The countdown is on for the Cream reunion concerts at Royal Albert Hall, London on May 2, 3, 5 and 6, 2005.
Cream was (and will be again for 4 nights) a trio; Jack Bruce on bass and vocal, Eric Clapton on guitar and vocal, and Ginger Baker on drums.
They were the first to exploit, on a large scale, the possibilities of what is now called the power-trio format. Their hugely amplified blues-rock also provided the template for heavy metal; early metal pioneers like the power-trio Blue Cheer and power-trio-with-vocalist titans like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin owe debt to Cream. The only contemporary power trio one could mention in the same breath would have been the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I'll leave it to others to argue about which trio was more influential and important; there's a lot to argue.
While Eric Clapton obviously is the most well-known name, especially among younger music fans, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker contributed equally to the unit. Clapton, though already something of a hero in England after his stints in the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (which also featured Jack Bruce for a spell alongside Clapton), was still largely unknown in America before Cream; the Yardbirds' first chart single in the States was the post-Clapton "For Your Love". Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker had both played in the Graham Bond Organization, a British R&B band that had a very jazzy flavor, drawing from its members prior jazz experience.
As Cream, their aim was to extend beyond rock's barriers; to explode the notion of a 3-minute song to be replicated onstage note-for-note, verse-for-verse. In some respects, they incorporated the notion (if not explicitly the sound) of jazz improvisation onto the previously strict blues/rock structure; at their absolute best, they took what still remained blues for the most part into the far outer reaches; with Clapton's extended acid-blues guitar, Baker's consistently jazzy and busy drumming, and Bruce's strong, confident vocals (which undoubtedly informed Ozzy Osbourne's early singing, among many others) and songwriting, Jack Bruce/Pete Brown compositions being a big part of the band's repertoire.
Fresh Cream, their Dec. 1966 debut, remains precisely that; a fresh take on amplified blues, here amped to previously unthought-of heights, yet also remaining true in places to pure pop structure: "I Feel Free", their first UK hit (not featured on the original UK album) is a catchy concise piece of under-3-minute pop; yet it features the loud chugging of the band beneath an excellent, almost exotic harmony. "Spoonful" (left off the original US release in favor of "I Feel Free"), a Willie Dixon original, is where Eric Clapton took his first steps towards what may well be immortality; this extended psychedelic blues largely defines what Cream was all about. Ginger Baker got a showcase with "Toad", one of the very first extended drum solos on a rock record, which is primal and intense; awe-inspiring in its incessant, original ferocity.
The late 1967 release of Disraeli Gears, the band's masterpiece, is what truly cements their legend as recording artists; their concerts were something else. Disraeli Gears is where it all comes together in lysergic glory; much of the album still turns up on classic rock radio, including their first US smash (#5 on Billboard) "Sunshine of Your Love", the acid fantasy with killer chords "Tales Of Brave Ulysses" and the beguiling psychedelic pop of "Strange Brew" All are familiar tunes to most rock listeners; "Swlabr" and "World of Pain" are also among their finest moments. All were originals; the album also features a couple of blues covers. The album art is a classic as well; an acid collage that teeters between ecstasy and nightmare. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard chart.
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Article comments
1 - Leslie Brooks
Congratulations on an interesting and accurate article.
To those of us that actually lived through this time, and the adventures of this group, the memories are very vivid. At least MINE ARE! Those claiming "indulgence" were either misinformed or just palin hated the music. Clapton, Baker & Bruce did something no other group had ever done before. The price of the Cream Reunion tickets are a testimony (vindication?) of the style that was actually DEFINED by these guys.
Personally, I'd give almost anything to go to ANY one of these new concerts! I saw them in 1969 at Madison Squaare Garden and it is a memory that I cherish. What a treat for those that can afford the incredible $1500-$3500 PER TICKET (MOST EXPENSIVE EVER!???) price for these shows.
You tell me... based on that alone, how great were they?
2 - dlh
in 1968(?), there was a Rolling Stone Magazine article that was critical of Cream and called Clapton "Master of the Blues cliche." it was said that this article led to the demise of Cream. The thinking was that The Band was hipper and loud amplified music was passe. perhaps Clapton thought Blind Faith was the answer to such criticism. regardless, the formation of derek & the dominoes and release of Layla as perhaps the finest guitar based classic rock album of all time, should have silenced all critics.
anyway - while Clapton had mastered and surpassed the blues phrasing of players such as Freddie King, people seem to forget that Bruce and Baker were also very important to Cream's sound. they too were viewed as the cream on their respective instruments. for example, bruce's bass playing on the legendary "Crossroads" Winterland recording remains unsurpassed and is, it its own way, more remarkable and inventive than Clapton's near perfect pentatonic based phrasing on the recording. bruce's da daist perspective probably had a major impact on later artists such as Sting.
it will be interesting to see if the three are willing to use vintage gibson guitars and basses, marshall plexi amplifiers, and Ludwig drums for these widely anticipated concerts. in a sense, that would be important in getting the true tonal quality of recordings such as Live Cream I to say nothing of the enhanced visual impact to knowing musicians. at the rock and roll hall of fame induction, they use more modern instruments which, while understandable, was disappointing. of course, the three are nusicians nd their equipment, vintage or modern, are likely viewed as tools to them.
3 - James Cook
Martha Stewart is Eric Clapton's Groupie.....
Sour Cream will be at the NYC/MSG 10/2005, Tix cost more then they are worth....Oh well