All of us probably know that Eric Clapton is one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
He was a master of jazz and blues rock along with other acclaimed musicians of his generation, including George Harrison and the rest of the Beatles. Throughout the years, his music never gets old.
One of Clapton’s most memorable concerts was his Mid and Far East Tour in 2014.
Before he turned 70 years old, Eric Clapton still managed to do a tour around the world in countries like Japan, Singapore, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
It was one of the memorable tours that he has because at that time, Clapton was trying to decide whether he would keep doing tours in the future.
As the video begins, he whips out an acoustic guitar and performs one of the hit songs from his previous band, Derek and the Dominoes.
Sometimes when we think of Eric Clapton, the soothing serenade from “Wonderful Tonight” pops into our heads.
Even so, some people know him as the one who sang the peculiar love story “Layla,” a song that he wrote with Jim Gordon.
It was also the song that became famous because Layla was written about Eric Clapton’s unrequited love for George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd.
During his concert at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, he played the song again with a softer sound than the original studio version.
In the beginning of the video, Clapton has just finished wrapping up his performance of “Alabama Woman.”
As he readies himself to set into the next song, Clapton starts into a minute-long riffing warm-up before he gets to the intro melody of “Layla.” He revived his song with a funky-blues vibe—the kind that makes you tap your foot just the way Eric Clapton does on stage. Although he went for a solo spotlight with his acoustic guitar, his band was there to back him up with their bluesy melodies.
Aside from that, two backup singers were present to accompany him for the vocal harmonies.
The performance of this song was featured in Eric Clapton’s documentary film called Planes, Trains and Eric, which was released in the same year.
The video of this performance was also uploaded on Eric Clapton’s YouTube channel in high definition audio and video with over 52 million views. Major fans can also skim the channel for other older performances Clapton has done over the years!
The video shows just how smoothly Clapton can switch between styles depending on what each song requires.
This was one of the songs that Clapton has never been consistent about playing in a live setting.
Ever since the song was released, people have become familiar with its harder electric arrangement as opposed to his softer acoustic versions that he has played live over the years.
Rolling Stone pointed out that Clapton has switched his style of playing the song back and forth over the years, though now he has stuck to the stripped-down version for six years “bumming everybody out.”
Even so, his slower style does bring a unique new sound to the classic song. In this interpretation, you can see the song as it was intended to be heard: as a poetic love ballad to an unrequited love.
Watch the full performance by clicking on the link below:
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