Eric Clapton - Life In 12 Bars (Documentary)

Apart from the live Got To Get Better..., Roll It Over, Motherless Children & the Layla-era Mean Old World, of course.

This is, of course, the issue with trying to make a coherent LP from an abandoned set of sessions - we're trying to squeeze as much value from the scraps we've got, so points of principle sometimes have to be bent, if not completely broken!

 

I disagree. Sorry to keep referencing my blog, but look at this collection of alternate takes from the Layla album I posted there:

Albums That Should Exist: Derek and the Dominos - Layla Album Alternates (1970)

Nearly all the versions there have not been officially released, but come from boots instead. I believe only 2 of the 10 have been officially released. And there's a lot of interesting stuff there, for instance the alternate version of the song "Layla" that starts it out. Why weren't versions like that included in the 20th anniversary box? I have no idea.

Heck, just in terms of the aborted second Derek and the Dominos album, there's some unreleased (but booted) stuff better than the song "High" that just got officially released. As mentioned in a previous post here, I made a double album version of those 1971 sessions, and when I did that I was aware of a bootleg version of "High" that was identical to the one that just got released, and I didn't even find that worthy of inclusion. Check out instead something like the "Moody Jam," which is an unreleased outtake from those sessions and is much more interesting than "High," in my opinion.



So I don't buy that anything and everything of interest from Derek and the Dominos has been officially released. And that's not even considering live stuff. Plus, who knows what else might exist that hasn't been booted.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven't heard "Devil Road," prepare to be wowed. It's Derek and the Dominos backing an obscure female singer (Rene Armando), but Clapton just goes off into guitar solo heaven for most of the songs' 13 minutes. He starts wailing about 2 and a half minutes into the song:

Derek and the Dominos - Devil Road

If I were making a Crossroads or Life in 12 Bars type retrospective, I certainly would have wanted to include THAT!

 

Oops! You got me. I forgot about those. You're right, I bent the rules there.

 

Sounds a bit unusual for E.C. however considering the guitar playing on top of this song & vocal it is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.

 

Wow, surprised that I’ve never heard this gem (Devil Road) before. Great stuff!

 

You’ve just introduced me to Moody Jam which I’d never heard before. I have a cd boot of 2nd album outtakes, agreed, some of those are much better than High, in fact there’s 2 that I love, but not sure of the names. Possibly Son of Apache, not sure.

I’m reading on iPhone until I return home tomorrow, will check and see if my faves are on YouTube/correctly named I’ll post.

One track on Bobby Whitlocks album, Raw Velvet is Hello L.A. which has a certain Mr Clapton playing bass (I believe the only track ever released featuring Eric’s bass playing,) which is interesting to hear. I like both the 2 first solo Whitlock albums a lot.

One thought on why High was released. The songwriting credits are easy to deal with as the song is already released 4 years later. With the other unfinished tracks, what correct song titles? Who are the writers? High isn’t the best outtake but is probably the easiest to be released without additional effort.

 

The only songs that I really doubt are Eric from the aborted 2nd album boots are the tracks simply labelled Instrumental #1 and Instrumental #2. The playing sounds nothing like his style, and is also just pretty mediocre.

(tracks 1 and 11 on "disc 2")

I love the two Jim Gordon-sung tracks. One of them, It's Hard To Find A Friend was later attempted with Traffic. There is a bootleg of Jim Gordon with Jim Capaldi demoing the song, along with another original called Easter Weekend, but no bootleg of the actual studio session. I realize that there are many factors that would make this difficult, but an album/compilation of Jim Gordon, focusing on his early seventies attempts at being a singer-songwriter in addition to a drummer would be interesting. (He produced albums too.)

 

Devil Road has some amazing work on it. Rene Armondo has some very interesting insights about it on the YouTube video. It’s a shame it’s not officially out but issues may be too jumbled up to release it.

 

I agree that the Jim Gordon songs are pretty good. I read somewhere that he did a bunch of recording in the studio at the same time as the Layla album, basically grabbing studio time here and there whenever it wasn't being used by someone else. His hope was to get one or more of his songs on the Layla album, or, failing that, use them for a solo album.

Of course, later on he went insane and murdered somebody. He also had a big falling out with Clapton as he grew more unstable. So the odds are very good that nobody is ever going to be willing to officially release his songs as bonus tracks or anything else.

 

His mother.
.

 

Was that during the Layla album or during the second album?

After the Dominos, he produced Renee Armand's album and Bobby Keys album. He gets a couple of cowrites on the former.

 

I read it was during the Layla album. He often would come in early and do his own stuff. By the time of the second album sessions, he already had plans to join Traffic and was having big conflicts with Clapton, so he generally did the bare minimum.

He probably knew the odds of Clapton agreeing to put any of his songs on a second album were between none and none due to their growing conflict. And I think the conflict had to do with his growing mental troubles, that he increasingly wanted to be seen as the "star" even though Clapton was the star and he was just the drummer.

 

It's a shame, because from the available material, it sounds like he could have made an album just as good as say fellow Domino Bobby Whitlock.

 

just got the soundtrack on the way to me

 

I'm sorry, I failed to report my shipping notice. Shipped June 10, expected June 13th. Priority mail.

 

The real shame is what if the group could have stayed together and utilized the best material of Clapton, Whitlock, and Gordon? There's so much lost potential there, with the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Whitlock, for instance, isn't that great as a solo artist. But he seemed to raise Clapton to a new level when they wrote and sang songs together, and putting his best songs on Dominos albums (like "Thorn Tree in the Garden" on Layla) could have worked very well.

And that's not even to mention all the lost potential with Duane Allman! Even if one assumes he stayed full time with the Allman Brothers, he could have taken a little time off here and there to record albums with the Dominos, as well as guest at their concerts when they happened to be in nearby locations. In my opinion, Clapton was always much better when he had some other major talent like that to push him to a higher level. Clapton seems to have genuinely seen Allman as his sort of musical soulmate, and I don't think that's just wishful thinking influenced by Allman's early death.

Of course, Gordon slowly went insane, Clapton got lost in drug addiction, Whitlock's solo career quickly faded away, and Allman died tragically young. But when the Layla album was finished in late 1970 nobody saw any of that coming. I bet they all thought they were going to make a lot more great music together. (Unlike, say, Blind Faith, which started falling apart almost as soon as it was formed, or Cream, which was too combustible to last long.)

 

By the way, here's something else from my blog that shows some of the lost potential of Derek and the Dominos, a collection of interesting live tracks from everything BUT their Fillmore shows (since every fan of the band should have the Fillmore stuff already):

Albums That Should Exist: Derek & the Dominos - Live and Rare (1970)

It's got Whitlock singing two songs, "Country Life" and the blues classic "Call It Stormy Monday." He put "Country Life" on one of his solo albums, but this version is done in a rocking style instead of country style, which suits the song way better, despite its title. I could easily imagine Whitlock having served a John Entwistle or George Harrison type role in the band, getting to sing a couple of songs on each album, and in concerts, but generally being content to be second fiddle.

And personally I find the bootleg of Duane Allman's concert appearance with the Dominos in Tampa, Florida to have too poor sound quality for me to want to listen to it much. But for whatever reason, the performance of "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" from that show sounds much better than the rest, and gives a taste of what might have been had Allman been able to play in concert with the Dominos from time to time.

 

are whitlocks solo albums worth checking out?

 

For sure!

And you can get both on one disc with the Where There's A Will There's A Way
Bobby Whitlock - Where There's A Will There's A Way (The ABC-Dunhill Recordings)

just a small point worth mentioning is that Song For Paula is shorter than the vinyl version by a minute. I recall there being two edits to the song.

 

Not sure if this thread is still about the Doc.. I did watch this and found it to be great. covered a lot of territory with some great insight to what makes EC tick. Shows some great moments as well as some not so pretty which to me is the truest style of documentary. Really covers him completely as a person. Always good to see someone come thru the fire and come out better for the struggle. Good watch!

 

Luckily I have an Amazon distribution warehouse just over the border in Indiana, so I had these ripped to FLAC by last Friday afternoon delivery, listened while lawn mowing, so no audiophile thoughts just yet (5 acres of mowing so listened to both CD's).

Impressions:
- Spoonful is just amazing, this comes at you from all directions, and it sounds like there was possibly a fight going on during that song, but this alone was worth the price, can never have enough Cream, official or otherwise.
- It is just striking to hear the run Eric was on with these different groups and artists in that period from Mayall 1966 to the end of 1970.In 5 years, to cram all that incredible music in, what can you say. He was leading a Forest Gump on Guitar life turning up on both sides of the Atlantic, everything he was a part of turned to gold prior to the drug recluse period.
- I already had the boots of the Eric Clapton album mixes, and agree with many of the comments above that he was reluctant about mixing his own voice, which is crazy considering how good he had always sung from Mayall onwards, but also understood given he was seen as "God" on the guitar, but had primary vocalists who sang more in his 60's groups, plus his ongoing desire through that period to become more "anonymous" or to blend in with a team as a support player. We are lucky that Delaney Bramlett brought that aspect completely out as Eric has a tremendous voice to go along with his guitar playing, just a gifted musician!
- I agree with several who said that High was a disappointing inclusion given some of the other 2nd album material unreleased officially, but still cool it was acknowledged at all on this comp. I also agree 100%, if only D&D could have somehow completed that 2nd album, what could have been, but then again the legend of just 1 unbelievable studio album and 1 collection of sublime live tracks from a 2-day run is still pretty romantic, although there was drugs and ugliness to come in their lives behind that romantic yet tragic story.
- Little Wing, again totally worth the price of the collection, anything gaining official release from D&D is to be treasured, his wah sound and solos here are outstanding, amazing to think of how emotional this must have been in tribute so close to Hendrix's passing.
- I Shot the Sheriff, had never heard this as not a big boot collector for Eric post Rainbow Concert, the fire was somewhat extinguished, but this is again worth it as the extra groove jamming is great, this shouts that was Eric was back, though in a different guise, with 461 Ocean Blvd.
- And then, Little Queenie. Is this here as a bookend to fully illustrate how bad things had become for Eric despite his comeback!?! This is a train wreck played out in front of an audience, I kept waiting for some moment where it was redeemed, but it just is flat and sad. Trading alcohol for drugs on display.

In the documentary, which didn't pull any punches in its portrayal of his difficulties, you have the incomparable run he was on from the Yardbirds to Mayall to Cream to Blind Faith to solo artist and contributor to other stars albums to D & D and then the long sleep(y) time time and heroin. He makes his studio comebacks, but the live shows were so up and down, with a lot of brilliance mixed with the down. Maybe, in the end, that is why he is revered. Despite the talent, we can all identify with the issues and downfalls he dealt with and continues to overcome, never holding back or covering them up. Eric may not be the #1 rock star an average person would want to hang out with, but then again, his full humanity has always been on display. To me, any time I see him interviewed, he doesn't rationalize why he did and became what he is, and the documentary is great at trying to sew some of those contributing reasons together to what created the man then and today. Just hoping it doesn't take his death to fully open the vaults for so much of what remains unreleased, but this compilation is a good addition along the way.

 

Clapton does not seem to be standing in the way of archival releases (he also does not appear to actively encourage them either). I suspect it does not take much for Universal to receive a green light for releases from EC, and Universal may not technically need his approval. A lot of it probably comes down to money, as in how much money the label wants to spend producing unreleased archival material.

 

Is still can't get over the lack of not covering 10+ years of his core career. I'd grade this an incomplete.

 

I have literally minutes ago just finished watching Life In 12 Bars.

This is the deeply personal story of a man and his (penchant for escapism and an inward) way of life.

Eric just happens to be a fabled guitar player but in this human context that is (a difficult concept for many) secondary.

I have been a fan from the age of 15 and in the following 34 years have constantly bought, played and read everything i could on the man to sate my thirst for his career.

No doubt like many of you, I knew the major sign posts of his life; From a child with an identity crisis not knowing truly who his mother was to Layla his agony over Pattie, his beloved grand father's (and Jimi's) death, the substance abuse and Connors story.

I knew all this as a massive fan of the musician the whole world knows, I knew it intellectually but now i have a far better understanding of all the minor things at work things that influenced his thoughts, feelings, motivatations and ultimately actions.
I now have emotional understanding and care that i do and that it has been enhanced by this film.

There can be no wonder why he could not remain a consistent shooting star in the music world post The Dominoes.
I am greatfull as always he is alive.

For those bemoaning the skipping if years, live footage and the stories of LP recordings and guitar and amp combo's your time Will come but for now simply enjoy.

Thank you Eric & thank you Lili!

 

Life in 12 Bars:

Like the other artists tracks, the Big Bill and Muddy tracks work well, very happy to have the live version of
Got My Mojo Workin' as thats one of my favourites. Very nice to have Guitar Gently Weeps and Good To Me by Aretha, already have them but still nice on a Clapton compilation. The track choice is okay, assuming these are songs played in the documentary?? But rubbish to go from Mainline Florida to Tears in Heaven 18 years later.

The extra tracks or previously unreleased tracks:

Spoonful - whats that speech going on around 9:00? I thought it was Jack at first speaking slightly off mic but
sounds more like interferrance or a stage invader, anyone clear? Assume thats the reason this version hasnt been
released previously. I like it.

After Midnight - i've heard this before, like it, same as with Let It Rain why wasnt a 3cd version of the Deluxe
Eric Clapton 1970 album released to capture all versions? I like the extended studio noise at the start.

High - not stunning and doesnt really offer much, I compared and this is the same version ive had as a boot.

Little Wing (live) - I honestly cannot keep up with which tracks have been released from these shows and which
haven't. If they say this is unreleased then i have to believe it but seems theres so many different variations
on different releases.

I Shot The Sheriff (Full length.) - This for me is the high point of this collection. Its ridiculous it wasnt
included on the 461OB Deluxe Edition, even more ridiculous it wasnt on the Give Me Strength box. I've had this
on boot for a good 20 years, my only criticism of this version is the bass is lower in the mix than i'd like,
Carl gets a bit funky on this one. And the lack of a natural end, it fades for the final few seconds. That aside
i like this a lot.

Little Queenie - Why was this added? Drunken japes, offers nothing to this collection. I've heard other versions
of this song live which kind of replicate the "relaxed" nature of the way this song is presented. One to flick
past on the cd. Terrible!

An okay collection but the extra tracks seem very slim. Overall a bit disappointed and happy it was a cheap
purchase. Not a lot of effort put into this which is a shame.