1 Topic by suhl (edited by suhl 2009-01-05 18:50:17)

  • suhl
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  • From: Springfield, IL
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Topic: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

i have been listening to this a lot lately.  with all the hype surrounding the zep reunion it is weird this one seemed so irrelevant.  anyway, i HIGHLY rercommend you all purchase this album.  start to finish it is phenomenal, the best reunion work i have heard by miles, and one of the best live albums i have ever heard.  just saw the clapton argument topic.  anyone who think he can't play the blues or isn't blues or whatever, just listen to the recording of stormy monday on here, realize and admit you are wrong, then move on.  the argument about whether he has written enough or not is just funny.  LOOK AT WHAT BOARD YOU ARE ON!  obviously an artist being the original writer of most of the songs they play isn't that important in every case, why hold clapton to a different standard?

oh yeah, i almost forgot...CLAPTON IS GOD.  JACK IS JESUS.   ginger baker is the virgin mary.

in all seriousness listen to it.  i listened to the old bbc sessions album recorded in the late sixties then this.  the playing on this one is way better.  guess  you can learn a few things in 40 years.  however the  bbc sessions do offer little to no jamming and i have seen old clips of live cream that were equal to or better than this album.  disclaimer.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fCdNsm7gvu8

If wine and pills were hundred dollar bills
I might keep you satisfied

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  • From: Harrison, Arkansas
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
  • Posts: 3,155

Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Clapton's not playing a Gibson on those though, so it sucks. lol

In all seriousness though, it is a great cd. I listen to it all the time.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

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  • From: Edgewater, FL
  • Registered: 2007-12-08
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

suhl wrote:

i have been listening to this a lot lately.  with all the hype surrounding the zep reunion it is weird this one seemed so irrelevant.  anyway, i HIGHLY rercommend you all purchase this album.  start to finish it is phenomenal, the best reunion work i have heard by miles, and one of the best live albums i have ever heard.  just saw the clapton argument topic.  anyone who think he can't play the blues or isn't blues or whatever, just listen to the recording of stormy monday on here, realize and admit you are wrong, then move on.  the argument about whether he has written enough or not is just funny.  LOOK AT WHAT BOARD YOU ARE ON!  obviously an artist being the original writer of most of the songs they play isn't that important in every case, why hold clapton to a different standard?

oh yeah, i almost forgot...CLAPTON IS GOD.  JACK IS JESUS.   ginger baker is the virgin mary.

in all seriousness listen to it.  i listened to the old bbc sessions album recorded in the late sixties then this.  the playing on this one is way better.  guess  you can learn a few things in 40 years.  however the  bbc sessions do offer little to no jamming and i have seen old clips of live cream that were equal to or better than this album.  disclaimer.

Well said young sir and quite funny.  I'll take back half of what I said about you.  lol  Me likey!

WellSaid Indeed!
BJJ FDOL

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             It is
Blues From the Bottoms

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  • suhl
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

yeah likewise.  you're all right.  we will just leave any bass player arguments at the door.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fCdNsm7gvu8

If wine and pills were hundred dollar bills
I might keep you satisfied

suhl's Website

5 Reply by crossroads (edited by crossroads 2009-01-05 21:36:18)

  • From: England
  • Registered: 2008-07-04
  • Posts: 265

Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Suhl,

I have the RAH Reunion Concert DVD and CDS, in fact I was there at the RAH on the first night. It was a magic concert and an emotional one for most of us there.

I also have the RAH Farewell DVD 1968 which I only got for Christmas.
Cream did a great job in 2005, but in 1968 they played a much more improvised set, very loose on timings - a real jam, but it all had a great 'stoned' feel to it. I honestly don't think Eric has played better than with his original years with Cream. I think the pressure of trying to find better and better improvised leads in that band really got to him during the US tour and was a factor in the split up.
As you know, there is a lot of pressure on all the players in a trio, you cannot 'cover' for another player and you can't drop out at any time like you might in a four or five piece. Lead guitar is very demanding because when you are not taking the lead you are still left with all the fill in chords. Eric went on to play much less demanding music usually with lots of players.In the interviews that came with the 2005 reunion DVD he admits that building up the stamina to play lead in a trio was a major challange. On the first night of RAH 2005 he played Spoonful as the second track (not selected for the DVD) and it was very very short.
This use to have a very long lead on it  - check out Wheels Of Fire .

One thing I would say is that the 2005 gig was very structured and well rehearsed.Apart from witnessing the first ever live performance of Badge by Cream the highlight for me was We're Going Wrong - Jack's singing put a tingle down your spine. Gingers drumming out of sight.

I love Cream, have done for decades, but I still maintain that Clapton was playing much better in 1967/68.

In 2005 Jack Bruce was playing out of his skin and so was Ginger Baker, although noticably less wild than his 60's Cream performances. I suppose the band is only fueled on hot sweet tea and choccy biscuits now, so hardly surprising.

It's a fact of life that trios always seem like a damn fine idea but rarely last.You hear all the instruments clearly/only a three way split on fees etc. But they are hard on musicians and very limiting musically, what usually happens is the band folds or soon evolves into a four piece.

(Yeah, hats off for ZZ for sticking it out.)

No Ordinary Joe
  • From: Harrison, Arkansas
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

I don't mind the toning down of the jamming actually. When I think about it, do I really want a 20 minute performance of Spoonful? Not really. For me, it just reaches a point of too much. Clapton to me sounds on fire during those nights. Sure, he's not exactly as good as he was 40 years, heck he'll even say it. But still, the quality work coming out of him, Jack, and Ginger is astounding considering they hadn't played together onstage (save for a couple of instances) since the late 60s. It was good enough of a reunion to make me yearn for some new material, although that will never happen. I'll tell you one thing, as good as the Zeppelin reunion was (at least from the grainy videos on Youtube), the Cream reunion, musically, was way better. Clapton's playing is great, neither Clapton nor Jack had to drop the key down a step so they could sing a song, and they just sounded amazing. I think the fact that they toned down the jamming made them function better as a band, as opposed to trying to top each other. Sometimes, I listen to those older performances it just sounds really disjointed. Here, they function as a unit, and to my ears it just sounds more focused and better.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

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  • From: Charlotte
  • Registered: 2006-04-22
  • Posts: 2,350

Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Deezer wrote:

I don't mind the toning down of the jamming actually. When I think about it, do I really want a 20 minute performance of Spoonful? Not really. For me, it just reaches a point of too much. Clapton to me sounds on fire during those nights. Sure, he's not exactly as good as he was 40 years, heck he'll even say it. But still, the quality work coming out of him, Jack, and Ginger is astounding considering they hadn't played together onstage (save for a couple of instances) since the late 60s. It was good enough of a reunion to make me yearn for some new material, although that will never happen. I'll tell you one thing, as good as the Zeppelin reunion was (at least from the grainy videos on Youtube), the Cream reunion, musically, was way better. Clapton's playing is great, neither Clapton nor Jack had to drop the key down a step so they could sing a song, and they just sounded amazing. I think the fact that they toned down the jamming made them function better as a band, as opposed to trying to top each other. Sometimes, I listen to those older performances it just sounds really disjointed. Here, they function as a unit, and to my ears it just sounds more focused and better.

A little jamming is always kind of fun, but at the Cream Reunion they pretty much stayed on course.  We went to Madison Square Garden the first night and they played really great, amazing performances by all.  The crowd was electric before the show and all during it, night to be remembered for sure.  I have a tendancy not to compare with the "old days" and pretty much take it for what it is.   The Zep reunion musically was really amazing, the sound quality had it's moments though, seemed to be unable to control the feedback, and took a couple of songs to dial in Jimmy.

Music is good for the Soul...
  • From: Edgewater, FL
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

suhl wrote:

yeah likewise.  you're all right.  we will just leave any bass player arguments at the door.

AGREED!  Besides; I'm the only bass player that I really care about. big_smile

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             It is
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9 Reply by suhl (edited by suhl 2009-01-06 12:50:38)

  • suhl
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

on the album, spoonful is app 8 minutes long with not one wasted note.  i doubt clapton has the speed he had decades ago, but he is still very very good and it is cool to see him taking his leads and not playing with a giant touring band.  like i said stormy monday...wow i had no idea clapton could still play like that.  they do seem very well rehearsed on it, but there defintely seem to be some extended improv sessions as well.

the zep reunion was good for what it was, but speaking for myself i don't see anyway you could compare it musically to the cream reunion.  zep proved they are still capable of playing the songs, cream proved they are not only capable of still playing them, but making them great.  to me the zep reunion had a massive going through the motions feel to it, cream did not.

and for the record clapton was likely better in the late sixties than he is now.  he is still damn good for a 60 year old man.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fCdNsm7gvu8

If wine and pills were hundred dollar bills
I might keep you satisfied

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  • From: Edgewater, FL
  • Registered: 2007-12-08
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

For added input Kevin the Caveman would probably agree (partially, at least) about LZ reunion.

Rock On & Keep the FAITH
             It is
Blues From the Bottoms

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  • From: Harrison, Arkansas
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

suhl wrote:

on the album, spoonful is app 8 minutes long with not one wasted note.  i doubt clapton has the speed he had decades ago, but he is still very very good and it is cool to see him taking his leads and not playing with a giant touring band.  like i said stormy monday...wow i had no idea clapton could still play like that.  they do seem very well rehearsed on it, but there defintely seem to be some extended improv sessions as well.

the zep reunion was good for what it was, but speaking for myself i don't see anyway you could compare it musically to the cream reunion.  zep proved they are still capable of playing the songs, cream proved they are not only capable of still playing them, but making them great.  to me the zep reunion had a massive going through the motions feel to it, cream did not.

and for the record clapton was likely better in the late sixties than he is now.  he is still damn good for a 60 year old man.

I wish I could play as good as that 60 year old man does.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

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  • Registered: 2008-02-14
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

This may be of interest:

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/i … -too-late/

"The recently formed Edinburgh Blues Club has identified an appetite for the personal communication between musicians and audience that the blues long ago perfected." The Herald Newspaper (Scotland)
http://www.edinburgh-blues.uk
  • From: Harrison, Arkansas
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Not really. Jack's just being cantankerous. I will say that I found it interesting that Cream's reunion did not receive near as much attention as Zeppelin's. It is shocking hearing it from him though, Ginger would usually be the one to say something like that. Oh well. And musically I would say yes, Cream is the better band. Ginger and Jack are amazing at what they do, Clapton is of course Clapton. In the end, I would say though that Zeppelin is just more popular, probably because Cream was before its time, and just flamed out too quickly.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

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  • Curby
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

I think it was sometime in 2006 that I stumbled onto a Cream Reunion concert on PBS -  I don't remember the location, but don't think is was the Royal Albert.  Anyhow, my thoughts about the performance was the same reaction I got the one class reunion I went to - disappointment and a little sadness.  Sadness because Father Time spares no one and disappointment because that wasn't the great band I remembered.  I can't seem to find the post Duncan made today about Jack Bruce badmouthing Led Zeppelin, but it completely floored me.  At first I thought it ludicrous his claim, considering the disparity of material Cream produced versus Zeppelin, but the more I thought about it, and the more posts I read from others in the forum (got to stop skimming), I started seeing thigs Jack's way.  I also went and listened to Cream's RAH cd and agree it's very good - Jack and Eric's singing never sounded better and the songs were performed more earnestly.  A tighter sound without the redundant jams.  At their peak they were Rock's first Supergroup and they played like one on their reunion tour.  Led Zeppelin on the other hand really only have Jimmy Page to carry the torch.  The heart of the band died with John Bonham and Robert Plant, at sixty, doesn't have near the octave range he had as a twenty something.  Prime vs Prime I'd clearly give LZ the nod, but not with their present lineup.

  • Registered: 2008-02-14
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Curby wrote:

I can't seem to find the post Duncan made today about Jack Bruce badmouthing Led Zeppelin, but it completely floored me.

I removed it due to the language and posted a link instead, two posts above your one. Reason Led Zep reunion received more attemption was it was such a one off, and also because it was more recent, it sticks in the mind more.  I can't follow any arguments about which was the better reunion as clearly they were not done for artistic reasons, but financial ones.

"The recently formed Edinburgh Blues Club has identified an appetite for the personal communication between musicians and audience that the blues long ago perfected." The Herald Newspaper (Scotland)
http://www.edinburgh-blues.uk

16 Reply by RoadcaseBoy (edited by RoadcaseBoy 2016-06-21 13:52:28)

  • From: Seymour Duncan's Hometown, NJ
  • Registered: 2012-03-05
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Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Why my aversion to make new Threads?  big_smile

AXS TV ... (897 on Comcast HD in the Philly Area) ... started a new series called Reel to Real hosted by Eddie Trunk.  I have forgotten to catch the couple that have been on so far ... Green Day, The Who ... but tonight is the Premiere of the episode on Cream - Their Farewell Concert at RAH in 1968.  9 to 10:35 EST Tonight (Tuesday 6/21/16) with a re-air at Midnight.

I don't know much of what the show will feature ... not much info on AXS's website.

The historic Farewell Concert at Albert Hall in London by one of rock's greatest groups has been dynamically recorded in this film by Robert Stigwood.

Reel to Real webpage:
http://www.axs.tv/programs/reel-to-real/
Series Announcement / Scheduled Episodes:
http://www.axs.tv/axstvconcerts/sneak-p … die-trunk/

AXS Schedule:
http://www.axs.tv/schedules/

"I was in Space for less than 2 weeks … and suddenly Jeaniene’s back … half the Band is off the gd wagon … we have comedians opening for us … and the nice kid that ran our website is now a kleptof’nmaniac.  Boy ... did you guys miss me!!"  Phil Valentine - Road Manager - Staton House Band

JBLP#251 (unaged) ... thank you Ron.
  • From: Brackley, UK
  • Registered: 2012-08-09
  • Posts: 58

Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

I was there on the last night and it didn't matter what Eric was playing, he was on fire.  He had been suffering from 'Man Flu' most of the week and was just about over it on the Friday night.  That's why many of the CD and DVD performances were from the Friday

Picture are not that good as I had a small camera, however.


http://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t … e=5805582D

http://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t … e=57F02A14

http://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t … e=57C60597

http://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t … e=57F34690

Cheers

John
http://www.thepiecesofmind.com/

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  • Registered: 2007-11-22
  • Posts: 358

Re: cream 2005 reunion royal albert hall

Yeah Cream reunion shows seem to be very popular. Unfortunately I saw them live in 1967 or 68 and simply can't listen to the reunion shows. I try but the magic is gone.