Hey, after 40 years, he COULD probably do this in his sleep! Man! Never ceases to amaze me how great drummers (or any drummers worth listening to) can keep all 4 extremities and their heads moving in so many different rhythms! Fascinating to watch and listen to again and again, just to hear the parts you missed the first time! Long live Ginger!!!!
talk about being a master of his craft... pure musicianship here. Going from hard rock to jazz back to hard rock. And gotta love the cowbell part! Well done, Mr. Baker.
This is everything that makes rock drumming gr8, and I feel like I have grown up with Gingers drumming even though I was'nt born when it first came out. Real good music by a band who know how to play.
Man, some of the comments on this post, Baker was like 66 when this video was made, give an old guy a brake maybe Baker is not as good as he was in 1968, but he still is a brilliant drummer!!!!
Simply amazing,Fantastic VIdeo.. i really think Cream has it more together than they ever did, THat Ginger doesnt miss a beat,, looking forward to seeing Eric in Seattle on 3/22/06 bought tickets today,, getting pumped up watching YOU TUBE.. YOU TUBE ROCKS. where else can you find all the vintage music that you may have never seem... its AWESOME... KEEP ON ROCKIN YOU TUBE USERS... thanks for the great music,,,
What is there to laugh about? I weep for the 37 years that these guys were apart. This man is a master, and still one of the most admired drummers on earth. For me, the benchmark. He was 65 years old when that video was made. How many 65 year olds can play like that???
ahh yeah! ginger is the man. :D i also love the improv bass right before clapton and bruce leave the stage. it sounds like some sorta middle eastern jam. haha. excellent! :-)
Ginger Baker plays MUSIC on drums... something of a lost art unfortunately. This is the RAH DVD? I personally think the 10/26/05 MSG Toad solo was the best of the reunions. Simply mesmerizing. Even better is the clip of him playing at home on the Cream Classic Artists DVD, worth the price of the whole thing!
40 years ago, we all loved Ginger, but the word was he was on speed or smack, and nobody figured he'd ever see age 40. Guess he got the last laugh, and good for him. He's still the best rock drummer I've ever heard.
@ElectricMayhemFilms Granted, though this solo has come a long way. Ginger has learned so much over the past 40 years. This solo was a combination of his experiences in Africa with all of those crazy 6/8 tom patterns, improved jazz improvisation, and much improved chops and musicality. Imagine if Bonham had the chance to play Moby Dick now with an extra 30 years of experience.
God,Deus.Incrível,de extremo bom gosto,esses caras que pensam que solos de bateria tem que ser veloz isso é muito importante,mais Ginger Baker nos mostra algo mais difícil,fazer um solo sem correr na bateria.
When I was A kid , 15 years old drummer, I knew everything possible about Cream. I remember I knew - and still do for a large part- any single beat of toads solo from wheels of fire. This is the music people should know. Baker -as all the musicians- tells a story with its drum like a sax soprano would do. Only Cobham has been able to change the whole construction of the beats with the support of JL Ponty. From there on, is almost...the "nothing ".
Ginger Baker did speak slow and murmured even when he was young. He`s not famous for talking but for drumming. And that is where he still is so freaking good at.
For connoisseurs of drum solos: well worth checking out is Brian Bennett's "Little B", posted elsewhere on this site. Masterly stuff. The records he made with the Shadows give little idea of what he was truly capable of.
"And the beat goes on" !! How many 68 year old men does anyone know that can pull of a 10 minute drum solo of that intensity? I hope I even live to that age, let alone, be in that good shape. Hell..most guys, 1/2 his age can only last 3 minutes in bed.. Ginger Baker's skills are now.."sour Cream". AGED..But still pleasing to the pallete.
i think i'm gonna have to disagree there. Ginger Baker played with Elvin Jones, and while it isnt straight jazz he is playing, he is a jazz drummer. And hate to break it to you, but as fantastic as Mitchell became, he was really just a very good Baker imitator.
i aint saying that one is better than the other, its just the styles are realy different. Bonham couldnt do the kind of multi-limbed conversation that Baker does, and is infact his signature. Its not a knock against Bonham, who was an amazing drummer, its a compliment to Baker that no one can imitate his style
Watching this Video makes me so depressed that they'll never come on tour to Australia... It's my fault for being 15 and loving an awesome band from the 60s /sigh
Bonham isnt famous for being impossible to duplicate. He is famous for being such a good groover and yes, having a fantastic right foot. He knew what to do when. He couldnt syncopate like Baker did. As for volume, he was just a very strong guy with very big sticks and a very loud set. But as for the actual rythms he did, Jazz drummers were probably unimpressed even during the 70's
Ginger's performance is pretty solid in this, but a far cry from the 1968 performance in "Cream's Farewell Concert." Ginger is still one of the greatest rock drummers of today...he's actually more of a jazz drummer than a rock one IMO, but he just doesn't have the strength and endurance he had when he was 30.
Give the old guy some props, at least he can still play the drums. The only solo's Moon and Bonham are doing these days, is tapping on their caskets. For me Moon was the God.
That's funny!!! ;-)You have a good sense of humor! Overrated what a ridiculous term, for one of the most influencial guitarist around! 40 years on stage always in the place!
I would probably agree with rock drumming at its simplest form. However, John Bonham is an exception to this rule...name me one jazz drummer who has Bonham's sound or his right foot or his hand-drumming skills, or Ginger Baker's skill for the double bass. That said, a jazz drummer can do a lot more things than a rock drummer can. But rock drumming is harder than it looks folks...you have to be a drummer to understand this.
@alisonaffliction he's not white he is GINGER are you suggesting he should blacken up or something, maybe to be a bit more "authentic". Ginger baker is who he is.
Also, Ginger Baker may not be the god he once was due to his age, but he's still pretty fucking good...better than most other drummers out there. Even if he does play double-bass here, he masters it like nobody else's business...it is by no means cheap. how anyone could degrade a musician of Cream is beyond me unless they have no musical taste.
