Ok, this is part 2 of my song by song review, for the 'Complete Clapton' review. We will begin now, with probably my least favourite song on the album
'Presence of the Lord'- well, as I just said, this is one of my least favourite tracks on both discs. There's nothing to do with the song, or the lyrics, it's just because I don't like it, it's a pretty good song, but not one that I'd actively want to listen to. It's got a lot of musical content to it and the lyrics are good, but that's really about it, for the song, the only really good bit is the solos section, the instrumentation changes for the better, and a screaming solo is introduced.. At a hefty 4:49, it's not the shortest of bad tracks, either.
'After Midnight'- it's funky, with a pretty good groove, and lyrical content. there's a lot going on, with multiple guitars, a bass, lead vocals and group backing vocals, and drums, so the mix is a bit packed, but with the way that it's all been sorted recorded, it works and you can near enough hear every instrument in the song, the only disappointing thing is that there's no solo, only a few lead licks, here and there. Sitting at 3:09, it's a comfortable length
'Let it Rain'- This one's also a really good song, it's not really what I'd listen to, but a very good song, none the less. There's not as much going on instrumentation wise, but there's still a lot happening musically, making the track sound pretty huge and wide. There are a few repeated melodic patterns, in the song, which is good, and makes it enjoyable to listen to. The guitar solo is very reminiscent of the November Rain solo, where there are lyrics under it, for the most part, although Eric is given the time and space to let another amazing solo go with just the rhythm section playing. With a length of 5:07 it's not the longest on the album, but it's close to it.
'Bell Bottom Blues'- This one is a very good song, it's got slow verses and big, pumped up chorus'. It's got a lot of blues and gospel elements with a large variety of instrumentation. The solo in this one, is very reminiscent of a lot of Clapton style solos, slow and simple, but really effective under the song's musical content. Not a lot to say on this one, but it's a really impressive song, with a lot to go for it. There's a second solo, playing a call and response with one of the latter verses. The song length is a reasonable 5:02.
'Layla'- This is by far one of my all time favourite songs on this album, both discs, it's such a good, recognizable track, a lot of guitar parts, with a constant drum pattern. The vocals are rasp and good, it's not as good as some of his live versions (check out the Crossroads 2004 version of it, immence) but still a very good recording, the solo is incredible, and such a good solo, very reminiscent of Eric's Cream solos, very melodic, very powerful, and it leads into the Coda, which is in a different key (for those musicians regular song=D Coda=C) it's a piano led piece of music with rhythmic solos played over it, one on top of the other, a picked solo by Eric and a slide solo played by the great Duane Allman.
That's it, I'll see you tomorrow for tracks 11-15
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