MFSL Layla Hybrid SACD *

I'm nearly certain the UK tapes were copied from the US tapes, but the bit at the start of Tell The Truth was edited off of the US tapes after the dub was made. The UK tape boxes indicate the reels are copies (at least for sides 1-3; presumably somebody forgot to indicate as such for side 4).

 

I am not sure how any of this ties in or if it is even accurate, but the 40th set compiler Bill Levenson mentions something about it; he notes "different mixes" and "tweaked", however it is unclear to me why something would be sent to the UK that would be mixable, edited differently sure I suppose. Maybe this is known around here already I am not sure.

“The vinyl has a small but interesting story. We decided to cut the vinyl in London even though we did the mastering for the CDs and DVD in New York. There was a very good set of tapes on file at Polydor UK so we cut the vinyl at Metropolis in London. We sent the tapes over to Metropolis and had a test cut made. When I got the reference cuts, they were not what I was expecting! The mixes were slightly different on a couple of songs. It corroborated information we’d seen on the tape boxes. The UK tapes were dated September 29, 1970 while the Atlantic tapes were dated to the first week of October. So, the tapes sent to London were sent a week earlier than those sent to New York for Atlantic. In that week, they tweaked Layla, they tweaked Tell The Truth, and I’m not sure, there are other songs on it. But when you hear the two records side by side, they have different tonalities. So, the LP will have the UK mixes, the CD the US mixes, and the super-deluxe box set will have both.” Layla's 40th: The Where's Eric! Interview With Bill Levenson

 

Other than the Tell The Truth chatter and a slight speed difference, I've never detected a difference. I think one or both dates are incorrect.

 

How do you come by this knowledge?

 

Photos of the tape boxes.

 

@lukpac He's a human musical encyclopedia. Faster than Google and more accurate than Wikipedia!

 

I know that - I was just curious about this one.

 

I enjoyed this cd. My

There were a lot of manipulations of the sound of that record by producer Tom Dowd. The guitar transcriptions of Layla note that Layla was not at standard tuning but slightly higher. (Tape speed manipulation)

 

I'm not certain if there was a conscious manipulation or the tape machines in use had significant speed issues. Not done at Criteria, but I know there are some backup reels from Clapton's first solo album that run significantly slower (if memory serves) than the masters. Considering how straightforward the recording is otherwise, I'd be surprised if there was a conscious decision to change the speed.

 

Something - more than "different tonalities" and a "tweak" - is off here. Any tapes dated in September would be missing the work done by the group (including Duane) when they returned to Criteria on October 1 - not only a replaced solo on It's Too Late and the significant overdubs to Layla, but also the final decision to use Gordon's piano piece as that song's coda!

 

As noted:

I've seen speculation previously that the early October recording dates are likely incorrect.

 

UK stereo master reel for side 4:



Needless to say, the piano coda is part of Layla. And the band apparently had a gig in the UK on October 1.

 

I'm looking forward to the vinyl issue of this title from mfsl.

 

Thanks lukpac.

Sorry, I misinterpreted your first comment to mean you thought the tape box dates might be wrong. Note though that the October recording dates were referenced by Tom Dowd in a 1999 interview: "We actually did the whole album in ten days-vocals, everything. The only thing that was altered was Eric changed the solo on one song in October, and we added the piano part to Layla."

Point taken.
Three possibilities come to mind: (a) the tape box date is wrong after all; (b) Dowd was mistaken; (c) his statement above could be parsed so that the last clause doesn't refer to the October session but to a mix between the "ten days" and the end of September.

There's a lot of evidence that the band cancelled its UK club dates between Sept 29-Oct 3 (or Oct 4) and flew to the US, with plans - later changed - for Eric to attend Jimi's funeral on Oct 1.

 

Hmm. I did just find this from Jim Dickinson, in I'm Just Dead, I'm Not Gone:

"Eric Clapton showed up with Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, and Jim Gordon. They were in America for Jimi Hendrix's funeral. During my absence at Criteria they had recorded Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs as Derek and the Dominoes, with Duane Allman on guitar and Tom Down producing. Clapton was unhappy with Dowd's mix of the record, and Dowd asked me to give up my studio time for the remix. I agreed and hung around. The rest of the band went to the funeral but Eric stayed. Soon Duane Allman showed up. It was hardcore. We did some heavy hanging out. After the second night, I careened from wall to wall, right to left, down the corridor from the elevator, trying to get back to my hotel room. I hid my gold tooth slide-over and my golden frog pinky ring from imaginary interlopers before passing out, unsure if I'd wake up. I woke, but never found my gold tooth or my ring.

The next morning at the studio, while Clapton was waiting for a limo to take him to the airport, we recorded a version of "Mean Old World," with Clapton and Duane playing double slide and me on piano. It appeared years later in a box set with my piano credited to someone else."

Dowd has indeed said that the piano coda was recorded 3 weeks after the fact, but I have to wonder if that is incorrect.

My best guess at this point is the mixes were made on or before 9/29/70, copies were made for the UK, but then a few changes were made on the 1st and the 2nd, those changes *were* spliced into the UK reel but the date was never updated. At least, I can't fathom anything else.

Comparing the UK mix of the title track to what's on the SHM CD shows they are the same mix. Sync them up and pan them left and right and you just get mono.

 

Thanks for the Dickinson quote. I never could find the explanation of how Atlantic managed to find studio time at Criteria so quickly. And his claim is interesting - I can't recall Bobby Whitlock ever talking about Mean Old World. And of course he never wanted the coda on Layla.

 

I wonder if Bobby wasn't at the studio for Mean Old World. I was listening to the session earlier, and Duane (I think) asks Carl something, and he makes a comment about coming from the hotel not thinking he was going to be playing.

Oh, and unfortunately the tape boxes for the US masters don't offer any help regarding dates etc. The Criteria boxes were replaced with generic boxes by Atlantic. The same thing happened with the In Concert US masters.

 

That's what I was thinking too - if he didn't play on Mean Old World, and wanted no part of Layla's coda (though he played 2nd piano on it) he may not have showed up on October 2.

 

I just gave a listen to "Tell The Truth" from this new MFSL SACD, and there is no chatter at the beginning.

 

Just re-read this, and now I'm thinking: say what?! JLD's gotta be talking about the version on the 20th anniversary box that has no piano credit, likely because there ain't no piano on it!

 

My guess is he didn't show up (if he actually wasn't there) because there wasn't actually a proper session scheduled. This is what was apparently recorded on 10/1:

It's Too Late - Eric bridge vocal overdub
Layla (2nd half only) - Eric "box guitar" overdub, (Bobby) piano reinforcement overdub

Mean Old World was apparently the only thing recorded on 10/2, and it sounds like they were just kind of hanging around the studio waiting to leave and decided to start playing/recording.

Then I'm not sure what @Mike Campbell is talking about:

Say what? The band recording has piano, and Bobby is credited.

 

Yeah, I saw that, and I'm not sure, either. I only have one CD of Layla, and it's the new MFSL SACD. I just gave a listen on my iPod, and there is no chatter at the beginning of that song (and nothing at the end of the previous song, either).

@Mike Campbell Explain yourself!

 

From "After the second night[...] The next morning at the studio, while Clapton was waiting for a limo to take him to the airport, we recorded a version of 'Mean Old World,' with Clapton and Duane playing double slide and me on piano" I assumed it was a third day, likely Oct 3, when all or at least most of the band was gone. So I was sure he was mis-remembering the 'duet version', where only Eric, Duane and Jim Gordon are credited. Probably a bad assumption on my part. Consider it un-assumed as of now.

 

It seems I'm in the minority of people who think this is a great-sounding recording. Yes, there are some weird mixing choices, but I have a copy of the MFSL gold CD, and it sounds amazing. (I just listened to it.)

I don't have the new SACD yet.

 

I just listened to the SACD and I think it sounds great. I am convinced MOFI has the best DSD mastering chain of all mastering studios.