And now here I am finally listening to the lyrics of "Layla," and it's ripping my heart out. My brother eventually told me that "Layla" was about Pattie Boyd Harrison, Eric's best friend George's wife, but by then Pattie had married Eric so it was a moot point - I never revisited "Layla" to check it out. By the time Clapton unplugged for the MTV show, he and I were both comfortable with narcoleptic acoustic versions of his old hits, versions that sound more strung-out on heroin than the music he made when he himself was on heroin. "Wonderful Tonight"? "Tears in Heaven"? I was just impressed to hear Eric come into his own as a crooner. As time passed and Eric dabbled in reggae ("I Shot the Sheriff," "Lay Down Sally"), or rootsy blues ("After Midnight," "Cocaine"), the groove worked so well, I didn't notice Slowhand was Slowing Down. I happily lost myself in the dense tangle of that music, loving the bluesy syncopation, the passionate abandon of his guitar playing. Once I figured out that the lyrics were not important (a real leap of faith for an English major like me), I appreciated Eric Clapton in a whole new light. It was the Cream stuff that won me over, "White Room" and "Badge" in particular. I didn't get the point of Eric Clapton until senior year, when I knew a lot more about both drugs and sex and suddenly his music made sense. At the time, though, (get this) I didn't even know Eric Clapton was in Derek and the Dominos. The original version reminds me of freshman year in college, when my friend Kathy and I cranked it up loud enough to make our next-door neighbor - named Leila - pound on the walls. Instinctively, the very first time I heard "Layla" unplugged, I preferred it. Instinctively I always go for the acoustic version of any song, especially when the original runs 7:07 minutes long with endless guitar solos. On one hand you've got the blistering 1970 recording of this song by Clapton's band Derek and the Dominos on the other hand there's the laid-back acoustic version from his 1992 Unplugged album. To plug or not to plug - that is the question.
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