As a person who appreciates Ritchie Blackmore, Lou Reed, Gene Simmons, Don Henley, Miles Davis, Johnny Lydon/Rotten, Andy Powell, Chuck Berry, Roger Waters, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Ike Turner, Ted Nugent, David Bowie and, hey, even the Beach Boys (Mike Love!), "unpleasant to crappy character" cannot possibly register on my meter.
Relatively few professional musicians are saints or even just nice people.
Ginger spoke his mind, was undiplomatic, had a bad temper, was a lousy father and a pain in the body part closest to his drum stool for his band mates - all true. And if he had drowned baby kittens in his pastime as well [he actually liked animals, but then so did the
Führer / : - = ( ], that still wouldn't take a chip off his cymbals. He was a drummer with an absolutely idiosyncratic style - as a joke and inspired by Ilan's post we jammed Sunshine of your Love at the last rehearsal and I explicitly asked our lead guitarist (who played drums at the jam - he'a good drummer as well) to switch between the 1 and 4 tribal offbeat emphasis and the 2 and 4 standard beat - the difference was all the world and everyone in the room agreed that Ginger's original drum approach opened up the song.
Without Ginger there would be (by their own admission) no (or not as we know them) Ian Paice, Stewart Copeland, Simon Phillips and Neil Peart (right there four of the best drummers in the world).
And I'll never forgive you
that you didn't mention the Baker Gurvitz Army!!! The three albums he did with them are among his finest work (and better produced than the Cream stuff too).
Not everything Cream did was brilliant - they had their fillers and the trio concept its limitations. (Clapton being among the first to realize this and leave, legend has it that an album by The Band made him feel that Cream's music had become irrelevant to him.) 20 minute improvisations are not for everyone, but I believe it is common sentiment that Clapton, Bruce and Baker (together with Jimi Hendrix) shaped - for better or worse - the rock music of the 70ies and beyond. Did anyone say "stadium rock"?!
Das ist verboten.But no one is ousting you here for not appreciating Ginger Baker or thinking Cream are crap! These days when you mention Cream outside of musician circles, most people think that you are talking about
Queen. That always drives me mad.
Wimmin', it has to be said, are especially guilty of this. Sunshine of your Bohemian Rhapsody alright:
Bam-bam-bam-booreppa, I want to break free ...