Cream Reunion Concert

I found the concert predictably disappointing.While Jack and Ginger were clearly doing their best to recreate a Cream feel, Clapton was cruising for 90% of the time. The BBM line up did a much better job of putting on a "Cream" concert because Gary Moore seemed to have a bit more life left in him. Cream's music was full of aggression and attack, but at this gig Clapton was on the back beat most of the time. It was well worth staying up for the real Cream gig at the Albert Hall which showed how it should be done.
I'm not blaming Clapton, he's just too old for power rock. Real rock guitar is the exclusive preserve of YOUNG men. As someone who still gigs I have to accept this as a sad but true fact.

The main thing that struck me about the concert was that after all this time the BBC hasn't learnt how to shoot a gig. What on earth were they doing during "Sunshine" with shots of back stairs and doorways, a brief moment of split screen then back to BB&C.
Over a reasonable sounding tele system, the sound was far too clean and precise, JB just didn't rock on that single pick-up violin Gibson. It wasn't till he switched to the fretless {Alembic?] that he regained some of that old power and attack along with a bit of bottom end, more would've been welcome - he can still really sing! EC made an excellent job and held it all together. It could've gone horribly wrong but it actually went remarkably well!

Drum solos don't get any more interesting though do they?

quote:

Originally posted by j8hn:

Drum solos don't get any more interesting though do they?

You said it. I'd hoped we'd long since heard the last of the 10 minute drum solos. I hated them back then and probably even more so now.

It really is the pits,dont waste your money,funnily Bruce and Baker have made some music since parting with Clapton,he is the most overated,boring,self obsessed,noodler out classed by his peers and just about everyone else.


Why do they do it? i have heard Baker is skint,so if that was the reason fair enough but i doubt it.

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
I found the concert predictably disappointing.While Jack and Ginger were clearly doing their best to recreate a Cream feel, Clapton was cruising for 90% of the time. The BBM line up did a much better job of putting on a "Cream" concert because Gary Moore seemed to have a bit more life left in him. Cream's music was full of aggression and attack, but at this gig Clapton was on the back beat most of the time. It was well worth staying up for the real Cream gig at the Albert Hall which showed how it should be done.
I'm not blaming Clapton, he's just too old for power rock. Real rock guitar is the exclusive preserve of YOUNG men. As someone who still gigs I have to accept this as a sad but true fact.

Jeff Beck can still prove you wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by KRO:

quote:

Originally posted by Rockingdoc:
I found the concert predictably disappointing.While Jack and Ginger were clearly doing their best to recreate a Cream feel, Clapton was cruising for 90% of the time. The BBM line up did a much better job of putting on a "Cream" concert because Gary Moore seemed to have a bit more life left in him. Cream's music was full of aggression and attack, but at this gig Clapton was on the back beat most of the time. It was well worth staying up for the real Cream gig at the Albert Hall which showed how it should be done.
I'm not blaming Clapton, he's just too old for power rock. Real rock guitar is the exclusive preserve of YOUNG men. As someone who still gigs I have to accept this as a sad but true fact.

Jeff Beck can still prove you wrong.

To wit: You Had It Coming. Astonishing. JB is (IMHO) the greatest living rock guitarist.

Clapton should, however, be given a award for organising the musicians in the Concert For George, coincidentally also staged at the Albert Hall.

You are right of course. Jeff has clearly made the real Crossroads pact, while Clapton just sings about it.
Jack Bruce's bass guitars for the old folks gig were; a Gibson EB1 (violin) with a non-original pickup, and a Warwick Thumb fretless. The use of the ancient Gibbo seemed odd, but it has the same short scale-length, and therefore similar sound, as the Gibson EB3 he used for the the proper "Farewell" Albert Hall Cream gig. He seemed to manage ok with the muddy sound in those days but would have probably chosen something like the Warwick if they had been available in the sixties. I'm pretty sure he is still a Warwick endorsee, so perhaps it's appearance at the old folks gig was product placement.
As for the drum solo; Baker doesn't have many writing credits for Cream material, and probably wanted a slice of the royalties from this beano. So given a choice between the drum solo and "Pressed Rat and Warthog" what would you choose?

TomK moaning about 10 minute drum solos!!!!!???!!!!
Rediculous complaint, have cosideration for others..... I once had to sit through John Bonham's "Moby Dick" live

My friend assures me that back in the early 70s, during a concert in Green's Playhouse in Glasgow, we popped across the road to Lauder's and had a couple of pints while the support act drummer was performing a drum solo. Apparently the drum solo was still going on when we got back! I confess I don't quite remember that incident (concerts then tended to be preceded by large amounts of ale) but I certainly sat through more than my fair share of the tedious things.

Just received my copy of the DVD from Amazon. I was there on 05/05/05 and there are only 2 tracks from that night on it. The majority are from the last night, 06/05/05. Hardly surprising though. I read an interview with EC in which he said he had flu foruntil the Friday. As for the concert, it was in my top 3 all time great gigs and the DVD is an excellent souvenir. And I thought all three of them played superbly throughout. Seems a bit harsh to complain that EC doesn't play like he did in the 60's - I thought he played with tremendous feeling and he was working hard throughout. We were in the front row in front of him and his sweat was definitely flying!

We saw him solo with his own band at the RAH the year before and that was another in my top 3 gigs, but he could rest for a few bars in most songs cos he had a really excellent band around him but in the Cream gig , except in "Toad" of course, he couldn't rest at all. And "Toad" was right at the end.

I've just seen the DVD too and thought it was superb. All three appeared to me to be really enjoying themselves and were completely into it. Some of the fire of 40 years ago has developed into maturity and mellowness. I have no problem with that and they still rocked pretty well for a bunch of 60 year olds! Thoroughly recommended.