneer from the masterpiece. That’s not the case here: Dowd’s backstory only adds to the depth of a song that seems to get better with age.