The album is a double LP (almost taking up the entire length of a CD), consisting of 5 covers and 9 originals, and both groups are represented well. There was a time early on where I would sometimes skip some of the covers when listening to this, but I wouldn't think of it now. The first three are straight blues covers, and while I'd listen to "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" most of the time (I knew it already from Clapton's Unplugged), the idea of listening to a combined 16:32 of blues jamming between the other two ("Key to the Highway" and "Have You Ever Loved a Woman") horrified me. Well, if anything, I'd now say "Nobody" is the weakest of the three, even if I still enjoy it to pieces. Supposedly, the band heard a recording of "Key" going on in another room in the studio, and the band (which included Duane Allman by this point) spontaneously decided to give it a go, resulting in pure epic blues magic. I can't adequately express just how hypnotic that guitar interplay is, and the 9:40 flies by faster than it could. And "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" is where the situation with Eric/Patti/George becomes explicit enough that it becomes horrifying, and the context lifts a nice 6:52 blues cover into the realm of a classic.

Of the two other covers, "It's Too Late" is a pleasant blues version of an old doo-wop number (I haven't heard the original, but I have heard the Otis Redding version), while "Little Wing" is a somewhat strange version done in tribute of Hendrix after his passing. I've always felt that the approach to the main riff and the tempo in this version was a little stiff, and it's definitely not enjoyable for the same reasons as the original one was (and it doesn't even sound like anything else on this album either). But man, there are some guitar passages in this version that are as anthemic and emotionally charged as anything else I can think of in the early 70's, and those are enough for me to give this cover a big thumbs up.

For all the good to be found in the covers, though, it's definitely the originals that boost this as high as it is for me. Of the nine, I would say that only "I Am Yours," featuring Clapton singing lyrics translated from an old Arabic tale called "Layla and Majnun," is a little weak; it's kinda atmospheric and pretty, but I feel like the way the lyrics are sung is more than a bit awkward. The rest, though, ranges from very good to great; the "Other Assorted Love Songs" portion more than pulls its own weight. "I Looked Away" has a pleasant, lazy-ish (but in a good way) main riff, and it takes the form of a "my woman left me and I'm sad" song, but when Whitlock comes with his part explaining what's really going on ("And if it seemed a sin to love another man's woman, baby, well I guess I'll keep on sinning, loving her, lord, 'til my very last day"), it becomes a fascinating number (with, as with everything else on the album, top-notch guitar work). "Bell Bottom Blues" is an absolutely gut-wrenching ballad, and definitely one of the best songs Clapton ever wrote himself. The verse melody may not be shattering, but the lyrics in the verses are, and everything about the bridge (starting from "Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you ...") and chorus ("I don't want to fade away ...") is spectacular. Plus, am I wrong in feeling like his guitar parts are a little closer to the Harrison style than to the typical Clapton style, and that this gives an even more interesting dimension to the song and the album?

Up next is "Keep on Growing," which I've loved since the beginning, even in periods where I put this album aside. The vocal tradeoffs between Clapton and Whitlock are fascinating, the basslines are absolute winners, the lyrics are sad/optimistic/self-deceiving (it's also fascinating just how much the perceived meaning of parts of the song change once you've heard the lyrics to some of the other tracks), and the lengthy instrumental passage at the end entertains me to death every time. All the guitars in it are Eric (Duane hadn't yet joined when this song was recorded), and it's just so much fun to hear so many neat ideas pouring out in a near constant stream.

A couple of tracks later comes "Anyday," the first track on here where the full power of Duane Allman's slide guitar is unleashed. The combination of Eric's guitar, Duane's guitar and Bobby's organ makes for a HUGE anthemic sound, and while neither the verse melody nor chorus would have sounded that impressive in a more stripped down fashion, they sure sound fine here. I could listen all day to the bridge of, "If you believed in me like I believe in you ..." with the great instrumental work underpinning it, without getting tired of it. Even better is "Tell the Truth," which has a fascinating transition between the fun mid-tempo redneck rock of the verses and the amazing anthemic chorus. I LOVE the slide guitar from Allman under the "The whole world is shaking now" parts; it really sounds like the world actually is shaking at that moment. The rest of the track has gobs of great interplay, too.

The next two originals (there are three covers between them) are my two favorites of the album (one predictable, one less so). I have always had a passionate love for "Why Does Love Got to be So Sad?" and I still like it every bit as much as "Layla." The breakneck tempo of the first half (that introduction is a perfect classic rock introduction!!) makes for a great experience, especially when the instrumental passage at about 1:15 comes in. There are lots of guitar solos I like, and several that I love, but Clapton's solo over that 45 second stretch (and that doesn't even account for the great counterweight that Allman throws in with his parts) is on the very short list of guitar solos that I consider perfect and that would prompt me to listen to a track just to hear it. It's almost a perfect combination of speed and restraint, and my favorite Clapton moment on the album. The second half of the track, when it turns into a lazy shuffle, is a blast too (and dig the "Joy to the World" quote!).

But of course, "Layla" is the big killer on the album. Putting aside the pure emotional catharsis of the track, especially in context of what has come before it on the album and the circumstances that fueled Eric's emotional intensity in his lyrics, it's interesting to me to think about everything that had to happen for this track to turn out the way it did. Duane doesn't just contribute a great foil to Eric in the way he does on the rest of the album; he actually wrote the second half of the riff, the half that takes an intricate cry from Eric's guitar and splices it onto a hard rock monster (and hell, the song was going to be a ballad originally). The great piano part in the second half of the track came from a piece that Gordon had written on his own; what's the chance that one of the most iconic moments in rock history would find its roots in a piano piece written by a drummer? The song, of course, is spectacular ... unless you've allowed overplay on classic rock radio and overexposure in various movies to ruin it for you. In that case, shame on you.

I want to mention a couple of other things in particular before ending this review. The first regards the contributions of Bobby Whitlock to this album, which cannot be overstated. I used to actually find him somewhat annoying on this album; he almost felt like some sort of obnoxious yippy dog, constantly biting at the heels of Eric and squeezing in his noise whether desired or not. Now, though, I can't imagine this album without his contributions, and that's even before considering the closing "Thorn Tree in the Garden," an amazing downbeat ballad of resignation in light of all of the emotional turmoil of what had come before. For lack of a better way to describe it, he is both Eric's conscience and Eric's emotional ballast on this album, and his presence here is one of the best things that ever happened to Clapton. How they didn't end up doing anything else significant with each other, I'll never get; that must have been one HELL of a breakup.

The other thing is how fascinated I am with how Allman is used in the album in its general flow. Allman joined the sessions after they'd started, and it's fitting that the first three tracks don't have him at all. He makes his introduction in "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," but I don't even really notice him until the end of the track. After a little more anonymity with "I Am Yours," he blasts into the mix with "Anyday," and from there he's a force that seemingly becomes more and more crucial (maybe not perfectly linearly, but somewhat) until we've gotten to "Layla," which wouldn't be anywhere near as classic without his contributions. I kinda think of the use of Allman here as the album doing a good job of establishing itself as a moderate classic at the start, only to spring "I am not left-handed" upon the rock world mid-way through and solidify its place in history.

If you like classic rock, and you don't hate blues, and you've only heard "Layla" (and maybe "Bell Bottom Blues") on the radio, you HAVE to get this album. There's just too much interesting music and too much interesting history here to leave this unheard.

Not me, though. Lots of Clapton-centric live albums are enjoyable, but this is the only one that I feel reaches the full potential of what a band featuring Clapton could sound like live. A huge amount of credit, of course, needs to be given to the rhythm section on this album; the sound and groove they create is absolutely intoxicating, and pretty much the only minus from them on the album is the lengthy drum solo that caps off "Let it Rain" (from Clapton's debut). Duane Allman might not be around to spar with Eric, but Bobby Whitlock does his best to fill the gap on keyboards, with parts that are never intrusive but always energetic and full of power and groove. And again, I can't stress enough how much I like Jim Gordon as a drummer (except for the solo, which isn't among the worst I've heard); the man had a terrific balance between keeping a firm grip on the beat and not letting it become an overpowering part of the sound.

But of course, it's Eric that's inevitably the focus, and Eric is in absolute top form. As usual, Eric's playing is generally gimmick-free, though the manner in which the songs are approached helps to give a "dirtier" feel to his playing than usual, but as far as gimmick-free playing goes, this is absolutely top-notch. It's almost pointless to focus on particular passages, though I do find that the stretched-out reinvention of the fast "Why Does Love Got to be So Sad?" solo is every bit as amazing as its studio counterpart and then some. What I would definitely say is that it takes top-notch playing to make it so I don't mind in the least that, for instance, the first two tracks ("Got to Get Better in a Little While," a previously unreleased number with an incredible groove, and "Why Does Love Got to be So Sad?") last almost half an hour combined, and that the first four tracks take up about 45 minutes. "Blues Power," for instance, would always be a fun highlight of Clapton live albums (though I felt like it was just ok in the studio version), but it sounds really special here; later versions (like on Just One Night) would feature Clapton in top form, but with rather tepid supporting work.

The second disc is a little weaker than the first disc (which also has an impeccable "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" on it), but still a blast. I'd expect "Tell the Truth" to sound significantly weaker than the studio version without Duane's slide guitar, but the band does an adequate job of reinventing the arrangement, and there's a great jam stuck into it that I just love. "Presence of the Lord" may be a little weaker in the vocals than on the Blind Faith version, but when that guitar-jam gets going, I'm ready to forgive that flaw. "Let it Rain" may culminate in an excessive drum solo, but everything else in the song is top-notch, including the guitar solo (which I've seen more than once on "worst guitar solos ever" lists). And ok, "Crossroads" isn't anywhere near as great here as on Wheels of Fire, mainly because the tempo here (kind of a slow mid-tempo shuffle) makes it much less rousing, but I still enjoy the heck out of it. I also really enjoy the version of "Little Wing" done here; making it a little more laid-back than in the studio gives it an extra boost of emotional intimacy, and I certainly don't mind the shedding of the (slightly) awkward bombast of the Layla version.

Are there other flaws? Sure; the vocals are a little rough throughout, and neither "Bottle of Red Wine" nor "Roll it Over" are superb inclusions to the set. Oh, and the covers of "Key to the Highway" and "Nobody Knows You ..." don't really add much to the Layla versions. Beyond that, though, I have no reservations in rating this as high as I do Layla. Admittedly, there's a bias towards live albums somewhat at work here, but this is in the top tier of live albums I've heard (it's definitely in my top dozen or so), so this is destined to get an extremely high grade. If you don't have an allergy to excessive blues jamming (and if you do, you should probably avoid this band in the first place), you should definitely look for it.