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The greatness which is Jack Bruce!!

N

Noseferatu

Feb 12, 2010
673
13
Hermitage, PA
#1
First of all, I had always loved the songs Sunshine OF Your Love and White Room but I had never really explored their catalog. I just bought the Cream at Royal Albert Hall DVD today and I must say, Jack Bruce was/IS pretty damn awesome, even beyond what I thought he was before. You must keep in mind that I always was told how great he was, but I never really researched him any further. I'm only 17, but I know who Cream is and everything, along with Eric Clapton, but I didnt get into them until very recently.:hiding: Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. So I guess I just jumped into the world of the improvisational rock-blues fuso genre. I love improvising when I play anywho!


:bassist:
 
#2
Noseferatu said:
I just bought the Cream at Royal Albert Hall DVD today and I must say, Jack Bruce was/IS pretty damn awesome, even beyond what I thought he was before.
Click to expand...
And don't forget "Crossroads" from Wheels Of Fire!
Yep, now you'll need to check out their stuff from back in the day, when they were young and had all the energy! Lot of great tunes for you to find, to say nothing of Bruce's other efforts. He's got quite a body of work. :bassist:
 
#3
Do NOT think Jack Bruce's music is limited to, nor even best represented by Cream. He is so very much more. Listen to how he constantly reinvents his lines live. I'm constantly amazed how he has a mercurial, improvisational appropach to his playing AND singing. He's simply the best singing bassist because doesn't let either become automatic nor mechanical.

Get a copy of "Wheels of Fire", "Harmony Row", "How's Tricks", and his 50th birthday concert.

John
 
#4
To me, Jack Bruce had few rivals among Sixties bassists. Starting your bass-playing education by getting into Jack is a very, very good method. The guy was amazing and innovative on so many levels. Plus, he got me into Gibson basses, so I owe him that, too.

AK
 
#5
JTE said:
Do NOT think Jack Bruce's music is limited to, nor even best represented by Cream. He is so very much more. Listen to how he constantly reinvents his lines live. I'm constantly amazed how he has a mercurial, improvisational appropach to his playing AND singing. He's simply the best singing bassist because doesn't let either become automatic nor mechanical.

Get a copy of "Wheels of Fire", "Harmony Row", "How's Tricks", and his 50th birthday concert.

John
Click to expand...

Oh, he's MUCH more than just a bass player, it seems. I remember reading an interview a while back, before I really checked him or Cream out and he said "Most rock stars are very good at one thing, and no disrespect to that. But I would have been bored in five minutes if that was all it had been about"


:cool:
 
#6
Yeah, I think Jack Bruce was definately underated or should I say overshadowed during that time period by the likes of Entwistle and such. I remember in the late 60's my older brother turning me on to Cream when I was just a kid (Disraeli Gears album?).It's funny you mention Jack Bruce, just a week and a half ago I picked up a best of Cream CD. I guess some thinks never go out of style..
 
#7
If you think the Albert Hall reunion concerts are good (I do), get hold of the 1968 farewell concert DVD. Okay; some of the production values are extremely late '60's and dated, but the performance is phenomenal.

The guys are all at a peak and firing with so much energy it makes the Albert Hall shows seem a bit "polite" in comparison. I confess I'm a total Jack Bruce fanboi, but it's my all-time fave concert DVD.
 
#8
2005 Royal Albert Hall DVD is one of my favorite concert DVD's. Fabulous playing by all three.

Though I have to admit, I'm most impressed by Ginger Baker. That guy can plays some drums and the way he and Jack Bruce hook into a groove, and more importantly play off of each other's music, is fantastic and one of the reasons Cream is the best.
 
#9
Jack Bruce is my hero, as much for his songwriting and singing as for his bass playing. "Harmony Row" is fantastic.
But, as far as live bass playing with Cream, check out how much ground he covers here:
 
#10
After all these years, I am still blown away by the power and talent of Cream. I know Mr. Bruce has a body of work that most other artists can only dream about, but the trio of Baker/Clapton/Bruce took rock from silly pop songs to a mature blues based style that set the standard for music that still exists today. He is the sole reason why I started playing bass, and I thank him for that!
 
#11
If you're into Jack and Cream you must listen to Live Cream Vol. I and Live Cream Vol. 2. They are the best Cream ever recorded. I love Jack's music but don't enjoy the more recent stuff nearly as much as what he put out in the late 60s.
 
#14
edmidlifecrisis said:
Welcome to a big club. I remember liking an LP he put out years ago called "Things We Like" or something like that. I seem to recall a Ferrari on the cover...

He is amazing. We've all known this for years ....
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Yes, it's the one with a sports car, and Jack eating "bangers & mash" with his hands. It's a very cool, 100% modern jazz album, with Jack on upright bass in the company of John McLaughlin, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Jon Hiseman. Well worth checking out, although it's far removed from rock. (If that matters to you...) It was actually recorded in 1968, while Cream was still together, but released in 1970 (I think), after Jack's first official solo album, "Songs for a Tailor" was recorded and released.
 
#15
I never think of Jack as a "Bass" player. He's more a complete rhythm section on his own. His tone is so percussive. AT MSG a few years ago, he was shaking the walls with his bass. He sets his rig with No Lows or Highs - all mids eq with the volume set between 11 and 13. He was every bit as loud as Ox.

G
 
#16
dougjwray said:
Yes, it's the one with a sports car, and Jack eating "bangers & mash" with his hands. It's a very cool, 100% modern jazz album, with Jack on upright bass in the company of John McLaughlin, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Jon Hiseman. Well worth checking out, although it's far removed from rock. (If that matters to you...) It was actually recorded in 1968, while Cream was still together, but released in 1970 (I think), after Jack's first official solo album, "Songs for a Tailor" was recorded and released.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the memory jog. Also remember the Tailor record as being pretty good!
 
#17
GM60466 said:
I never think of Jack as a "Bass" player. He's more a complete rhythm section on his own. His tone is so percussive. AT MSG a few years ago, he was shaking the walls with his bass. He sets his rig with No Lows or Highs - all mids eq with the volume set between 11 and 13. He was every bit as loud as Ox.

G
Click to expand...

I seem to remember reading something about that causing problems with Baker. Too much volume, like the old squabbles between Entwistle and Daltrey. Boys, boys, behave please!
 
#18
I always loved his playing but never liked his sound and tone. But I have to remind myself that the Cream sound wouldn't be what it was without THAT bass sound.

We just added White Room and Badge...both songs are fun to play. The guys was definitely a master.
 
#20
morebass! said:
If you're into Jack and Cream you must listen to Live Cream Vol. I and Live Cream Vol. 2. They are the best Cream ever recorded. I love Jack's music but don't enjoy the more recent stuff nearly as much as what he put out in the late 60s.
Click to expand...

Those 2 live Cream albums are great. I bought Live Cream Vol. 1 on vinyl (I still have it) as a teenager just learning bass and played it over and over in amazement. While, my playing style is not like Jack's, I definitely was influenced by him.

Guys from that era, Jack Bruce, John Entwhistle, Felix Pappalardi, John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler, and Roger Glover created what the lead improvisational bass player role was and still is.
 

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