Eric Clapton – Layla

The song has two seemingly incompatible parts (the first is a strong rock, the second seems more like a long instrumental ballad), but Layla overall rocks and rolls its way to my top 100 lists, and no doubt many other people’s. 98/100

This song has won a round of the shuffle game. The other songs were:

2. Crazy – Gnarls Barkley (-10)

3. You Know My Name – Chris Cornell (-16)

4. Mausoleum – Rafferty (-22)

5. Hysteria – Muse (-22)

6. Heavyweight – Infected Mushroom (-26)

7. The Wolf – Siames (-38)

8. Roses – Carly Rae Jepsen (-58)

9. I Know Places – Taylor Swift (-86)

10. Stranger Things – Kygo (-98)

Comments regarding Layla:

“One of the better songs he and/or he and his bandmates made after Cream and before his solo stuff. But that ain’t saying that much when you consider all the snooze inducing solo music he put out for decades. The “ending”, which is longer than everything that precedes it….is more of what made this a signature piece. And it’s undeniably a moving piece of music…..even if you’ve heard it 10 million times, like I have.” /AlexMontrose

“That opening back and forth riff is a classic. Definitely Clapton’s finest work after Cream, imo. I’m also a big fan of Duane’s slide playing so this was a nice combo for me. Tremendous piano in Part II and that is truly the finest part of the lengthy epic. Clapton and Allman trading licks over that piano. Thanks to Scorsese whenever I hear the ending I picture Johnny Roastbeef and his fur coat wearing wife lying in their Caddy with their throats cut.” /Musiclover9

“It’s funny to me that the only song on this shuffle that’s older than my two oldest daughters is also older than I am. And I’ve always loved this song. That opening riff is phenomenal. Clapton and the tragic figure Jim Gordon separately wrote the two movements of this song, which they grafted together, and while the transition isn’t exactly seamless, I love both parts enough to forgive that.” /Thoughtclaw

“Lovesickness + heroin + Duane Allman = classic rock classic. The rock half’s unique combination of raw energy and an atmosphere so thick and gauzy that Clapton’s vocal almost gets swallowed up by it is enough to ensure it would live forever in the rock pantheon. But I’ve always found the piano ballad half to be a tiny bit tiring. It’s hard to imagine the song without it, but I don’t think it needed to be there.” /Ellison

“The opening/main riff is monumental and one of the best-known and regarded in classic rock, I’d reckon. It rules! The first part, the song-proper, is an extremely desperate/passionate cry which belies much of Clapton’s other output. I can’t think of a better vocal performance from him offhand. I like how the guitar licks complimenting his verses sound really emotional/melancholy as well. Then the second half is a really excellent comedown with some stellar melodic piano playing. I ranked this as one of my all-time favourite songs when I was younger and although maybe I’m slightly burned out on it I still really enjoy it.” /ForeverTreesGreen

“I’m not much of a Clapton fan but I really like the Layla album. This is obviously the highlight track. Personally, I’m more a fan of the slow piano second half than the song itself. I just think it’s the best part. That’s not to say I dislike the main chunk of the song because I really don’t, but I prefer listening to the extended outro. Together, it makes a fantastic hard rock/soft rock combination.” /lh_reviews_music_128

“Great tune about one mega star having the hots for the wife of another mega star. Swap ensues and they all divorced happily ever after. Oh, and a beautiful piano and guitar piece strapped on for good measure.” /Stonehenge59

“My brother of the same mother had this on a History of British Rock compilation. I went through a stretch where I was playing this frequently. Now, the song is in my folder of favorite YouTube videos. I like the main part of the song well enough, but similar to my feelings about the melody in Swingtown, the extended outro in Layla is another one of my all-time favorite melodies. I feel like the world’s a more beautiful place because this segment of music exists. So, without further ado, I declare it Best in Shuffle.” /bblake

“Really all I have to say here is that the song is well deserving of all the praise it has gotten in this round up to this point. Great track and while you maybe can argue that the second half is slightly weaker than the first it is overall a great song.” /Cyasera

“This is Eric Clapton at his best. Listening to the wailing vocals, intense blaring guitars, and completely unexpected mid-track shift on this track, it’s odd to think that this is by the same man who’d go on to pen two decades worth of mellow AOR hits. While one could certainly criticize the length or Eric Clapton’s slight vocal range struggles, I find that the sort of ramshackle, unpolished playing and production here work in the track’s favor; it’s elaborate enough to have been clearly premeditated, yet still maintains a feeling of organic spontaneity.” /thethirdcurry