Jack Bruce says Cream is over

Chaser001 · April 15, 2010, 12:26:15 PM

Based on what I had already seen by Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton, I think he is probably just stating the obvious. Of course, I suppose this settles the issue once and for all. Despite who was right and who was wrong and a million other things which people may not ever completely know, Jack Bruce was the heart of Cream, at least during its prime. Clapton is overrated and I don't know what he has against Jack Bruce, but it's obviously something. I will add to that that his guitar playing with Fender sucks compared to what it sounded like with Gibsons. To anyone who still hasn't heard this joke, here it is--

Q. Do you know what Eric Clapton and coffee have in common?
A. They're both only good with Cream.

Here is the Jack Bruce/Cream article--

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20100411_cream.shtml

nofi · April 15, 2010, 02:13:08 PM

whadda' surprise. you really can't compare fender vs gibson days because the music is totally different. never a big clapton fan i'm beginning to appreciate him in my old age. gibson was better suited to harder rocking cream stuff but a strat is perfect for what he has been doing since. cream was like ten minutes in clapton's musical life and people can't seem to get past it. ish.

Psycho Bass Guy · April 15, 2010, 02:24:52 PM

Quote from: Chaser001 on April 15, 2010, 12:26:15 PM
Clapton is overrated and I don't know what he has against Jack Bruce, but it's obviously something.

...no kidding. It's one thing to move on musically; it's quite another to shoot the horse you rode in on.

Chaser001 · April 15, 2010, 02:41:14 PM

Quote from: nofi on April 15, 2010, 02:13:08 PM
whadda' surprise. you really can't compare fender vs gibson days because the music is totally different. never a big clapton fan i'm beginning to appreciate him in my old age. gibson was better suited to harder rocking cream stuff but a strat is perfect for what he has been doing since. cream was like ten minutes in clapton's musical life and people can't seem to get past it. ish.

I've encountered detailed discussions in which guitarists themselves do go into the technical differences between the way Clapton sounded on a Gibson and how he sounds on a Fender. In general, the majority seem to think he sounded better on a Gibson. But that isn't a major issue to me. What is an issue to me is that I feel Jack Bruce doesn't get the credit he deserves and Clapton gets too much credit. Furthermore, I truly dislike most of Clapton's solo stuff with a passion and it really wouldn't matter what kind of guitar he played on it. I'd still dislike it. On the other hand, I still enjoy listening to Cream. I'm pretty tired of listening to most everything else from that time period, but it's difficult to get tired of Cream. For me personally, Cream has stood the test of time better than any other band I can think of. If someone doesn't agree, then that certainly doesn't bother me. Regardless of how a person feels about it, it is true that Cream happened a long time ago. In a sense, yes, it is true they are ancient history now. Even if they did decide to do some more reunion gigs, I'd say it's too late for that now even if everyone was willing. It would be nice if the members of Cream had the same degree of respect for each other as, for example, the members of ZZ Top have for each other. Obviously, that just isn't going to happen.

Highlander · April 15, 2010, 03:47:30 PM

My favourite Clapton solo was played by Duane Allman...

Rhythm N. Bliss · April 15, 2010, 04:27:16 PM

Jack ROOOOLED! SUNSHINE is still the King of All Bass Riffs!!!

nofi · April 15, 2010, 04:30:51 PM

personally i like the original blues breaker stuff. but now i also enjoy his 'adult contemporary' blues that i had so vehemently slagged in the past. who knew! btw since when did a bunch of guitarists opinion mean anything around here.

but in the end people like what they like but a good bs session is always fun.

Chaser001 · April 15, 2010, 04:54:41 PM

Quote from: nofi on April 15, 2010, 04:30:51 PM
personally i like the original blues breaker stuff. but now i also enjoy his 'adult contemporary' blues that i had so vehemently slagged in the past. who knew! btw since when did a bunch of guitarists opinion mean anything around here. but in the end people like what they like but a good bs session is always fun.

While agreeing with the obvious superiority of bass over guitar, I have to say some of my favorite people in life have been guitarist friends.

Chaser001 · April 15, 2010, 04:56:19 PM

Quote from: Kenny Five-O on April 15, 2010, 03:47:30 PM
My favourite Clapton solo was played by Duane Allman...

Well, Duane Allman was brilliant, a genius as far as I'm concerned.

uwe · April 15, 2010, 05:10:55 PM

I like Cream.

But I also think that 35 years later it is ok for Clapton not to want to play in a power trio anymore. He made that decision in the late sixties when it was highly uncommercial and stuck to it. People laud Bruce for his artistic integrity, but it was him who has revisited the power trio format several times and to be frank I think it was everytime because he needed the money. I believe that to this day he prefers the more orchestral stuff of, say, Songs from a Taylor to anything he did with Cream, West, Bruce & Laing, Trower & Bruce and Baker, Bruce & Moore.

I've also never heard Clapton say anything disrespectful about either Bruce or Baker, all he ever says is that it is a pain in the ass for him hiw the two don't get along and that is ok in my book. With the Cream reunion, he paid their pensions, when he certainly didn't need the money or fame.

And finally, while most Clapton albums sound samey to me, I think he is a very tasteful and refined guitarist without sounding bland. No, he's no longer a 20 year old playing his Gibson over a Marshall stack in a blur of notes. But for his solo stuff, that terse Strat sound is just right. If you prefer a guitarist to stick to his original style forever and never change much less progress, then Yngwie J. Malmsteen will welcome you buying his albums. There's a man who stuck to his roots!

Grown-ups and other in the meantime listen to Eric.

Or Jeff Beck.

Did anybody say Ritchie Blackmore?

gweimer · April 15, 2010, 05:54:36 PM

Uwe is my new hero! You can slam Clapton all you like, but he was an integral part of Cream. The three of them made a perfect musical union. Sure, Clapton wanted to be popular, and there's nothing wrong with that. I followed Bruce and Baker after the initial break-up. Bruce's original solo albums were incredibly different from Cream, but eventually, he drifted into using the same licks over and over. So much for not wanting to be a household name. BB&M was pretty much a revised Cream/WB&L. Baker started out pretty cool with Air Force, but then wandered into metal with the Gurvitz brothers. His brief stint with Masters of Reality was cool, but it was really the music over his drums that made it work. His best solo work after the '70s was the appearance in the Eddie Money video.

And I'll echo what uwe said - Baker and Bruce owe their retirement to Clapton.

Rhythm N. Bliss · April 15, 2010, 06:08:22 PM

Nice that ol' Jack's got something brewing that's exciting!
Guess we'll soon see & hear what he's up to.....
Stay tuned!

Chaser001 · April 15, 2010, 06:19:39 PM

I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to post. If I don't post more on this, I hope it doesn't look like I'm bailing out. I have a long trip to take and have already talked to Kenny about this, so I'm not making it up. I really didn't mean to start any kind of debate about Eric Clapton, though. It's true I like Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker better. For various reasons, I can't help that. But I like Eric Clapton, too, and I even buy a lot of his solo stuff, although I don't play it much.

Muzikman7 · April 15, 2010, 06:56:59 PM

As far as I'm concerned Clapton is only good when he's playing with people that expect him to be a rocker Bluesbreakers Cream Blind Faith Derek/Dominos and recently both Crossroads and with the Allman brothers band i don't care for the bands he fronts with a few exceptions.

gweimer · April 15, 2010, 08:26:58 PM

Quote from: Rhythm N. Bliss on April 15, 2010, 06:08:22 PM
Nice that ol' Jack's got something brewing that's exciting!
Guess we'll soon see & hear what he's up to.....
Stay tuned!

I'm still waiting for that project he announced with Andy Summers to materialize. Bruce, sadly, is getting up there, and his health is probably still a bit sketchy. Rope Ladder To The Moon was a decent release, but even he's taken to re-recording old songs, and revisiting familiar territory.

King Crimson was still pretty engaging after 30 years, without sounding as though they were going through paces.