Layla

Layla
(Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon)
From the Derek & the Dominos album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

The title track of the Dominos' album is tuned between D and Eb. Likely the band played in D, but then sped up the tape in the mixing process as a way of increasing tempo and/or heightening the energy.

Carl Radle plays another great supporting bass line on this song. In the intro, the guitar riff features a syncopated melody, with attacks falling largely on the off beats. Radle counters this by playing a very straightforward bass line. His quarter-eighth-eighth line accents each beat, which helps to emphasize the syncopation in the guitar riff. This section would have been far less effective had Radle chosen to play a bass line in rhythmic unison with the guitar. The guitar riff creates tension because it is playing against the underlying groove. By playing a simple pattern on the beat, Radle is able to heighten the excitement of the riff.

Once the song settles into the verse, Radle takes the opportunity to play more active rhythmically, in addition to moving more melodically. His largely stepwise ascent from the low F# on the E string up two octaves to the F# on the G string in the second half of the verse is particularly nice. A long ascending melodic bass line like this is a great way to build drama within the song. After the climax of the high F#, Radle resolves in a shorter, quicker descent to the A.

Also, notice Radle’s use of rhythmic motives in the verse. (A motive, also called a motif, is a short, but recognizable musical device. It can be melodic or rhythmic or both.) In the second half of the verse, he uses two primary motives, shown below as A and B. 

Measures 5-6 in the verse rely solely on motive A, while mm. 7-8 utilize motive B. Motive A can also be found embedded in the groove in the four preceding measures. This use of rhythmic motives helps a bass line feel cohesive and well developed.

The song’s coda, written by Jim Gordon, allows Radle to once again show off his McCartney-esque melodicism. He plays the same basic line with each repeat, only occasionally adding rhythmic embellishments.