Journey through the past 3 : Layla And other assorted love songs

I have quie a few Clapton ( including Bluesbreakers and Cream) albums but this is the only I come back to with any regularity.

The story goes that, like Van Morrison, Clapton was a huge fan of The Band. Both, apparently asked to join.  While Van moved to Woodstock to be closer to "the vibe" Clapton teamed up with Delaney & Bonnie for a while.  He then grabbed some of their band (and some of Leon Russell's as well) to form Derek and the Dominoes.  Adding Duanne Allman it just clicked, Clapton for once sounding inspired and energised while the group retains a loose feel - similar to The Band.  It did not do well when first released and took two more years before Layla became a hit and the album gained momentum. By that time Duanne was dead and the band was no more.

I never owned this on Vinyl instead picked up a second hand cd.  It is now never too far away snd when this deluxe version appeared a few years ago it was a no brainier to get it. When I saw him a few years ago in Brisbane (including at a restaurant with Ian Botham the night before) this album formed the core of the set list) which pleased me immensely.

Everyone of course knows the title song - but most people leave out the sublime ending by Jim Gordon.

The album is full of key songs, I looked Away, Keys to the Highway, Why Does love got to be so sad? and Clapton's version of Hendrix's Little Wing (which I always have to defend my preference for to my son Chris).