Cream Reunion Concert: The 3rd Night

by Saiichi Sugiyama

Related items

Another Look at the Fourth Cream Reunion Concert, by Paul Olsen
Cream Reunion Concert: 4th and Final (?) Show at the Royal Albert Hall, by Paul Olsen
Cream Reunion Concert: Day 2, by Saiichi Sugiyama
My Take on the Second Cream Reunion Concert at the RAH, by Paul Olsen
First Cream Reunion Concert, May 2, 2005, by Saiichi Sugiyama

It is the third night of the concert series and before the show begins I wonder if the novelty is wearing off for the band. Will I feel that way, having been fortunate enough to get through the booking phone in 5 minutes and acquiring one ticket for each night?

The answer is an emphatic "no" - and how wrong were those who said, after the first or second Cream reunion concert, that their performance couldn't get any better.

Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker walk on stage to great applause for the third time and "I'm So Glad" is sounding good. Another great night like the last one? Not to me. Maybe it is only that my ears are getting more tuned into their sound, but tonight is in fact better again -- I feel that the performance is getting stronger each night. I think they played 10 minutes or so longer this evening, too.

Each night Jack's performance is more free flowing, musical and intense -- like I heard him on records. "Spoonful" was just great. I never thought I would be saying this after the first night, but I think their version tonight is as good as, if not better than the version on Wheels On Fire. It re-captures and develops that certain something that was there in March, 1968. I sense for the first time, on an intuitive level, that I am listening to the same band that played on that LP. In other words, for the first time during these reunion concerts, my musical brain starts getting the same emotions/sensations that I get when I turn down the lights and put my headphones on and listen to the recordings from 1968. I didn't honestly expect that. Am I just getting carried away with this extravaganza and imagining things?

"Outside Woman Blues" is strong and come to think of it, it sounded better than that great 1967 BBC studio live version. More worldly-wise, savvy, but with the same amount of aggression. This reunion is on to something more than nostalgia. "Sleepy Time" is great in the same vein and the entry to the harmony parts on the chorus is perfect, well, except the last two lines of the last chorus.

"NSU" is excellent with very strong bass parts and imaginative guitar parts in the ad lib section, again, connecting directly to the 1967/8 performances. There's a slightly dodgy entry from the ad lib section (in the key of A) to the verse (in C). Why don't they play it like they used to and go into the connecting section with harmonies to the key changes to make the transition easier? Sorry, I am a boring muso.

In between songs, Eric keeps taking off his glasses and wiping his face with a towel and sips water from a red paper cup. To play these numbers in this way is physically quite challenging.

A majestic bass entry on "Badge", sounds more and more like the record each time it is performed. After the gorgeous groove of "Politician", the way only Ginger can do it, "Sweet Wine" is a treat and I am already anticipating what the DVD is going to be like.

Jack changes over from his Gibson EB-0 to a blues harp for "Rollin' & Tumblin'" and then to his fretless Warwick Thumb 4-string for Eric's slow blues. Although "Stormy Monday" doesn't particularly sound like the "Classic Cream", a phrase coined by the band's new website, www.cream2005.com, it shows the latter-day Eric Clapton-the-blues-guitarist at his best with a great, bent, single-note tension builder halfway through the solo getting the crowd very excited.

Jack seems to be more talkative tonight, which is great. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" rocks and "Born Under A Bad Sign" is more than competent. The menacing "We're Going Wrong" will make a great DVD feature (and I can do without a BBC announcer voiceover reading the lyrics for my benefit this time, thank you).

"Crossroads" is fine with Ginger providing the effective accents on hi-hats, but I personally prefer the guitar solo on Tuesday night. "Sitting On Top Of The World" is good tonight with more dynamics and improvisations from Jack and Ginger supporting and challenging Eric's solo, but what is impressive is "White Room" this evening. Although the first verse still sounds slightly lame, from the second verse on, the bass part begins to groove and the three instruments sounds more cohesive. A good solo by Eric is underpinned by Jack and Ginger playing out in the classic Cream style, but with more modern rhythmic variations at times. Great! This was what I wanted to hear from them on this number.

"Toad" that follows "Crossroads" finds Ginger at his best. After the intro, which sounds quite spirited tonight with Eric using a feedback sound, Eric and Jack walk off to let Ginger get on with his drum solo. Eric's black Stratocaster, that's left behind on a guitar stand, looks lonely. Quite an unusual sight at a Clapton gig. Ginger's extended drum solo tonight is so fluid and musical -- the best one so far and another moment that transports me right back to the 1968 recordings.

As Eric and Jack return to the stage at the end of a firework of a drum solo, the fan club crowd comes running from the back of the Royal Albert Hall. The band takes a bow to a standing ovation and walks off the stage. The lights are still down and Cream (how nice to think of the collectively again) returns to kick off "Sunshine of Your Love".

Eric starts the solo off by reproducing the first four bars of his recorded "Blue Moon" solo from 1967. But, by the time he hits the chorus chords for the first time, he is at full tilt and, unlike the Eric Clapton Band version of the song, takes a double length solo, giving him a chance to stretch a bit more and he makes full use of the space.

As the band reaches the single chord outro of "Sunshine of Your Love", Jack and Eric join in on Ginger's African groove and it sounds terrific. I love this band. I am now so completely spoiled that I can no longer get excited by a solo Eric Clapton or Jack Bruce gig. I want CREAM. Could it really be true that this band will play only one more night? We only said "hello" four days ago so is it really a time for another "Good-Bye Cream" concert? That would be too bad.
____

About Saiichi Sugiyama

Saiichi Sugiyama's Modern Guitars Magazine Journal
Saiichi Sugiyama Interview
Sale of the Generation: Saiichi Sugiyama on the 1999 Eric Clapton Christie's Crossroads Auction
Saiichi Sugiyama's Website