RE: "Layla's Last Stand"..... (NLZC)

["J.R. Sroufe" <gonzo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

First, I wrote: 
>  I was listening to Layla (Derek and the Dominoes) today and 
>  remembered how the guitars carrying on gets annoying. I mean,
> it's 
>  like the studio version of 'Achilles Last Stand', the "guitar
> army"  sounds like cats fucking.

Then, On  2 Jan 98, Williams, Chris wrote:

> Let me get this straight. You think that two of the world's best
> guitarists playing at their peaks, on one of the greatest blues/rock
> albums of the 70s "sounds like cats fucking"?

Yer damned skippy! It's too long, disjointed, and overbearing. The 
soloing at the end sounds too "unrehearsed". Like they are competing 
with each other to see who can do the most riffs. Don't get me wrong, 
the song is a good one, but too much guitar solos for me. 

> You also find that Duane and Eric's supremely tasteful soloing and
> riffing "gets annoying"?

Precisely. I figure that a lot of it comes from having heard the 
goddamed song 500 million times. I also don't think that the solos 
are that "tasteful". I turn it off when it comes on the radio these 
days. I guess it's like 'Free Bird' (Lynyrd Skynyrd), too much guitar 
pyrotechnics. The thing that differs from 'Free Bird' and Layla' is 
that on 'Free Bird' the guitars are at _least_ playing together 
towards a common melody. Unlike 'Layla', where the guitars sound like 
they're going in two different directions. I suppose it sounds like 
two radios playing two different songs, but in the same key.

> What do you like? AC/DC?

Yes. Angus is only *one* lead guitarist who plays the riffs with fire 
and fury and doesn't _need_ another lead played over the top of him.

> The Crue? 

C'mon, don't make me laugh. I'm not Brett McElheny. :-)

> I'll tell you what I think: Layla is one of the most astonishing
> albums ever recorded. 
<snip>
> For any of you who haven't really given this a listen, play "Keep
> on Growin".

I'll admit that 'Layla' (the album) has it's moments, and 'Keep On 
Growin' is one of them. The _song_ 'Layla' is the one that gets on my 
nerves these days. Again, I stress that the _CONSTANT_ airplay has 
made me sick of it. I feel the same way about 'Stairway to Heaven'. 

Then I wrote in my original message:

>  Really, a few overdubs is ok, but CHRIST! Too much is TOO
> MUCH!!!!

To which Chris replied:

> Can someone help me here? Layla probably wasn't played "live" in the
> studio, but it really doesn't have overdubs in the technical sense.

Allow me to clarify myself. When I spoke of overdubs, I was meaning 
all the dubs on 'Achilles Last Stand'. I realize that 'Layla' has 
minimal (if any) overdubs. The common thing between the songs is that 
the guitar solos are "fighting each other" in my opinion. 
Only on 'Achilles', it sounds like *10* radios playing *10*
different songs in the same key. So sue me, too much is _still_ too
much. Overkill.

Waiting for the flames to come,
J.R.
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