Cream 2013 reunion on hold

[Bassist30]

What I understand they never really got along. You got to respect Baker as he is not laying down eventhough financially he is hurting more than the other two. I did see Baker and Bruce on the David Letterman years ago when David was doing late night. They sounded pretty good an baker was playing brushes.
Personally I think they should not totally do so called cream tunes but rather different and throw in some originals. I mean play 3 old tunes but mostly play originals and other fairly popular blues tunes therefore they won't have to relate to the old ones and compare how they use to play them. Gets into to many arguments as you can see.
Therefore there could be another Cream Album (I mean CD). At least there be more concerts.

[fourstringdrums]

I just got done reading this. I knew Ginger was a mess in the past but I had no idea he still had so much going on in his life.

http://bewareofmrbaker.com/wp-conten...llingStone.pdf

[MrLenny1]

Hey! It sucks getting old.

[bill reed]

Originally Posted by fourstringdrums

I just got done reading this. I knew Ginger was a mess in the past but I had no idea he still had so much going on in his life.

http://bewareofmrbaker.com/wp-conten...llingStone.pdf

I think Ginger had to give up his farm and his horse breeding due to a lack of funds to keep it going. it really upset him and I think that is part of the fall out with Eric.
when Ginger was playing with Jack and Garry Moore some years ago, Ginger fell out with Gary because Gary had a perplex sound screen put up so that he could hear his Monitors.
that sent Ginger into a rage and he would not play with Gary after that Tour. Jack got Gary Husband to take over from Ginger. Jack has got Ginger to play on quite a lot of his tours over the years and that strange as it was always Jack and Ginger that were at each others throats.

[ShoeManiac]

Originally Posted by bill reed

I think Ginger had to sell his stud farm in South Africa due to a lack of funds and i think that did not help his health. also just after the 4 day 2005 gig in the Royal Albert hall they went and did a gig in the USA and Ginger was so off the beat it put off both Jack and Eric and they put off doing any more tours after that. the Gig in the usa was really poor.
think Ginger feels hard done too! shame as would have loved to see them play once more.

I don't know where you got that.

Cream did their Royal Albert Hall stint. That much is true. And then they came over to the U.S. and played a few nights at Madison Square Garden in New York. I was in attendance at one of those three nights in New York. Both Eric and Ginger played very well. In fact, I think Clapton's playing that night was far better than what was recorded for the Royal Albert Hall dates.

Jack was a little understated. He had a stool that he sat on for portions of the set when he wasn't singing. But overall he was good.

The general word that circulated about these dates was that Clapton agreed to the reunion dates in an effort to help out Bruce & Baker financially. Perhaps it was the Cream retirement fund party? Lord knows they didn't spend the gate receipts on staging: I had seen that stage set on Clapton dates. I suspect that between Bruce's condition and the level of friction between the band members that an all-out tour was simply out of the question.

But having seen relatively recent footage of Ginger Baker, he just comes across as a bitter old man. Most notably in the BBC documentary about Jack Bruce. It seems that Baker squandered his money from that 2005 reunion. And I suspect that he thinks that somebody owes him something since he very well might be broke.

[scowboy]

Has anybody really listened to Jack Bruce sing in the last few years? His bass playing is spot on but his voice is another story. Cream in 2005 was a poor facsimile of their former selves. I too saw one of the MSG shows. Ginger Baker was the star of the show. Clapton performed to expectations but wee Jack was well, wee. I paid several hundred dollars for a couple of mediocre seats and had it not been for the historical significance of what I saw I would have been pissed. The only song that really hit me hard was The Tail of Brave Ulysses followed by Badge and Pressed Rat and Worthog.

Hey if they can figure it out and go make some serious glue as Cream god bless them.

I'd much rather see Black Country Communion or Rush play a theatre venue!

[scowboy]

By the way I really liked BBM as well as JB's 50th Birthday Concert recordings.

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by ShoeManiac

I don't know where you got that.

Cream did their Royal Albert Hall stint. That much is true. And then they came over to the U.S. and played a few nights at Madison Square Garden in New York. I was in attendance at one of those three nights in New York. Both Eric and Ginger played very well. In fact, I think Clapton's playing that night was far better than what was recorded for the Royal Albert Hall dates.

Jack was a little understated. He had a stool that he sat on for portions of the set when he wasn't singing. But overall he was good.

The general word that circulated about these dates was that Clapton agreed to the reunion dates in an effort to help out Bruce & Baker financially. Perhaps it was the Cream retirement fund party? Lord knows they didn't spend the gate receipts on staging: I had seen that stage set on Clapton dates. I suspect that between Bruce's condition and the level of friction between the band members that an all-out tour was simply out of the question.

But having seen relatively recent footage of Ginger Baker, he just comes across as a bitter old man. Most notably in the BBC documentary about Jack Bruce. It seems that Baker squandered his money from that 2005 reunion. And I suspect that he thinks that somebody owes him something since he very well might be broke.

Read the link I posted up a few. It says that he's squandered more than just the money from the reunion.

[1958Bassman]

Originally Posted by Bassist30

Personally I think they should not totally do so called cream tunes but rather different and throw in some originals. I mean play 3 old tunes but mostly play originals and other fairly popular blues tunes therefore they won't have to relate to the old ones and compare how they use to play them.

Isn't that what they did all along? A lot of their best tracks were songs by other people. 'Sitting On Top Of The World' is from the 1920s and 'Crossroads' is from the '30s.

[THE SAW]

Was going to post, but have too much respect for the music these guys made in their time.

Whatever guys, there will always be people to hear you no matter how old you get.

[mcm]

I'm kind of hard add myself. I don't like excuses etc. but really guys, jack had just beaten cancer so I could cut him some slack on the 2005 shows. Presuming he just got done with radiation treatments etc

[LAG]

Earlier this week on TV I caught a recent I believe - episode of "Later" and Jool's asked Ginger Baker specifically (whom was in attendance in the audience) if Cream was going to get back together. Baker said no.

[synaesthesia]

I like Cream. I used to play along to Cream tracks in my now forlorn youth. I've played Cream tunes in numerous bands. I test guitar amps with the Sunshine of your love lick....I know if I go and see them today, tomorrow or next year, I will be seeing a few geriatrics who have grown old and are no longer the performers they were in 1968 - some 40 odd years ago. Yet for nostalgia, some people will pay money to see them - I'd rather buy videos of them in their prime, or listen to their CDs, which I repurchased having had the original LPs and the Box set that came in the 80s.

[rapidfirerob]

Originally Posted by synaesthesia

I like Cream. I used to play along to Cream tracks in my now forlorn youth. I've played Cream tunes in numerous bands. I test guitar amps with the Sunshine of your love lick....I know if I go and see them today, tomorrow or next year, I will be seeing a few geriatrics who have grown old and are no longer the performers they were in 1968 - some 40 odd years ago. Yet for nostalgia, some people will pay money to see them - I'd rather buy videos of them in their prime, or listen to their CDs, which I repurchased having had the original LPs and the Box set that came in the 80s.

I don't believe there are many videos of them in their prime, besides the farewell concert or whatever it was called.

[rockinrayduke]

Originally Posted by scowboy

Has anybody really listened to Jack Bruce sing in the last few years? His bass playing is spot on but his voice is another story. Cream in 2005 was a poor facsimile of their former selves. I too saw one of the MSG shows. Ginger Baker was the star of the show. Clapton performed to expectations but wee Jack was well, wee. I paid several hundred dollars for a couple of mediocre seats and had it not been for the historical significance of what I saw I would have been pissed. The only song that really hit me hard was The Tail of Brave Ulysses followed by Badge and Pressed Rat and Worthog.

Hey if they can figure it out and go make some serious glue as Cream god bless them.

I'd much rather see Black Country Communion or Rush play a theatre venue!

So being near death after a liver transplant that your body rejects affects your singing? Who knew?

Just yanking your chain but you know he was pretty sick. I understand what it's like to be playing when you don't have the strength. People were happy to have him whatever shape he was in and he looked like he could keel over at anytime. I bet most people forgave him. I thought he did pretty good considering.

[marcray]

I feel like Ginger Baker enjoys being the biggest ******* in Cream. He feels under-appreciated and instead of turning that around feels the need to go the other way.

I was going to say that he enjoys being the thorn in the side of Eric Clapton's life but I'd say he has his share of sleepless nights that have nothing to do with Ginger Baker or music in general.

[Stick_Player]

Isn't it time to move on?

[bill reed]

Originally Posted by ShoeManiac

I don't know where you got that.



Jack was a little understated. He had a stool that he sat on for portions of the set when he wasn't singing. But overall he was good.



But having seen relatively recent footage of Ginger Baker, he just comes across as a bitter old man. Most notably in the BBC documentary about Jack Bruce. It seems that Baker squandered his money from that 2005 reunion. And I suspect that he thinks that somebody owes him something since he very well might be broke.

the reason Jack had a stool is that he had a full liver transplant only 2 months before the date at the Royal Albert hall and it took a lot out him and that why he was a bit subdued.
it in the link you gave that Jack said about playing
Madison Square Garden that Jack made the comentes about Gingers playing. also in the same flim Ginger talks about having to give up his farm. i can understand him being upset and think that came over in the film too.
i did not hear the Madison Square Garden gig and only going on what Jack said.

[JTE]

The friction at MSG according to both Jack's and Eric's biographies is that Ginger they didn't rehearse enough, that the sound in the hall as "tinny", and that Ginger got upset with Jack regarding his volume (they eventually put pleixglass shields around Ginger to cut the amount of noise from Jack's amps. Both books also report that while the RAH gigs were done as three old friends coming together to enjoy playing music togehter for fun, the MSG gigs were done primarily because of the huge amount of money being offered for it. Changed their perceptions and I think all three feel it would have been better to leave Cream's legacy at Royal Albert Hall.

Jack agreed to the original reunion concerts while still in the hospital for the transplant- he couldn't even speak at the time due to the tube down his throat. I just watched both the old '68 Farewell Concert and the RAH gigs DVDs. They sounded a lot more focused and interactive in 2005. They were playing WITH each other a lot more and less playing without seeming regard for the other two. Remember that the reunion was never about kowtowing to public expectations, but to go back to the sheer joy of playing together. And being as they were 37 year older with a LOT of life experiences, I wouldn't WANT them to sound like they did when they were all under 30. That'd be a horrid museum bit, sorta like what Chicago is now. No, I want to hear how they sound when they express all they know now and bounce ideas off each other. And I was not disappointed.

John

John

[bill reed]

I think John really hits the nail on the head when he said in the 2005 gig all three seemed to be playing for each other and also looked like they were enjoying it too.