This is a reblog/revisit of one of the very first posts I ever did back in 2015. I’m reposting it for two reasons. One, because I had like, six readers back then and two, because of the recent death of drummer Jim Gordon. If you missed that event, here’s Wikipedia:

James Beck Gordon (July 14, 1945 – March 13, 2023) was an American musician, songwriter, and convicted murderer. Gordon was a session drummer in the late 1960s and 1970s and was the drummer in the blues rock supergroup Derek and the Dominos. Gordon was the drummer on the Incredible Bongo Band’s album Bongo Rock, released in 1972, and his drum break on the LP version of “Apache” has been frequently sampled by rap music artists.

In 1983, in a psychotic episode associated with undiagnosed schizophrenia, Gordon murdered his mother and was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison, remaining incarcerated until his death in 2023.

A short while back I listed what were my thoughts on the greatest debut albums of all time. Even though Clapton and Allman both already had albums, I snuck it in as a Derek and the Dominoes debut. (For completeness’ sake, let us here note that there was an officially released live album which I found good but not as satisfying and a variety of tunes for the aborted second studio album which wound up on Crossroads box set and Layla 40th Anniversary.)

Released in November 1970, the album pretty much landed with a thud. Clapton, for some reason, did not want to push this as a “Clapton album.” He was retreating, I think, from the “Clapton is God,” hero-worship thing, and just wanted to be part of a band. The rest of the band in addition to Gordon was bassist Carl Radle and keyboardist/singer Bobby Whitlock. All had been with George Harrison and Whitlock had played with both Clapton and Allman as part of Delaney and Bonnie’s troupe.

And so with little fanfare and even less publicity, it just sat there. No cover pictures of Eric, no nothing. And at that point in time, outside of studio work, Duane was not a well-known player, hence not a draw. In a well-known story, Eric had gone to see the Allmans play in Florida and Eric invited the whole band back to jam. Duane stuck around, was asked to join, toured a little bit but passed on staying with the Dominos to do his own thing. Good choice in retrospect.

My first exposure to this album was shortly after it was released. My memory is not exact on this so don’t quote me. But there was a college radio station in New York where I then lived. I think they might have been trying to raise money or something. But for whatever reason, they played the song “Layla” quite a bit over the weekend. And I loved it from the get-go.

What I later found out is that the song had been originally done in a different way, perhaps slower. What happened is that Duane – always a catalyst – came in and had a lick he borrowed from an Albert King vocal line in a song called “As The Years Go Passing By.” So that lick, in guitar form – sped up – is what you hear at the very beginning of the song.

Then, of course, the lyrics involve Eric’s then-unrequited love for George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd. Eric played it for Pattie who did not leave George for him, continuing his descent into heroin addiction.

The piano solo at the end is actually played by Jim Gordon. It was a tune he came up with along with singer Rita Coolidge. Clapton and Co. heard him playing it one day and figured it would make a nice coda to the song. And even though it was played at a different speed, Tom Dowd* – legendary producer – found a way to splice both parts together. And the end result was a legendary, majestic song that is unmistakable in its passion.

The rest of the album is also superb. Duane had not yet arrived and, contrary to popular belief, does not play on the first three songs. But he does play (with incredible speed and precision) on “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad,” “Key to the Highway,” and everything else. A tremendous outpouring of guitar wizardry from Eric and Duane and to this day, a very listenable album that does not seem at all dated.

In one of the greatest fuckups of all time. Rolling Stone listed it #117 on the first 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list down to 226 on the latest. But RS also dropped Sgt. Pepper to something like 22nd so, go figure. Who’s running the show over there?

Several music writers have hailed the album as a masterpiece and it’s certainly Eric’s crowning achievement. If you’re a lover of blues or even just raw emotive singing and playing, check this album out. (Eric and Bobby modeled their singing after soul singers Sam and Dave.)

If you know this album and haven’t listened to it for a long time, what are you waiting for? It is the antidote to all the autotuned shit you hear on the radio every fucking day.

*If you’ve never seen it, be sure to check out the documentary Tom Dowd & The Language of Music.