Layla Part 2

Then comes the erotic slow dance of "Bell Bottom Blues." This song contains Clapton's distinctive clear ringing notes on his Fender (you understand, hearing them, why he's famous for breaking strings) and then high, short, furious bursts of solo - Slowhand showing once more how fast he can play - with Carl Radle ambling alongside in his calm, sure, good-humored stride. On "Bell Bottom Blues," Whitlock contributes harmony at times, but through most of the lines, he just jabs the keyboard and lets his partner sing with newfound confidence and power. The lyrics get right to the point of a serious lovers' quarrel. But Clapton departs in the phrasing to add a touch that's funny and salacious - the kind of sound a man makes when a woman's twists and shoves reminds him of the joy of just being alive. It's a blues song, though, one that Robert Johnson would have been proud to sing, can't the woman see what this affair is doing to him? Didn't it hurt her to watch and hear him beg? Here was a man stripped naked in love and pain.