Polydor Records, December 1970

In the light of Clapton: The Autobiography (2007), I just wanted to take some time to write on the subject of one of my all-time favorite albums. If you haven't read this book, do so. It's become a best seller about Eric Clapton; in his own words, describing his very own private struggle with sobriety, drugs, alcohol, and women.

It's amazing that it wasn't until 1972, two years after the inital release Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs; the song "Layla" would rank in Billboard's Top 10. It is after all, a tale of unrequited love inspired by Clapton's relationship with his friend George Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd Harrison. But this album goes beyond the deeper meaning of the eight album songs, which mostly revolve and set a theme on the hardship of love. This is Derek and the Domino's only studio recorded album and each time I listen, I hear an expeiment deep into the soul of Clapton's blues, self-indulgence, consumption, and addiction.

Even deeper, there is a very rare comradarie kept between Duane Allman, of the Allman Brothers Band fame; who plays the slide guitar on most of the tracks and Clapton himself. Back in forth, there is a call and response between their guitars in rare blues-rock fashion. At times, you can hear their guitars complementing each other, keeping the other in check. How the hell can a person be sober and replicate such timing, more the less: tone? Where did their amazing energy come from taken away in so much substance? Was it their pain? Or, was it their suffering? Is this really the blues, and how could it possible?

From the aspect of a wild eyed and alcohol-fueled spin of Billy Broonzy's "Key to the Highway" to the soulful tribute of a fallen friend and professional rival, Jimmi Hendrix in "Little Wing"; which was recorded and added prior to the album release. Everything you hear on this album was written at one of the lowest points of Clapton's life. What make this album so singular is all the tragedy following Derek and The Dominos. On the first night of their American tour, Duane Allman is killed in a motorcycle accident. The sixties were over, drugs began taking their toll in the name of Rock and Roll. And among the living, they stayed alive long enough to record something deeply human, in their own words and music. It's really a tale of the blues.