Advertisements

Jack Bruce Reflects on Cream’s Creative Tensions and Eric Clapton’s Role in the Band

by Madonna

When Cream emerged on London’s blues scene in 1966, they brought a new level of intensity to blues guitar. Until their arrival, the genre was typically slow and emotionally charged, but Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker changed all that, adding rock and roll fire and jazz-inspired jams to the mix. Together, they reshaped the blues-rock landscape.

Despite their immense talent, Bruce believed from the start that the band’s chemistry was destined to fall apart. In a 2012 interview with Guitarist, two years before his death, Bruce opened up about the band’s dynamics during their creative peak with 1967’s Disraeli Gears.

Advertisements

“I think Eric thought he was going to have this little blues trio and be like Buddy Guy, standing out front,” Bruce said. “I thought, ‘Great, I can be a composer and get some songs out there.’ And I think Ginger just wanted to conquer the world, like Genghis Khan. We all had different ideas.”

Advertisements

Bruce also pointed out the role of the band’s management. “They were thinking, ‘Let’s milk this for all it’s worth because it’s not going to last. Let’s get them out there and make them play every dive bar in the US before they fall apart or kill each other.’”

Advertisements

However, Bruce was surprised by the band’s success. Management had not anticipated that Cream would become a hugely influential blues-rock crossover act, much less achieve stardom in America. “They thought it would be an all-star band that would fill blues clubs and be a nice festival attraction,” he said. “They never thought it would spread; they never thought it would reach America; they never thought we’d have hit songs. They had no idea. It’s a miracle it happened.”

Bruce’s observations about Clapton’s original vision were also accurate. Inspired by Buddy Guy’s performance at the Marquee Club in 1965, Clapton left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to form his own group. Reflecting on the impact of Guy’s show years later, Clapton said, “It said to me, ‘This is possible.’ If you’re good enough, you can do it as a trio. It felt so free, like you could go anywhere.”

Clapton’s focus on blues would form just one part of Cream’s musical direction, as Bruce sought to push the genre in new ways. “Eric was really into the blues, and he knew a lot of stuff I didn’t know,” Bruce admitted. “But I wanted to take it a step further and use the language of the blues to write music for us. I always thought I could change the world with music.”

Unlike Clapton, both Bruce and Baker came from jazz backgrounds, which helped elevate the band’s sound. Peter Brown, who co-wrote lyrics for tracks like “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love,” recalled how the band embraced Clapton’s playing despite his lack of jazz knowledge. “They didn’t put Eric down,” Brown said. “They didn’t criticize him for not knowing enough about chords or jazz. Instead, they said, ‘You’re a terrific player with fantastic feeling, and if you play with us, the magic will happen.’”

And happen it did. But the magic was fleeting, as Cream disbanded after just four studio albums, leaving behind a legacy that still influences music today.

Looking back, Bruce reflected on what the band had achieved. “You always want another go,” he said. “You’re never quite happy with it. There are things that could be changed, and of course, you only hear the mistakes. But once it’s finished, it’s finished.”

Related Topics

Advertisements

You may also like

blank

Musicalinstrumentworld is a musical instrument portal. The main columns include piano, guitar, ukulele, saxphone, flute, xylophone, oboe, trumpet, trombone, drum, clarinet, violin, etc.

【Contact us: wougua@gmail.com】

Copyright © 2023 musicalinstrumentworld.com