Jack Bruce has gone nuts!

[mike.b]

Jack Bruce can go to hell. Now I really can't stand the guy! I've always disliked his playing and him as a person. Comparing Cream to Zeppelin? Hahah, you gotta be kidding me!

thats right i wouldn't compare cream to blepplin either.cream are miles better.

 

[KPAX]

This has got to be a joke. My friend, get How The West Was Won (live Zep). No rhythm section interplay? Static rhythm section? What are you smokin'? GIMME A HIT OF THAT SH**!

I've no love for Zep, and have always considered their adulation to be way in excess of what the music actually deserves. Downbeat Magazine had an annual award category of "Talent deserving wider recognition". Zep is a perfect example of "Recognition deserving wider talent".

The weak links are the two stars. Page is a sloppy guitarist, but without the emotional connection to make up for it. He's a great producer, came up with some great riffs (but despite guitards' opinion, a riff is NOT a song), but the SONGS just don't hold up. Plant's singing must be an aquired taste and his stage presence always seemed to be a pale imitation of Daltrey. Actually, I like Robert Plant's solo work quite a lot, but Zep is just so much noise.

The critical factor for me however is that there's seemingly little interplay between Page/JPJ/Bonzo. They're a rock band with a guitarist noodling over a static rhythm section. As great and melodic as Jones is, it's not the same sort of improvisational conversations between musicians that Cream is. And so it descend into guitar diarrhea.

Add in Jack's dark sense of humor and this becomes pretty interesting to me.

Of course, sycophantic Zep worship also kicks in for a lot of folks; discussing Zep is like discussing SRV- lots of folks don't want to have them discussed unless it's worshipping them.

jte

 

[pinkzepphish]

to be fair though, eric and jimmy are different kinds of players right?

"yea yea erics good and jimmys crap"


roflcopter

 

[KPAX]

Er, uh ... Cream broke up in 1968.

Both bands are icons of the 70s.

 

[bassvi]

Although Jack has always been and will always be one of my biggest heroes, I just don't get why he feels the need to keep slamming Zeppelin- he has been doing this for years, ever since they allegedly had originally asked him to be the bass player. Zeppelin has done nothing to diminish the legacy of Cream. I for one would have loved to hear Jack jamming with Jimmy Page- especially back in the day. Page may not be the most technically precise guitar player but his creativity and soulfulness were and still are amazing. I also love JPJ, one of the most underrated bassists ever. What a fine player he is.
I remember seeing Jethro Tull one time and Ian Anderson was goofing around with the crowd and said something like "what did you expect, f******* Led Zeppelin?" I thought it was funny, like they probably know each other and are all mates back in merry old England or something. Jack may just be feeding some kind of myth about this feud. I can't believe it would matter to anyone anymore.

 

[mike.b]

'Credit the strat' would probably be more accurate.

+1000000000000000000

 

[KPAX]

I don't know that I've heard that one - I'll check it out.
Ever heard Jack on Zappa's Apostrophe? (from album of the same name)
His playing on WBL's Why Doncha is also some of my favorite. Why Doncha, The Doctor and The Third Degree kick major ass!

As a Jack Bruce fan, I take a back seat to no one, but that's just idiotic. I hope that Jack is not still drinking.

P.S. I was listening to Jack's playing on Lou Reed's Berlin yesterday. It was like falling in love all over again.

 

[funkifiedsoul]

Young lads? Young lads?! I'll have you know that I saw Zep at Madison Square Garden back in Sept. 1970! (And I thought they were lame, BTW.)
Yes, I know JPJ was a highly regarded session musician in the early '60s, and that's how I will always think of him: as a session musician. His work with Zep was very solid, no doubt, but he was never an iconoclast, a wildman, an innovator like Jack, IMHO. I like his playing as much as anyone, but... I mean, in the early '60s Marvin Gaye asked Jack to move to America and join his band, for Pete's sake!

I only said 'young lads' because I figured the "old lads" would've been beyond such meaningless comparisons. Apparently not.(no offence).
I was merely pointing out what seems to be a little known fact about JP. I'm not comparing the two, nor do I dispute the things you just said about Jack.

 

[Disraeli Gears]

wow he's off the deep end now!

http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/page/classicrock?entry=led_zeppelin_you_re_crap

Jack Bruce (above) picked up the Classic Album gong for Cream’s Disraeli Gears at last night's Classic Rock awards.

After the ceremony Dave Ling grabbed Bruce for a quickfire interview – and was stunned when the legendary bassist launched into an extraordinary anti-Led Zeppelin tirade.

Here's a transcript of what transpired…

The million dollar question: Are Cream going to do anything again?
Oh yeah, I’m sure we will. But we’ll have Todd Rundgren [who’s just walked by] in the band by then.

It’s good news that there might be more from Cream.
Well, the trouble is that I’m doing so many amazing things on my own. Cream is just a band from many, many years ago, and we did do something [referring to the reunion shows in 2005]… Everybody talks about Led Zeppelin, and they played one ****ing gig – one ****ing lame gig – while Cream did weeks of gigs; proper gigs, not just a lame gig like Zeppelin did, with all the [vocal] keys lowered and everything. We played everything in the original keys. [Becoming animated]: **** off, Zeppelin, you’re crap. You’ve always been crap and you’ll never be anything else. The worst thing is that people believe the crap that they’re sold. Cream is 10 times the band that Led Zeppelin is.

That’s a bold opinion.
What? You’re gonna compare Eric Clapton with that ****ing Jimmy Page? Would you really compare that?

To be fair, they’re different kinds of player, aren’t they?
No! Eric’s good and Jimmy’s crap. And with that I rest my case.

Are you having a good time this evening?
Sure. Yeah. I always have a good time, but especially tonight.

Especially tonight? So do you go to a lot of awards ceremonies?
No. I don’t go to anything. I’m not allowed out. I’m not even allowed in.

So what made you come along to this?
My wife and my kids insisted.

Why did they insist? Do they like magazine?
They like the magazine, yeah. I like your magazine, too. But that doesn’t mean I have to go along to your awards.

So who have you spent quality time with?
I met a lot of old friends. Jeff Beck. Gary Moore – loads and loads of people that I don’t often see. It’s nice to catch up with them again. Ozzy’s here and it’s really nice.

The atmosphere is quite chilled-out.
It’s excellent. No pressure. It’s quite different to the Grammys, though the Oscars are good.

So Disraeli Gears is now 41 years old.
Is it really? Wow.

It doesn’t seem like 41 years?
No. It seems much longer than that.

It must be an album you’re still proud of?
Of course. Albums like that are timeless. If you make something great – and Disraeli Gears is great, in its own way – it lasts forever. Nobody says Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony sounds dated, do they?

I lol'd. But honestly, all the members of Cream (especially Bruce and Baker) are arrogant ****s. I still love their music though (hence my name).

 

[LilMissStrange]

Wow, good find man! I got a good chuckle out of reading that. One things for sure, Jack always spoke his mind in interviews. Even 40 years ago, he slammed other bands, but not to this extent. Cream and Zeppelin are 2 of my favorite bands. JPJ is a great bass player, but I of course think JB is way better. Even if Zeppelin is not your thing, you've gotta give it to them. Sounds like they caught Jack on a bad day. Theres a reason Cream was called Cream, because the 3 of them were superior musicians, but I don't think it was necessary for him to degrade Zeppelin like that. Nothing will take away the respect I have for Jack as a musician and as a person, but in my opinion that was just a bit unprofessional.

 

[Dark Star]

Strong words from Jack.

Kinda, torn actually. My favorite bassist going off on a favorite band.

 

[Mr_Sore_Fingerz]

Led Zeppelin (as most all of us probably know) got their name because people said whatever band that Jimmy Page was in would be "like a lead balloon" because of his awful studio work.

That having been said, come on people...Zeppelin or Cream? I like Zeppelin some but this is like comparing The Beatles (Cream) to the Stones(Zeppelin), both are good bands but You gotta give it up to the Beatles for obvious reasons.


But, just IMHO

 

[dougjwray]

This has got to be a joke. My friend, get How The West Was Won (live Zep). No rhythm section interplay? Static rhythm section? What are you smokin'? GIMME A HIT OF THAT SH**!

Me too!
I think that description of Zep's rhythm section is going a bit far. But I think you have to acknowledge that Cream engaged in truly three-way improvisations -- no background or foreground -- while Led Zeppelin had more of a "singer and lead guitarist in front of funky rhythm section" approach, even in their loosest, jamming moments.

 

[pedro]

Me too!
I think that description of Zep's rhythm section is going a bit far. But I think you have to acknowledge that Cream engaged in truly three-way improvisations -- no background or foreground -- while Led Zeppelin had more of a "singer and lead guitarist in front of funky rhythm section" approach, even in their loosest, jamming moments.

I'm pretty sure thats what my buddy JTE was getting at. All three members were spontaneously improvising in a jazz like fashion even though the language was based off the blues. As talented as JPJ is (and IMO he was the most talented member of LZ by far) he played a much more traditional role w/ LZ.

 

[Rocker949]

Led Zeppelin (as most all of us probably know) got their name because people said whatever band that Jimmy Page was in would be "like a lead balloon" because of his awful studio work.

That having been said, come on people...Zeppelin or Cream? I like Zeppelin some but this is like comparing The Beatles (Cream) to the Stones(Zeppelin), both are good bands but You gotta give it up to the Beatles for obvious reasons.


But, just IMHO

Very good analogy. I was just thinking along the same lines.

 

[KPAX]

Ok, here's some fuel for the fire ...
Yeah, Cream were certainly free-form in their jams - so much so that JACK was sometimes downright UN-MUSICAL. But since he's Jack (and so otherwise good) he gets a pass. Listen to parts of I'm So Glad (Goodbye, live). Some might call it "outside" but it sounds like crap (he he). Jack could go from brilliant to horsepoopie in the same jam. And you want to talk about boring? Sit through Jack's extended harmonica solo on Traintime (Wheels Of Fire).

Me too!
I think that description of Zep's rhythm section is going a bit far. But I think you have to acknowledge that Cream engaged in truly three-way improvisations -- no background or foreground -- while Led Zeppelin had more of a "singer and lead guitarist in front of funky rhythm section" approach, even in their loosest, jamming moments.

 

[KPAX]

Traditional in what sense? Maybe in that he wasn't always loud or distorted. Maybe if you consider Jamerson jacked up in a rock band traditional - but I don't.

I'm pretty sure thats what my buddy JTE was getting at. All three members were spontaneously improvising in a jazz like fashion even though the language was based off the blues. As talented as JPJ is (and IMO he was the most talented member of LZ by far) he played a much more traditional role w/ LZ.

 

[RHFusillo]

And Steve Swallow switched from acoustic bass to electric bass after seeing Cream at the Fillmore, ca. 1968! (He was with Gary Burton, on the same bill.)

And Jack Bruce and Steve Swallow later made a wonderful 2-bass team on Kip Hanrahan albums like Desire Develops an Edge and Vertical's Currency, with Jack playing fretless and Steve playing fretted.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Jack Bruce is a better bass player than John Paul Jones. Eric Clapton is a better guitar player than Jimmy Page, and Ginger baker is a better drummer than John Bonham. Cream was great. But Zeplin stayed together a lot longer and did more albums and wrote more songs. Zeplin never did some of the crap like Clapton's "Lay down Sally" or "Wonderful Tonight".

Both bands are icons of the 70s.

Wonderfully put Jeff.

I cringe when I hear Clapton play these days, but back then he was great. Page was innovative, but often sloppy. They didn't call him "old fumble fingers" for nothing!

Jack was way ahead of other bass players back then. He was the first player that made me approach the instrument from a lead point of view, especially on the live tracks. And Jack can still sing his butt off.

I'm happy that I got to see him play twice.

And yeah, I think Jack was just having fun. I've read other outrageous things he's said in interviews in the past.

 

[pedro]

Traditional in what sense? Maybe in that he wasn't always loud or distorted. Maybe if you consider Jamerson jacked up in a rock band traditional - but I don't.

Traditional in that they weren't all involved in a free form improvisation. Traditional in that he mainly held down and anchored the corners of the song while Page did his soloing. In this respect, LZ resembled more the traditional guitar oriented rock/blues band.