Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
Eric ClaptonReptile(CD - Reprise Records, 2001) **** Genre: Blues Places I remember:Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi). Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Superman Inside
Gear costume:Travelin' Light is in the zone. Active compensatory factors: The novelist,Haruki Murakami, is responsible for me owning this somewhat underrated album by Slowhand. I'd picked up on Haruki's mention of the album as a great album to listen to while jogging. Of course, he's spot on. Bookended by two EC instrumentals, there is nice overall feel to the album - it's relaxed, easy on the ear, oozes confidence, and is personal in a way that EC is seldom personal. Nothing incendiary on offer though, no guitar wig outs, but, yes, Haruki, great for jogging. Where do they all belong? Back to vinyl next for EC - loads to come, solo, Blues Breakers and Cream of course.
Eric Clapton (sic)Layla/ Layla Part 2 (Polydor 2058 263, 1972)
Eric Clapton Tulsa Time/ Cocaine (RSO POLY 81, 1980)
Everyone now knows the Layla soap opera story concerning Slowhand's obsession with Patti Boyd, Hari Georgeson's wife, but back in 1972 I had no access to hindsight so my reaction to Layla was purely on a musical level.
And back in 1972 the guitar riff was king! This is one of the best and most easily recognisable riffs in all of rockdom. Air guitar glory!
The NZ version of this single dispenses with the Derek and The Dominos thing, probably due to incompetence, and tells it like it is - Clappers back in form and control. Little did I know how wrong that impression was but I wouldn't have cared anyway back in the day. Pre social media, it was all about the music maan.
Tulsa Time is Clapton in laid back mode. Nuff said. I have no idea why I own this single.
Hidden gems: The Layla B side is the slow coda to the song and on its own without the rip snort bust of the first part it's pretty anaemic as a B side.
Cocaine is well known. It's a great loping song but I've always been disturbed by the lyric which seems to advocate for the drug. Unlike Jackson Browne's song about cocaine (now I'm losing touch with reality and I'm almost out of blow) there appears to be no irony in J J Cale's song. She don't lie? Really?? On its own it may have a case but repeated again and again throughout the song? Nope.
