When Clapton plays “Layla” during the 199? MTV Unplugged performance, there is a swell of applause, as in recognition, at the immediate start of the song. As this performance significantly reworks the original arrangement, such that not only is the tempo different but also that classic elements of the song’s presentation- including the signature guitar riff- are reinvented, it doesn’t seem to make sense that the audience would recognize the song so early on.
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[li]Am I wrong that the song had not been previously released commercially in a version that gave this treatment to the arrangement?[/li][li]Had Clapton already been playing the song this way for live performances, and the audience being dedicated Clapton fans were already well familiar with this verison?[/li][li]Was “‘Layla’ performed for MTV Unplugged” as we know it actually the third or fourth take for the studio audience- therefore they already had a chance to familiarize themselves with the new version?[/li][li]Had there been a long delay (cut from broadcast) and the crowd was applauding happy that he was playing any song?[/li][li]Did the studio have a flashing “Applause” sign instructing the audience to provide the response that the show’s producers thought would make for the best T.V.?[/li][/ul]
There’s more applause when he starts singing, as if more people are recognizing it and then a final “whoo!” when he reaches the chorus as the final guy figures it out. Clapton says something like “See if you can spot this one” before he starts playing, so people might bluffing that they recognized it.
I think mainly this. Plus, a few people who actually did spot it (probably amateur guitarists in the audience) would have clapped even louder than usual, just to prove to their dates how clever they were.
There’s another song from that show/album – “Old Love” – with a sort of similar riff, played later in the set than Layla, and a bunch of folks clap and whistle, even though I’m sure hardly anyone knew the song, either then or even after hearing the whole thing. I get the feeling those folks were making sure they wrwn’t going to miss another chance to look hip.
I always wondered the same thing, but I agree with others. I think the audience was faking it; IIRC the clapping is too polite.
I don’t know about this one. Old Love was from his last studio album, Journeyman, in 1989. It also showed up a year earlier on his last live album, 24 Nights in 1991. It doesn’t seem unlikely to me that his fans would recognize this one.
I thought the concept of the acoustic version brilliant. Remember the history of the song. It was a primal scream of pain yelling that Clapton was in love with a woman he couldn’t have, his best friend’s wife. A woman he was at that time bitterly divorced from. Expecting him to do the original forever is forgetting that there is a human being behind the song, not a jukebox.
I see that with more time and distance Clapton is now able to go back and do the original justice. That’s similar to bands which break up in acrimony and spend years apart and finally are able to get back together. Like Cream, as an example. That doesn’t mean that the intervening years weren’t totally authentic. Just the reverse. They’re utterly human.
And the acoustic Layla is a great version. You, the plural you, would be applauding if some other artist had done this version as a cover.
The very first time I heard the song was when I saw Clapton on Unplugged and I knew what it was immediately. Is it so hard to believe that a club full of Clapton fans, who had gathered to watch Clapton play, wouldn’t recognize what was probably his most famous song whether he played it amplified, acoustically or on a kazoo?
I’m gonna disagree here and say that there were a lot who genuinely recognized it and then, as it played on, more and more caught up. I recognized it immediately when I first heard it and I am by no means a musical genius, though admittedly a big Clapton fan.
What is the makeup of Unplugged audiences? It seems a much more intimate venue and thus would seem to be a more “hardcore” or familiar audience, right? That being true, wouldn’t it make sense that it be a “smarter” audience, for lack of a better word, that would catch it more quickly?
As an aside, I have heard the Unplugged version of the song is much closer to Clapton’s original intent than the D & the D version. Is this true?
This. You need to realise that for many years, Clapton played an introduction to Layla that comprised him, solo, doodling around with the basic melody in various, improvised ways. Long term fans who go to/watch/listen to many of his concerts not only know that the intro to Layla will be a solo variation on the melody, but also know that the mere fact that EC is doodling around with something that is not immediately recognisable means of itself that what he is playing will probably shortly turn into something that is recognisable as Layla.
I remember that the artist gets to invite whoever they want to the audience, but I couldn’t find a cite for that. I think it is fair to say that the audience is made up of a lot of friends, family, and industry insiders – especially after the show became a hit. I also assume that MTV and the other production companies would get to invite some people too.