Ginger Baker was yet another of those iconic CRAZY ASS drummers....line John Bonham and Keith Moon. At the time many considered him the best.....earlier then Bonham by several years. Cream was considered pretty heavy blues/psychedelic rock Contemporaries of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Hendrix, The Who...so many others
We went to their first show at the Fillmore (opening for Paul Butterfield Blues Band). We'd been Clapton fan since his time with John Mayall, and knew there were three in the group. But when they started their first set, we kept looking around to see where the other musicians were. Just phenomenal.
My second favorite drummer just behind. DANNY CAREY. Check out BEWARE MR BAKER a biopic of him it's on youtube in my opinion GINGER BAKER IS THE INSPIRATION FOR ANIMAL FROM THE MUPPETS not Keith moon ...he is an animal on drums
Speaking of "Badge," Daniel might do well to get off his donkey and listen to the cover of the song by Fanny, one of rock's first all-girl (instrument-playing) bands....no ifs, ands, or......uh, butts. C'mon, now.....no cracks! It was on their self-titled 1970 debut album on Reprise Records. It was produced by renowned producer Richard Perry, whose secretary saw them play in '69 at LA's Troubadour. Perry recommended them to Warner Bros., who signed them without an audition solely due to their novelty possibilities, despite the fact that they were accomplished players! The Runaways, Bangles, and Go-Gos have all cited Fanny as a major influence and inspiration.
I think it was a wah wah pedal. It was the first piece of electronic distortion equipment Eric ever employed. Some guy in a guitar shop came up with it. It cost Eric $75. Paul Schafer( shay fer) is a keyboard player and band leader. Paul often sat in on many recordings of different bands, kind of like Leon Russell was in the 60's and 70's. I think Paul also produced some records for various musicians and bands. He was the band leader for Letterman's show and backed most of the musical acts that were on the show.
You mentioned it in your post and i vehemently urge you to listen to " Tales of Brave Ulysses ". Again, like White Room it is lyrically and musically potent.
Arguably my favourite Cream song. I’ve always loved Ginger Baker’s drumming, so different to most other rock drummers hence why Cream had such an original sound. IMO.
Clapton is on many peoples list of top 5 rock guitarists and the goat to a few. He doesn't get enough shout-outs , imho. You should also check out the other super-group from the pre-Woodstock era, The Byrds. Maybe "8 Miles High"? (I prefer the live instrumental version on the 'tube for it's epic bass solo!). RIP Ginger.
I third the Byrds: One of my favorite groups from that era. You might be interested in their song based on the Old Testament scripture. I cannot recall the title but it’s the scripture is “A time for every purpose under heaven.”.
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 It was called Turn! Turn ! Turn!, and was the title track from their second album. It was their cover of Folk singer Pete Seeger's adaptation of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8. Seeger's version was recorded in 1959, and released in 1962 under the name "To Everything There Is A Season".
I like Roger McGuinn ( the lead guitarist?) as good as the next guy but man, when he does those solos on that Ric12, he sounds nearly as sloppy as Jimmy Page... maybe I'm mistaken, anyway, that's the way it sounds to me.
@@BustedJunkStudio that's an accurate observation. I heard McGuinn was trying to emulate Coltrane's sax on that track so the "sloppy" maybe had some purpose.
Great song, if you are getting into Clapton, please check out Derek & The Dominos "Layla" Album... As I may have noted before, that is one of my "Desert Island" Albums. Thank You
When I was a kid we used to call this "acid rock," and this is one of my most favorite bands and songs from that genre. They have an even bigger hit called "Sunshine of Your Love" and the opening riff is iconic, instantly recognizable. The first thing I heard by them was "Tale of Brave Ulysses."
I preach it from the tallest mountains: If you love Jack Bruce's bass, you do yourself a disfavor by not checking him out playing on Frank Zappa's Apostrophe (the song from the album). Don't sleep on that! Zappa's catalog is deep, but choose carefully!
For a short-lived group, Cream was remarkably influential. Their live shows had extended jams influenced by jazz, a departure from the structures rock songs at the time; the heavier drums and bass inspired harder rock and heavy metal; and it’s impossible to understate the impact Clapton’s guitar-style had on future guitarists. Definitely check out more of Cream’s songs. The most well-known are Sunshine of Your Love, Crossroads, Badge, Tales of Brave Ulysses, Strange Brew, and I Feel Free.
Anything from Disraeli Gears....definitely "Sunshine of Your Love", or maybe "Tales of Brave Ulysses" as Rolling Stone said something about the similarities between it and White Room. I don't hear it.
@@thatoneguyagain2252 White Room...58 seconds of fade out as opposed to Tales has a mere 28 seconds. Maybe they did see it as similar, but who doesn't love wah-wah fade-out?
Tales was inspired by Lovin’ Spoonful guitarist who recommended Eric should invest in a Wah-wah and the chord progression of “Tales” was inspired by their “Summer In The City”, then in 1968 White Room also happened!
Amazing band, Daniel you should try and check footage of the 1968 Royal Albert Hall concert, someone had kindly released it as individual song uploads, amazing atmosphere and performance. Check out "Crossroads" for amazing guitars, bass and Gingers explosive drums , well in fact check out any song. In my youth Sunshine if your love was my favourite, followed by crossroads, then I matured and liked more, Politician, this song, tales of brave Ulysses, spoonful, anyone for tennis .... Jack Bruce always said that he had turneded a heavy metal Jazz band and "conned" Eric that he was joining a blues band.
Very well put @Tada ! "Sunshine of Your Love" was the first 45 I bought when I was 9.... sure remember my Mom trying to convince me to buy Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy" instead. The day that a rocker chick was born !
From what I understand, The tune was written as a complete observation of the band members waiting in a station. Vocals are sung in a recitation style by legendary and highly influential bassist, Jack Bruce. Not a talk box. Just Eric Clapton in flight with a wah wah pedal. These guys influenced...almost everyone upon arrival.
Sunshine Of Your Love you may find enjoyable. Crossroads too. This has been my favourite band since 1967. It is good to see someone of roughly the same age enjoying them so many years later. In 2005 they did a reunion series of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall. All live performances are on YT. They were every bit as good all those years later. Recommended too!
Great song, Bakers unrhythmic yet rhythmic drumming, Clapton's wailing guitar and Jack Bruce's melodic bass playing, not to mention the clear forceful singing. A stunning performance indeed!!!😁😁🇬🇧
It's so fun watching you discover classic rock, the music of my youth. Jack Bruce was an underrated bassist and vocalist. I've spent two days out of the hospital, two lovely days. Tomorrow I return for 3 days for surgery. I hate it but I'll be checking for more posts to make me smile.
One of the early "supergroups' (another worth hearing is Blindfaith which also included Clapton and Baker) with all three genius's of their trade, the dislike (to put it mildly) between Bruce and Baker not diluting the tightness of their rhythm
A friend bought a drum set a few years back. All his life pop and rock music was just something that was there in the background for him. No specific taste, no knowledge about bands, songs, historic context. He asked me where to start if he wanted to get more into the work of drummers. He insisted to get a reference point that he could work towards. At the risk of discouraging him for the rest of his life, I said: "White Room by Cream.. that's your reference point. If you have a true ambition to not just hit some snares and cymbals for fun, but actually want to drum... Ginger Baker on White Room is the ultimate goal. It's the pinnacle of drumming in rock and roll." :-)
when we heard this group in the 60's they were so totally different than the regular rock and roll -- it was very easy to fall in love with them -- couldnt get enough -- eric clapton is one of my favorite guitarist along with stevie ray vaughn and santana
This is from the age before many of the modern "pedal effects" were invented. The wah wah peddle and crude fuzz and reverb were pretty common, and that was about it. Another great wah wah solo of Clapton's is from the "Blind Faith" album (which you absolutely must hear!) entitled "In The Presence of The Lord". The most iconic wah wah of all time, is Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" (Slight Return). The opening "intro" is pure wah magic!
Each member of this super group was a virtuoso on his instrument. Cream is one of my "desert island" bands. I'd have to have their music with me if I were stranded. The "must hear" song is the live version of "Crossroads." "Tales of Brave Ulysses," "N.S.U.," "Those Were the Days." People of a certain age still argue who is best. Clapton, Hendrix, Beck, Page for guitar; Baker, Bonham, Moon for drums; Bruce, Entwhistle, Squire for bass. No other group has all three members considered among the top five players of their instrument. As for singers, Jack Bruce has few rivals. He's totally suited to this material. (Crossroads for Clapton ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rIgX4e2Z9Qk.html)
This track took my band from a pop rock cover band to a hard rock band in one. week. the guitar player switched from a Teley to a SG bought a FUZZ box and a WAHWAH. Great band with such a short histiry.
All 3 artists were more oriented towards the blues but market demand pushed them into this early foray into psychedelia. And no, the guitar was pure Clapton.
Great jam. You’ll have to hear Sunshine of Your Love next. Cool riff - it was the first Clapton riff I learned to play. Crossroads and Badge are other favs.
Yeah, man - Tales Of Brave Ulysses, SWLABR & Cats Squirrrl are my suggestions for your next Cream reaction/s. But just about anything they put out is worth hearing. This was the first group I collected on CD back in 1987. Happy memories
Just for fun, believing you like instrumental virtuosity, perhaps you might enjoy Cream’s live Spoonful from the Wheels of Fire album. Some 14-16 minutes long. 🥳
New subscriber to your channel, I became a Cream fan through their 2005 Royal Albert Hall dvd. Then, band members had collectively 150 years of performing. That show had a palpable electricity in the room, young fans, old fans. A distillation of jazz and blues, amazing signal chains of Eric and Jack. From this show, "Badge" and "Crossroads".
Great choice, man. Cream were an awesome band. Check out "Spoonful", "Crossroads", "Sunshine Of Your Love" to give you more of an idea of how good these guys were.
everyone will tell you to check out "Sunshine of your Love" (which you should recognize pretty quickly as it was their biggest hit), but my favorite song by them is "Politician" and it's got a really cool bass line. there's a video on here of Jack Bruce doing that song live and he's got the legendary Rory Gallagher on guitar. always makes me wonder, what if?
When they disbanded, Clapton formed another "supergroup" - Blind Faith - with Ginger Baker again, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech. If you want to here another great guitar solo, "Do What You Like" from their one and only album is it (it's looooong, but worth it). FYI, every other member gets a rather long solo as well - Winwood on keyboards (the transition from his organ to Clapton's guitar is sublime), Baker with his drums, and Grech on bass.
When they did their final brief reunion at Royal Albert Hall in 2005, virtually EVERY living titan of rock made it a point to attend one or more of these shows. They are rightfully revered almost on a Beatles' level.
Eric Clapton's playing with Cream, and previously with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers was hugely influential in the guitar community. Besides writing their own material, they would combine the rapidly evolving ability to produce heavier distorted guitar sounds with covers of the blues songs that they were discovering from American records. They paved the way for others like Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin to do the same. Live, they would often stretch these songs out to 15 min. or more, using them as vehicles for soloing, which influenced people like the Allman Brothers to do the same. For an example of that see "Spoonful" from the live half of the double Wheels Of Fire album. The riff from the song "Sunshine Of Your Love" is one of their most popular. For the fastest I've ever heard Eric Clapton play, see the live "Sitting On Top Of The World" from the Goodbye Cream album. When choosing Cream songs, try to choose those from the original 1960's run of the group, rather than their reunion concerts they did 40 yrs. later.
One of the best bands ever, its on my top 3 favourite bands. Clapton argubly at his best, Baker one of the greatest drummers of all time, and the legendary Jack Bruce. You should check some songs like Sunshine of your love, badge and crossroads. Great video man.
Jack's soulful voice and "wooly" basslines are right on the mark. Eric's bluesy and "wah-wah" pedal-infused guitar is the epitome of 60s psychedelic sound. Ginger's sterling percussion (including tympany) is nothing short of magnificent. The ending of this tune reminds me of Fonda and Hopper riding their choppers ("silver horses") into the sunset near the end of "Easy Rider."
In 1966, this was Heavy. Wah wah and fuzz on the guitar, new inventions. I’m sure Led Zeppelin drew some inspiration from Cream and this song in particular.
Led Zeppelin in many ways were the new Yardbirds, and both Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton played in the Yardbirds. One other guy called Jeff Beck was in the Yardbirds too.
In my opinion Eric Clapton is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. And one of his greatest songs is Layla, although he was with Derrick and the Dominoes st that time.
Before Cream Clapton along with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page had formed the Yardbirds, and One point Robert Plant became vocals. This didn’t last very long either as they all went and formed so many iconic bands and the birth of so many style of rock. This in turn brings the invasion of British rock to America in the late 60’s and it exploded from there
Psychedelic rock, one of the foundations of prog. Cream were great. I think Jack Bruce is the most under appreciated of the group, for his voice, bass playing and song writing. I'm sure others have mentioned the use of wah-wah. The reason Clapton's good friend George Harrison wrote the song about it. I don't think the lyrics have literal meaning, it's an impressionistic mood poem of loneliness.
Yahtzee! I am a drummer, so welcome to Ginger Baker's fine school of tastefully sparse drumming. Add jack Bruce on bass and vocals, and of course Clapton, and Voila! One of the great bands of the late 1960's.
Every one always talks about Jack’s awesome bass playing but his singing is what really gets me. Clapton’s guitar on this makes the hair on my arms stand up.
Check out the documentary on Clapton, but wait until you react to alot more from him. Performances are scattered throughout. Its fascinating, heart breaking and inspiring. Also please consider adding Blues Traveler to your reaction list, live or studio. Hook and Run Around are two great ones to start with.
I was a freshman in high school when this record came out. Eric Clapton is still my favorite guitarist. Well, actually he’s tied with Carlos Santana for first. Thanks for the memories!
You are leading me back through the music of my childhood into adulthood. There were some really, really good songs back in the day. I've got two grown children that I am pretty sure are older than you are (youngest is 28) but I brought them up with a lot of this stuff. We had them in a Lutheran private school through fifth grade (at which point my son wanted to do sports, and his sister waited a year until she wanted to follow.) But we got a call from the principal running the school, and we all laughed about it. When my then 2nd grade son was asked what his favorite song was, he said "Highway to Hell". True story!
Just perusing some of the classics you've covered, here on 4/15/21, an enjoyable night indeed. The sheer breadth of your covered catalog is quite astounding since last summer. Your somewhat less frequent uploads lately give me time to revisit your joy of hearing these classics for the first time. I never tire of it. On to "American Women" for the 20th time :)
An eyebrow raised when you complimented Clapton's vocals. I always thought he just muddled thru early in his career, and never found his voice until Cream imploded and after he went solo. Like a real late bloomer as a vocalist, but always crushed the 6-string. Light touch, great tone, very accurate and soulful. Cream... Crossroads, Politician, Tales of Brave Ulysses, Strange Brew, Sunshine of your love...hmmmm....Politician never gets any love...no one will pick that...Tales I guess...Hendrix does an awesome version live where he plays the vocals to Sunshine that is demented if you've heard the original...Hendrix had that pitch thing where he was PERFORMING Sgt Peppers LIVE a few days after its release
Ginger Baker was either the first, or one of the first to employ double bass drums. He was an insanely great drummer. Jack Bruce was an incredible bass player always on the lists for best bassist. And Eric Clapton has long been high on any list for great guitar players. Someone has put up the hours of jam sessions between Eric and Duane Allman who, had he lived, might have been the best ever. Some say if Duane hadn't been there Layla the song and the album might never have happened. His ability to lead without being over-bearing helped focus the collection of musicians gathered to do this project. Eric even invited Duane to be part of the band, but Duane had just started The Allman Bros. Band and begged off. Duane did leave his band on a couple of occasions to play with Eric. Those two guitar greats were inseparable in mind and spirit. At one point Duane called Eric and said, "I've just about got this guitar thing licked, I don't even have to look anymore. I just think about the notes and my fingers just go there without thinkin' about it." Such a loss. Thankfully they recorded and saved all those hours of some of the greatest musicians around. So even if you don't react to them, listen to them you won't be wasting your time.
@@kookoothebirdgirl1 yes you had two alpha males, actually three but where was Eric going to go with those two. We all saw what kind of music was possible with their reunion at the Albert Hall. All playing nice it was stunning and fulfilling kind of a closure on what was probably the best power trio ever. That was fascinating about Keith and Ginger. The only difference between the two is Ginger wanted to play this way to prove himself. Keith Had to play that way because what was he going to do with that other foot if he didn't. Thanks for the info.
I'm going to try something kinda brave and controversial here...give a bit of historical context. In Britain you had The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Yardbirds all in full flight. In The USA there was Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Mommas Ans Pappas (On the West Coast). The Velvet Underground, (East Coast) and The Stooges, MC5 in the middle. Hendrix of course Oh yeah...and lots and lots of (ahem) not quite legal mood and mind altering substances!! Oh boy, do I realize how many I left out...I did say controversial didn't I? Cream with their sound were a particular stand out. Maybe partly because Ginger Baker was a jazz drummer, so he brought that skill set to the mix. btw...no talk box. Wammy bar and pedal.
I was 16 and this was my first exposure to the wah-wah pedal. With this and Sunshine of Your Love, Cream became my first ever favorite group. Too bad the group dynamics were such that they broke up so quickly.
Hi Daniel. Please react to some Leon Russell, one of the most soulful performers ever. Such an incredible songwriter and musician. You can go really deep into his influence on other artists. Try songs like: Tightrope, Masquerade, Delta Lady, Lady Blue. But my all time favorite is A Song for You from the Homewood Sessions - a perfect place to start!
It always brings a smile to my face when you really get into a song! Especially when it's one of my favorites. This is was right around when "Clapton is God" graffiti was a thing. (Actually it's probably after that but it took time for these things to filter their way down to the 6th grade back then!) Anyway, thank you for brightening my day!
You mentioned Johnny Depp.....as a sidelight, Johnny Depp played a hapless guy in a black and white western from 1995 called ''Dead Man'' by director Jim Jarmusch. Depps acting in this is pretty darn amazing but the highlight for me is the complete improvised soundtrack by Neil Young....well worth a look in and still one of my favourite movies of all time, cheers signed: the dolphins off the starboard bow.
Yeah I have that movie and the soundtrack is excellent. Nobody is funny as hell. Edit for another excellent soundtrack check out "Last Man Standing" starring Bruce Willis with Ry Cooder playing a lot of slide guitar in the soundtrack.
@@jimmyfortrue3741 ....I dig Last Man Standing...great soundtrack...also, have you heard Ry Cooder on ''Paris Texas'' with Harry Dean Stanton? [mid '80's I think] Super ace movie with a haunting sound. ...peace
A very innovative group back in the late '60's, Cream was short-lived but highly influential in a number of ways. The bassist, Jack Bruce, rarely gets any shout-outs for the quality of his vocals. He's not in a G.O.A.T. class, but the band would not have worked with a less accomplished and talented vocalist. I've commented before that the application of new electronics to the sound of the electric guitar was a novelty back then, and Clapton's distorted guitar sound and use of the wah-wah petal were revelations that led to lots of "Eric Clapton is God" signs being displayed at Cream concerts. To the best of my knowledge, Ginger Baker was the first drummer in a prominent band to debut the double bass drum set. A trio oftentimes has a sparse sound, and the double bass filled in a lot of gaps. Cream dealt with the issue of a sparse sound by having Clapton lay down multiple guitar tracks in the studio. In White Room, you can distinctly hear two guitars, one playing chords and another playing lead. This created a problem for Cream's live performances, one which they solved marvelously. They made no attempt to recreate the studio experience. Instead they altered the songs by adding raucous, crazy jams to them, with Bruce stepping up to play "lead bass" in counterpoint to Clapton's lead guitar. The live performances are amazing, but quite different from the studio versions of the songs being performed, and it was those live performances more than the admittedly great studio albums that won Cream the most acclaim. Hmnn....a rock trio composed of drums, guitar, and bass. Did any other band follow in those footsteps? The "Farewell Concert" in late November of 1968 was a huge event in London and the entire rock music world. There was an opening act, a band hardly anybody had heard of, that turned a lot of heads that night. We lost Cream, but we found Yes.
So, Chris Squire was part of the opening act at Cream’s “Farewell” concert and Led Zeppelin’s final concert at the O2 Arena, nearly 40 years apart. Cool.
@@thatoneguyagain2252 Non-exhaustive research indicaes Moon first employed the double bass setup in June of 1966. "Fresh Cream" was releaed at the end of 1966, with tracks laid down in the studio in the late Summer and early Fall. Wiki fudges on who was first in the rock world, but a jazz drummer by the name of Louis Bellson was the first to employ the expanded double bass sound. One factor making research difficult is that there are some definitional issues. Some kits are one bass drum with double pedals set to pound the same single drum. One oddity about Baker's use of the double bass drums is that your local cover bands rarely cover Cream tunes, because the drummers don't have a double bass kit and never learned the technique.
You GET.... why WE cranked it up too !!! Stone sober, this was STILL so AWESOME !!!! What we did early "air guitar" to !!!! Clapton and Baker.... KILLERS !!!!
