Story of a passion
It’s the most passionate love story I’ve ever heard. Probably if the music didn’t have a part of me so intently and so early I hardly ever had found this story. The good thing about being a Beatles fan (and if you loved music in general) is the enormous kind of music in front of you. Begin to explore
and you’ll probably won’t stop. From the beginning the rock with it’s primitive version, the blues, jazz, soul (pure American sound), funk, the great motown sound, the progresive rock evolution during the seventies (to me particularly interesting)…you simply won’t stop.
And “Layla and other assorted love songs” was one of them. Recorded in Miami in august 1970. Blues album style basically with a strong sounding band for it’s occasion. Occasionally because they only lasted one album together but for me one of the best albums ever made in the music history. Especially for it’s emotional kind. Even though you don’t understand the lyrics be sure you’d be fascinated by the passion it’s music displays. The slide guitars, the slow nostalgic blues tempo, the simple melodies but deeply at the same time. That’s the way the album is. Passion.
And the passion doesn’t come free. For this strange phenomenon occurs have to give a series of circumstances coincidences that make human been capable of channelling his passion through art. I have always believed that an artist of the discipline may be must be fuelled by love passion…that is where art is created, hence arises the essence of oneself. One’s own instinctive stamp, irreplaceable. Extended also to any art form, painting sculpture, photography, writing…because art is passion nothing more and nothing less. Passion reinvented, recycled here through music. Of course love is the raw passion and in this case the love for a married woman and her best friend. This is the message of this love story. Derek is neither more nor less than Eric Clapton. The great guitar hero close friend of George Harrison the quiet Beatle who at the time was married to Pattie Boyd. A beautiful blonde with blue eyes. Well the passion that we took was caused by this woman. Clapton was spark and he fell madly in love. But it was a married woman and not to just anyone. This feeling flourished in the music of this disc. Starting with the album’s name Layla (pseudonym based on a Persian love story) through the signed also by Clapton himself; I looked awa, Bell Bottom blues, to te covers of the classic bluesman names such as Robert Johnson, Jimmy Cox, Billy Miles…until the very Jimmy Hendrix. The lyrics are impressive. It talked about the all existing perhaps the limit of what can or can not say…but hey you only live once! Eric eventually married Pattie at the end of the 70’s but like everything in this life nothing is eternal and the couple divorced in the mid 80’s.
Eric playing at Fillmore East, New York, October 1970
The story at hand had happened 40 years ago in London and I really wanted to tell. As always we have the message of this beautiful story and of course the music is part of our lives.
“like a fool, I felt in love with you, turned my hole world upside down”
Layla and other assorted love songs, december 1970
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