Derek & The Dominos
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs

Listening notes

Derek & The Dominos' "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" was released by Polydor in 2008 on vinyl under catalog number 0600753103739. The album spans four sides across two records and falls within the genres of blues rock, classic rock, and rock.

The double album format allows the fourteen tracks considerable room to breathe. Several songs extend well past the five-minute mark, with "Key To The Highway" running the longest at nine minutes and forty-seven seconds across the B-side. "Anyday," also on the B-side, follows at six minutes and thirty-seven seconds, and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" on the C-side reaches six minutes and fifty-one seconds. These extended running times suggest an album that was built around sustained musical exploration rather than concision.

The tracklist draws on a mix of original compositions and covers. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" and "Key To The Highway" are established blues standards, placing the album in deliberate conversation with older American blues traditions. "Little Wing," appearing at position D1, is associated with Jimi Hendrix. The presence of these interpretations alongside what appear to be original songs gives the record a diverse structural character.

The closing sequence of the D-side is notable on paper: "Layla" runs seven minutes and ten seconds and is followed by "Thorn Tree In The Garden" at two minutes and fifty-one seconds, the album's shortest track. This pairing gives the record an understated conclusion following its title piece.

The album's four sides are distributed across positions A through D, with the title track appearing near the end of the final side rather than as an opener, an arrangement that positions it as a culminating moment within the sequence.

This is an unreviewed draft. All claims should be verified against authoritative sources before publication.