An Old Song Becomes New Again

"Layla" by Derek and the Dominos has always been one of my favorite songs. The group features Eric Clapton before he went solo. I don't remember if it was before or after he played with the group Cream. No one plays guitar like Clapton, I can pick him out anywhere even if he is playing on someone else's track.

But the reason I like "Layla" best of anything Clapton has done is the interplay of guitars between Clapton and Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band who was a guest on the track. They play off each other for most of the song, but then it moves into something totally different as a piano joins in. The coalescing sounds of the two guitars and piano is magic and hauntingly beautiful.

If I really want to get into music I turn out the lights to block out all distractions and put on my headphones. In my younger days while listening to it on vinyl, I would turn the lights off, put my headphones on, and lay down on the floor next to my turntable. My total focus would be on the music. I could just hear all of the parts better. Now that I am older I prefer a comfortable chair, but the rest of the scene remains the same.

Tonight I was in the mood for tunes and I eventually came to Clapton. I was melding with the notes when suddenly I heard something that I had never heard before. For some reason the bass was coming through clearer on the headphones in my left ear. Now, I really couldn't tell you how many times through the years I have heard "Layla." It was always the interplay of guitars and piano that made it special. But tonight it was like I was hearing a new song and I had a whole new appreciation for it.

So what does this have to do with anything you might ask? I don't know, but it just makes me wonder. Perhaps there are other things or even people in my life that I might appreciate a little more if I just focused and looked a little deeper or listened more carefully. Like that bass line that I had never noticed before.