Deviations from Select Albums 2: 54. Derek & The Dominos

It was his love that he saw. It was in a house in the South of France. It was a painting by Emile Théodore Frandsen de Schomberg. It was "La Fille au Bouquet." And he arranged for it to be the cover of Layla. Perhaps he thought of himself as Majnun who fell in love with Layla, a beautiful but unavailable woman, and was forbidden to marry her. His love was unrequited.
It was from a Persian poem. But to him he was Majnun. The lucky guy was George Harrison.

"A Girl with a Bouquet" has the calm and the charm of Pablo Picasso's "Le Rêve" (1932) in which he portrayed his 17-year old mistress when he was 45. I've read a bit about the artist's passion for her
and I had her in my mind when I did this work. And I was also trying to discover how to look at a beautiful face from a different perspective and in a wider context. Picasso lay her head on her
shoulders. He was surer about his mistress than me of the girl and the bouquet.

Picasso had a different passion for "The Dream." Eric Clapton had a different passion for "Layla." Of my work, I'd say it is the distorted face at centre that
is the most beautiful and also because she has flowers in her hair too. Of the song, I didn't care about Clapton's lyrics. It is the second movement
that cuts me the deepest.

"La Fille au Bouquet" on the cover of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

No. 56, Rate Your Music, The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time; No. 117, Rolling Stone, The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time;
No. 287, The Virgin All-Time Album Top 1000.

Album produced by Tom Dowd & Derek & The Dominos. Atco (US), Polydor (UK), 1970.

What'll you do when you get lonely, and nobody's waiting by your side?

What is it about the experience of being in love that constantly has us yearning for it? Love is an obsession that forever rests in the back of our minds. An emotion that slumbers away in silence.
But the moment we come face to face with someone that manages to captivate our attention, it awakens without warning. It's a jubilating feeling when we find someone to love. That person
becomes the centre of our world. And if our lips get the chance to touch theirs, it awakens a euphoric sensation that once experienced, only leaves us craving for more. As I said before, love is
an obsession, a human necessity that seems to surface everywhere we look. Whether it's films, novels, or music, the concept of love is inescapable.

The music industry, especially, celebrates both the blissful and devastating sides of romance more than any other aspect of human society. From the ecstatic sensation of finding someone, to
the miserable experience of losing that state of bliss - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs perfectly illustrates all the different sides of love. More

(A) I Looked Away - Bell Bottom Blues - Keep on Growing - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

(B) I Am Yours - Anyday - Key to the Highway

(C) Tell the Truth - Why Does Love Got to be So Sad? - Have You Ever Loved a Woman

(D) Little Wing - It's Too Late - Layla - Thorn Tree in the Garden