Bell Bottom Bluesbreakers
ERIC CLAPTON WAS IN PAIN. Deep pain. He was hopelessly in love with Pattie Boyd, the wife of his close friend George Harrison, and there was little he could do about it. Hence, Clapton did what any relatively desperate artist would to express his innermost feelings about the situation—he created an alternate identity (Derek), gathered a semi-fictional band around him (The Dominos), and channeled all of his heartache into a triumphant, sprawling double album, November 1970’s Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Clapton’s anguish—named after a character in an epic, tragic 12th century Persian poem—was actually seen as somewhat of a failure. As time wore on, however, listeners warmed to all the angst found within ’s grooves—not to mention garnered a better appreciation for the twin-guitar mindmeld between a raw, incendiary Clapton and fretboard legend Duane Allman, who contributed sizzling leads and searing slide guitar to 11 of the album’s 14 songs.
