Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Compact Disc Releases

Compact Disc Releases

There are at least six distinct releases of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs on compact disc:

1. The 1983 two-CD set (one per LP) on RSO Records, 16-bit remastering;
2. The Layla Sessions, the September 18, 1990, remixed on one CD, with two additional "sessions discs";
3. The September 15, 1993, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab 24-kt limited edition gold CD release, 20-bit remastering.
4. The August 20, 1996, Polydor 20-bit remaster, part of the Eric Clapton Remasters series;
5. The November 9, 2004, Polydor hybrid SACD/CD remaster.
6. The March 21, 2011, UMC, 40th Anniversary Remaster

The first CD release (manufactured in 1983 in Japan) is a two-CD version. Because this album is more than 77 minutes it did not fit onto early CDs, which had a maximum play time of approximately 74 and a half minutes. The first CD was full of tape hiss, since it was made from a tape copy many generations removed from the original 1970 stereo master. Because the first CD release was disappointing to fans, there was at least one more attempt to remaster the CD during the 1980s. Improvements, however, were not very significant because the original 1970 stereo master tapes could not be found at the time.

To mark the album's twentieth anniversary in 1990, an extended version of the album was released as a deluxe three-CD set, with extensive liner notes titled The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition. The first disc has the same tracks as the original LP, remixed in stereo from the 16-track analog source tapes and digitally remastered. This 1990 remix, issued by Polydor, has also been released as a single CD apart from the box set. The remix has some significant changes including center placement of the bass, which in the original mix was often mixed into either the left or right channel. The other two discs of The Layla Sessions include a number of jam sessions, including the historic jam from the night that Clapton and Allman met. Also included were out-takes of some of the songs, and the previously unreleased tracks "Mean Old World," "It Hurts Me Too," and "Tender Love."

In 1993, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab gave the original 1970 stereo master tapes meticulous treatment for the first time and pressed the album on an expensive, limited edition 24kt gold CD. This MFSL 20-bit remastering of Layla preserved more of the fidelity of the original recordings than had previously been heard on CD. The MFSL version was significantly cleaner than the first CD releases, but also removed some of "Wall of Sound"-like technique that was added during mastering for vinyl. Polydor's 1996 remaster as part of the Eric Clapton Remasters series was done in much the same manner as the MFSL version, but on a standard aluminum CD at a normal price. The Polydor 2004 SACD/CD dual layer hybrid release remixed the album in 5.1 surround sound on the SACD layer and remastered the 1970 stereo version yet again on the CD layer.

The 2011 40th Anniversary Edition comes in two versions. The two-CD "Deluxe" edition features five previously unreleased tracks, "It's Too Late", "Got To Better In A Little While", "Matchbox" (with Carl Perkins) and "Blues Power" (from the The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)) and a jam version of "Got To Better In A Little While". The "Super Deluxe" version comprises the two-CD "Deluxe" album, a 5.1 Surround Sound DVD of the album, a newly remastered In Concert two-CD set, a double LP version of the album, a hardcover book, and a number of other extras.