Cream 2013 reunion on hold

[will33]

I think I saw a video of that concert. Didn't know anything about the liver transplant/health problems at the time, just gave them a break for being old guys and enjoyed seeing them play songs I used to sit down and learn as a young bass player.

I didn't know much about amps or distortion pedals or speakers at the time, just tried to get the distorted thing Jack does on Crossroads and could never really get there. I did find it one time though....beautifully....by plugging my bass directly into my stereo system and cranking it. Beautifully distorted.. Dude showed me how to play faster and jump around the strings.

[will33]

Also, I totally believe Ginger is a jazz drummer at heart. Just listen to some of the stuff he plays....and fits it in a rock/blues context.

[ShoeManiac]

Originally Posted by bill reed

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.

I was well aware of the liver transplant. And yes, Jack was still using the stool at the Madison Square Garden gigs. His health situation and Ginger's finances made it seem that much more likely that the reunion gigs were done much more for financial reasons than anything else.

[skychief]

whatever happens, i hope these guys can work it out. These guys are my rock heroes forever. They're legendary, and nobody can dispute that.

Ya, now they're old and feeble, but the fire still burns.

I'll be the 1st in line (or close, anyway) to buy a ticket to their next show.

[bill reed]

Originally Posted by ShoeManiac

His health situation and Ginger's finances made it seem that much more likely that the reunion gigs were done much more for financial reasons than anything else.

Jack said they did not make much money out the 4 days at the Royal Albert hall but were offered some real money for the Madison Square Garden, it was so good they could not refuse.
Ginger would not attend pratice at MSG and both Jack and Eric said that was a big problem with the sound when they played live. they also said Ginger timing was off too.
Ginger said it was because Jack was playing to loud!
Jack was fairly well off when he went into hospital as he had been touring almost every year before that.
just a few years before he took ill, Jack and Ginger had a real falling out, it was during the Bruce, Moore and Baker tour in Germany,
Gary Husband took over from Ginger for the rest of the gigs and Ginger went back to South Africa. when Jack and Ginger met in london to do the the Royal Albert Hall Gig, it was the first the had spoke in almost 2 years.
it was Eric that had spoke to Ginger about doing the gig! Jack was not even sure if Ginger would turn up till there first pratice. he talks about it on the end of the 2005 DVD.
here is a clip of BBM and you can see the plexi/glass just off the the side of Ginger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xxzzKDmOZ8

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by wrench45us

I think last time during the reunion there was rift bewen Ginger and Jack -- something about being too loud. They set up plexiglass shields to protect Ginger's hearing.

Ginger's a bit of an a**hat -- based on the video documentary I saw.

I know several people that that have met him, one that knew him pretty well, and they all say he is a really nice guy. He used to come to Hawaii a lot to watch polo matches at Mokuleia Polo Field and jam with the bands that played after the matches. And a friend of mine from Colorado knew him quite well there (where he had a horse ranch). I think he and Clapton just don't like each other.

[Winemule]

So when is the "Dancing With The Stars" special going to air?

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by rapidfirerob

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

I can't watch that farewell concert. The camera just flashes between them too much. I guess they were trying to be arty or something, but it just drives me nuts. It never settles on one person for more than a couple of seconds. The music was great though.

[scowboy]

Funny thing, I get the impression from Ginger's book that he and E.C. get on just fine or did when he wrote the book a few years ago. It's Jack that is the problem for him and always has been since the 60's, on the BBM tour Ginger freely admits he did it for the money but it was made impossible by the overwhelming ego's of both Jack and Gary Moore and again stage volume was a huge issue.

I've met Jack Bruce two times in the past 15 years. The first time he was completely un-interested in any interaction when I very timidly and respectfully asked for an autograph back stage at a Ringo Starr All Star show (I handed him a Sharpie and the insert from his latest CD), the second time he tried to pick up on my wife in front of me when we were introduced by my best friend who was the FOH engineer on the Walk Down Abbey Road tour. In retrospect I might have preferred not to have met him.

Again I saw the first night at MSG and Ginger was doing exactly what he was there to do. We all know how hard it is to play when you can't hear yourself, so I have to respect that to some degree. MSG is a terrible sounding venue from what I remember. Though very famous, it's old and made from concrete.

I like Ginger Baker and I agree with others that he's interested in playing Jazz not Cream. Money talks though. From Ginger's book it would lead you to believe he spends everything he makes on Polo and horse farms.

Originally Posted by Showdown

I know several people that that have met him, one that knew him pretty well, and they all say he is a really nice guy. He used to come to Hawaii a lot to watch polo matches at Mokuleia Polo Field and jam with the bands that played after the matches. And a friend of mine from Colorado knew him quite well there (where he has a horse ranch). I think he and Clapton just don't like each other.

[FrednBass]

Originally Posted by bluestarbass

Whats similiar about coffee and ginger baker.....


They both suck without cream....

Rimshot

Blind Faith.


Just sayin...

[ShoeManiac]

Originally Posted by FrednBass

Blind Faith.


Just sayin...

You did notice that Clapton went out on tour with Steve Winwood and not Ginger, right?

I had heard rumblings of a Blind Faith reunion tour a few years back. Obviously a full reunion isn't possible since Rick Grech passed in 1990. And then there's Ginger Baker.

According to Clapton's autobiography he had real reservations about Ginger being a part of Blind Faith right from the get-go. He was clear about Ginger's substance abuse & anger problems being a major concern, especially after Cream had just come apart in the midst of such friction. He just let it go at the time since he didn't want to deal with the potential conflict.

When the supposed Blind Faith reunion turned into just Clapton and Winwood touring together, I can't say that I was surprised. It just seems that Ginger Baker brings such a level of drama and toxicity that I can understand Clapton just not wanting to go there again. Especially since Clapton has really turned his own life around. The live record that the Clapton-Winwood tour generated was pretty cool. And the setlist wasn't purely relegated to Blind Faith material. Those songs were a central part of that tour, but so was material from Traffic as well as both Clapton and Winwood's solo careers.

[FrednBass]

Originally Posted by ShoeManiac

You did notice that Clapton went out on tour with Steve Winwood and not Ginger, right?

I had heard rumblings of a Blind Faith reunion tour a few years back. Obviously a full reunion isn't possible since Rick Grech passed in 1990. And then there's Ginger Baker.

According to Clapton's autobiography he had real reservations about Ginger being a part of Blind Faith right from the get-go. He was clear about Ginger's substance abuse & anger problems being a major concern, especially after Cream had just come apart in the midst of such friction. He just let it go at the time since he didn't want to deal with the potential conflict.

When the supposed Blind Faith reunion turned into just Clapton and Winwood touring together, I can't say that I was surprised. It just seems that Ginger Baker brings such a level of drama and toxicity that I can understand Clapton just not wanting to go there again. Especially since Clapton has really turned his own life around. The live record that the Clapton-Winwood tour generated was pretty cool. And the setlist wasn't purely relegated to Blind Faith material. Those songs were a central part of that tour, but so was material from Traffic as well as both Clapton and Winwood's solo careers.

I meant that Ginger Baker was just as good with Blind Faith as he was with Cream.

[bill reed]

Originally Posted by FrednBass

I meant that Ginger Baker was just as good with Blind Faith as he was with Cream.

I remember watching Bruce, Baker and Moore and they were great, then watching Bruce, Moore and Gary Husband and it was like there was someting missing.
Gary Husband is a good Drummer but just did not have that Ginger driving sound. think you really need a great drumer in a trio that lets the lead and bass express themselfs.

[rapidfirerob]

Husband is a great drummer and keyboard player. He's touring with McLaughlin right now. Possibly the wrong drummer for the project, though.

[fourstringdrums]

Originally Posted by bill reed

I remember watching Bruce, Baker and Moore and they were great, then watching Bruce, Moore and Gary Husband and it was like there was someting missing.
Gary Husband is a good Drummer but just did not have that Ginger driving sound. think you really need a great drumer in a trio that lets the lead and bass express themselfs.

Ginger is an entirely different drummer than most though. I was watching his old VHS instructional on YouTube and I never realized how much the use of rudiments dominates his playing. That and his african and world influence. He's hard, if not impossible to replace.

[WoodyG3]

I hope some of you remember the comments you've made about getting old when you get up in your late sixties and older. To my ear, these guys are all better musicians now than they were "back in the day." That can happen with maturity and thousands and thousands of gigs in your back pocket. Sure, Jack has some problems with his voice these days, but he's still a great talent.

It's too bad these guys can't seem to get along. I love their music.

[DrSpunkwater]

I like how so many people are talking smack about Jack Bruce's voice. The guy's almost 70 and he's had some health issues. Maybe he deserves a break.

[rapidfirerob]

Originally Posted by DrSpunkwater

I like how so many people are talking smack about Jack Bruce's voice. The guy's almost 70 and he's had some health issues. Maybe he deserves a break.

Agreed. I saw Spectrum Road and Jack killed it. Highly recommended band if you get a chance to see them, although Reid doesn't do it for me. Cindy is Tony reincarnated.

[paste]

Bruce kind of looks like Johnny Depp in that pic. There even wearing similar cloth.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by paste

Bruce kind of looks like Johnny Depp in that pic. There even wearing similar cloth.

Considering the Cream photo predates the Depp photo by a good 35 years, it might be more accurate to say Johnny looks like Jack.

John