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This website is part of the South African Rock Encyclopedia
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CREAM
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Cream Reunion London 2-3-5-6 May 2005
Historic Royal Albert Hall Concerts now available on DVD and CD
On the heels of four hugely successful nights at London's Royal Albert Hall, the eagerly anticipated Cream reunion arrives on DVD and CD through Gallo Record Company. In what was billed the must see show of this decade, legendary rock group, Cream - Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, - reunited for the first time in 20 years. These triumphant reunion performances were brilliantly captured on HD and 5.1 surround sound for the DVD and CD releases. The DVD features alternate takes of favourite songs, along with the only band interviews about the historic reunion.
A Short History
Arguably the most famous trio in rock music, Cream comprised: Jack Bruce (b. John Symon Asher Bruce, 4 May 1943, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland; bass/vocals), Eric Clapton (b. Eric Patrick Clapp, 30 March 1945, Ripley, Surrey, England; guitar) and Ginger Baker (b. Peter Baker, 19 August 1939, Lewisham, London, England; drums). In their two-and-a-half years together, Cream made such an impression on fans, critics and musicians as to make them one of the most influential bands since the Beatles. They formed in the height of swinging London during the '60s and were soon thrust into a non-stop turbulent arena, hungry for new and interesting music after the Merseybeat boom had died down. Cream were announced in the music press as a pop group, Clapton from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Bruce from Manfred Mann and Baker from the Graham Bond Organisation.
Their debut single 'Wrapping Paper' was a strange choice. Where was Clapton and his legendary guitar solos? It was a weird little pop song and reached no further that number 34 on the UK charts. Their follow-up single, 'I Feel Free', however, unleashed such energy that it could only be matched by Jimi Hendrix. Their debut album 'Fresh Cream' released in December 1966 confirmed the promise: this band are not what they seem. With a mixture of blues standards and exciting originals, the album became one of the records for any credible music fan to own. It reached number 6 in the UK charts during 1967. That same crucial year, 'Disraeli Gears' with its distinctive day-glo cover went even higher, and firmly established Cream in the USA, where they would spend most of their touring life. This superb album showed a marked progression from their first, in particular the songwriting of Jack Bruce and his lyricist, former beat poet, Pete Brown. Landmark songs like 'Sunshine Of Your Love', 'Strange Brew' and 'SWLABR' (She Was Like A Bearded Rainbow), were performed with precision.
Already rumours of a split prevailed as news filtered back from America of fights and arguments between Baker and Bruce. Meanwhile their live performances were nothing like they had thus far committed to vinyl. The long improvisational pieces, based around fairly simple blues structures were awesome. Each member had at least one party piece during concerts, Bruce with his frantic harmonica solo on 'Traintime', Baker with his trademark drum solo on 'Toad' and Clapton with his strident vocal and fantastic solo on a reworking of Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads'. One disc of the superb two-record set 'Wheels Of Fire' (August 1968) captured Cream live, at their inventive and exploratory best. Just a month after its release, while it sat on top of the US charts they announced they would disband at the end of the year following two final concerts. The famous Royal Albert Hall farewell concerts were captured on film, and the posthumous 'Goodbye', released in March 1969, repeated the success of its predecessors, as did some later scrapings from the bottom of the barrel. The three members came together in 1993 for an emotional one-off performance at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame awards in New York. Cream came and went almost in the blink of an eye, but left an indelible mark on rock music.
In May of 2005, Baker, Bruce and Clapton, now all in their 60's, reunited at the Royal Albert Hall for 4 historic concerts and blew its roof off! It was like they had never left!
Win a double CD and double DVD of Cream's historic Royal Albert Hall 2005 reunion concert, courtesy of Gallo Records ... we have 5 sets to give away.
Click here for entry form.
Website:
www.cream2005.com
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Recommended listening and viewing |
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Cream - Royal Albert Hall, May 2005 [CD]
Cream - Royal Albert Hall, May 2005 [2 DVD]
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Back to Hall Of Fame |
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