Derek and The Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - 180g 2LP

Product no.: MFSL2-470

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Derek and The Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - 180g 2LP
£77.99
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Mobile Fidelity - MFSL2-470-  180 Gram Virgin Vinyl AAA 100% Anaogue

Numbered Limited Edition -  Pressed at RTI

Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich

1/4" / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

The Absolute Sound Super Disc List      TAS Harry Pearson Super LP List

In any case, here's what I found: a clean original cut at Atlantic Studios from the then fresh master tape The two original copies I have definitely have a transparency (within what is a murky recording) on top lacking in the Mo-Fi reissue but otherwise the new Mo-Fi reissue stomps all over the original in terms of background quiet, dynamics and especially bottom end drive and timbral accuracy. The original's bottom end is a thuddy, timbrally indistinct mess compared to the Mo-Fi's clarity. Clearly the Mobile Fidelity mastering team of Krieg Wunderlich and Rob LoVerde put in the hours to lock in the bottom end of this recording, particularly Jim Gordon's toms, that have never before sounded this convincing. The entire bottom end, somewhat rolled on the original and definitely anemic on the Direct Disk edition , is ideal on the Mo-Fi reissue, while everything else is as good as can be expected from a 45+ year old tape that was reputed to have not been in great shape to begin with. Either the tape was in better condition than has been reported or the Mo-Fi boys worked miracles or maybe both. There's genuine mastering artistry in these grooves both musically and technically. Look, this was never a sonic spectacular and while the original may be somewhat airier and more expansive on top, that difference is more at the margins while everything else on this Mobile Fidelity reissue is far and surprisingly better .Sound 8/10 Analogueplanet

The whole record seems like an all-too-brief giant wave that miraculously made itself available for you to crash the shore with. MoFi captured that wave as well as anyone could have. Don’t sleep on this one. - Sound 5/5 Hifidelty

Eric Clapton and Duane Allman in the Same Band for the Only Time: Derek and the Dominos' Layla a Timeless Batch of Fire-Pot Blues, Poignant Gospel, Searing Rock, and Lustful Emotion  

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes and Pressed at RTI: Mobile Fidelity 180g 2LP of Layla Is the Definitive-Sounding Analog Edition, Presents Music With Immersive Detail and Realism

The reputation of Derek and the Dominos' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, their lone record, precedes it. Eric Clapton performing in the studio with Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, and more for the only time. A batch of fire-pot blues, poignant gospel, and searing rock – all birthed from the leader's insatiable lust for his friend George Harrison's wife. Now, experience it all, and one of the most famous guitar solos and codas in history, in unsurpassed sound courtesy of this quintessential Mobile Fidelity reissue.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 2LP set exposes the brilliance of Tom Dowd's original production and the scope of the virtuoso musicians' playing. You've never been closer to the aching vocals, stinging leads, tormented emotions, or wowing intensity that grace every track. Clapton's tones emerge with unprecedented soulfulness. Afforded its own space in the mix, Allman's slide guitar passages crackle with urgency. All-important sonic components such as soundstaging, imaging, and dynamics transport you to the actual event. Mobile Fidelity's analog version testifies on behalf of why fans deemed Clapton god.

Then, of course, there's the title track – crowned the 27th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone. What to say about the outro – arguably the most famous, passionately penetrating, visceral, double-edged guitar solo in history. Clapton's strings weeping with longing, hope, regret, unrequited love. It deserves the best-possible sonic platform, and receives it here, on a pressing that brings Slowhand's every finger moment into great relief. Get inside Clapton's head, burrow into the conflicted emotions fluttering in his heart as he pines for his another man's wife, and in the process, produces an album that forever lives in the souls of anyone who's ever loved and lost.

Clapton's pained yearning permeates everything here. Works such as the swampy "Tell the Truth," the pleading "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?," and blues-drenched "Have You Ever Loved a Woman?" attest to his raw-nerve discomfort, guilt, and desire. He leaves teardrops on the microphone stand and blood on the floor, singing and playing as if his life depends on it and if, by some miracle, the music will serve as both a confessional and apology to Harrison. It's all magnified by Clapton achieving a spiritual and sonic oneness with his band, which matches his high-stakes precision with a rolling, tumbling looseness.

Allman adds firepower and achieves a still-unrivaled simpatico bond with Clapton, but each participant soars. Consider: The call-and-response, Sam and Dave-derived vocal exchanges between Whitlock and Clapton. Rich, creamy, Southern-stoked blends of R&B, blues, and soul. Vibrant tapestries in which the pianos, bass, guitars, and voices explode with ravishing fervor, naturalism, and desperation. Indeed, maybe a combo this great was only intended one shot in the studio. Perhaps the paralyzing degree of potency on display here, and the musicianship that remains the standard by which any blues-rock is judged, is meant to be preserved as one standalone record. Whatever the case, this is the analog version to own. 

Recorded At – Criteria Recording Studios
Bass, Percussion – Carl Radle
Drums, Percussion, Piano – Jim Gordon
Engineers – Chuck Kirkpatrick, Howie Albert, Carl Richardson, Mac Emmerman, Ron Albert
Producer – Tom Dowd
Guitar – Duane Allman
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Eric Clapton
Organ, Piano, Vocals – Bobby Whitlock


    1. I Looked Away
    2. Bell Bottom Blues
    3. Keep on Growing
    4. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
    5. I Am Yours
    6. Anyday
    7. Key to the Highway
    8. Tell the Truth
    9. Why Does Love Got to Be So Bad?
    10. Have You Ever Loved a Woman?
    11. Little Wing
    12. It's Too Late
    13. Layla
    14. Thorn Tree in the Garden

Derek and The Dominos - Layla - 180g 2LP
 
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GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.
 
RTI
 
Record Technology is a world class record pressing plant located in Camarillo, California. We have been operating since 1974, pressing for most audiophile record labels and for many quality minded independent and major record labels from around the world.
 

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