Led Cream?

[Tripmender]

Cream was the first band that played with massive volume. They were the first to take the blues structure to someplace else entirely different. They were the first rock band to improvise on stage. No you'd never confuse them with John Coltrane or any other great jazz group of that era, but they stretched out their studio tunes and nobody else was doing that before them. Don't take my word for it, do the research yourself.

Audiences sat and listened. Cream created "rock music". Listen to "As You Said" from Wheels of Fire and convince me Jimmy Page didn't get influenced by the raga folk element of that particular tune.

Sorry, I realize fandom has no end but I stand by my original statement about Cream. I'm not talking about the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or even The Who, all of that was something different. I'm specifically referring to what was termed "heavy" music which turned into "hard" rock which lasted for well over a decade or more. Cream was the blueprint, everybody else followed.

This doesn't mean Zeppelin wasn't any good either, they surely were. But they didn't just fall out of the sky. I never met Jack Bruce or Ginger Baker so I don't know how they are as people. I'm not sure I care either. They were brilliant and ground breaking and that's all that matters.

Cream were a band who had very little to say, and took an inordinately long time to say it.

[Oracle]

Cream were a band who had very little to say, and took an inordinately long time to say it.

Either your ears were closed or you just didn't understand the language.

Cream speaks to me even to this day.

No comprendo?

[Tripmender]

Cream speaks to me even to this day.

That's exactly what Charlie Manson says.

[Oracle]

That's exactly what Charlie Manson says.

Are you delusional?

That comment has NOTHING to do with Cream's music and influence.

Talk about Helter Skelter if you like, but clearly, this thread is NOT about that.

Your trippy mind needs mending there ole chap!

[Chap]

I think there is quite a bit of similarity. In both bands, The drummer was WAY more important than anyone originally gave them credit for. In both bands, the guitarist got all the accolades, and were STILL underrated. Both bands had just great riffs. Both bands had studio versions of tunes that played with stereo effects and huge amounts of overdubbing making the live versions of the tunes remarkably different than the studio versions. (and in both bands the live versions were even better) Both bands owe quite a bit of credit to the likes of Dixon and Waters, and Wolf. Both were able to fuse psychedelic culture with the blues form to stretch the limits of both. Just like Bing Crosby was able to transform popular music using the technology of radically improved mics and create a new kind of energy between listener and performer--both bands were able to move into the large arena and create a new kind of energy exchange between audience and performers. Both bands had junkie guitarists.

But at the end of the day, Zep had a bass player who was a humble professional who let his musicianship do his talking for him. Cream--not so much.

And to the guy who said that JP is and will remain unsurpassed--I truly hope you are wrong. And that is not a slight against Jimmy whom I truly admire. I just want someone to surpass that. Don't we all? Now that would be something to see. Hell I would like to see Jimmy do it himself. Let's see some surpassing up in here! Onward and upward.

[Ryan Porter]

I personally enjoy Cream and Led Zeppelin ...

But one thing I have to ammend, is to the poster who said Cream was the first band to play with very loud volume ... apparently you've never heard of The Who, who were around quite a bit before Cream was even imagined. Just sayin'.

And as far as Jimmy Page and his guitar prowess is concerned, I love his playing for what it is. However, I do have to say that there is just one guitarist who has either come close to, or surpassed his soloing, and that's gotta be Jimi Hendrix. I have been in love with his guitar playing since the moment I heard it ... but that's just me, I guess.

[ally]

I think there is quite a bit of similarity. In both bands, The drummer was WAY more important than anyone originally gave them credit for. In both bands, the guitarist got all the accolades, and were STILL underrated. Both bands had just great riffs. Both bands had studio versions of tunes that played with stereo effects and huge amounts of overdubbing making the live versions of the tunes remarkably different than the studio versions. (and in both bands the live versions were even better) Both bands owe quite a bit of credit to the likes of Dixon and Waters, and Wolf. Both were able to fuse psychedelic culture with the blues form to stretch the limits of both. Just like Bing Crosby was able to transform popular music using the technology of radically improved mics and create a new kind of energy between listener and performer--both bands were able to move into the large arena and create a new kind of energy exchange between audience and performers. Both bands had junkie guitarists.

But at the end of the day, Zep had a bass player who was a humble professional who let his musicianship do his talking for him. Cream--not so much.

And to the guy who said that JP is and will remain unsurpassed--I truly hope you are wrong. And that is not a slight against Jimmy whom I truly admire. I just want someone to surpass that. Don't we all? Now that would be something to see. Hell I would like to see Jimmy do it himself. Let's see some surpassing up in here! Onward and upward.

Ain't that the truth !

[Tripmender]

But at the end of the day, Zep had a bass player who was a humble professional who let his musicianship do his talking for him. Cream--not so much.

Very tactfully put, Chap. For someone whose glorified-pub-band-on-acid was rendered obsolete twice in quick succession, Mr Bruce sure has a big mouth. In the circumstances, one can perhaps forgive him some of his bitterness.

And to the guy who said that JP is and will remain unsurpassed--I truly hope you are wrong. And that is not a slight against Jimmy whom I truly admire. I just want someone to surpass that. Don't we all? Now that would be something to see. Hell I would like to see Jimmy do it himself. Let's see some surpassing up in here! Onward and upward.

That was me. I too hope I'm wrong, but it hasn't happened in 40 years, although IMHO Mother Love Bone came close to being a potential contender. Can't really see it happening now, what with rock being dead and all that...

[Rock N' Rollin' Man]

Can't really see it happening now, what with rock being dead and all that...

Is this a serious post? Rock music is certainly not dead.

[kaiser]

Cream was the first band that played with massive volume. They were the first to take the blues structure to someplace else entirely different. They were the first rock band to improvise on stage. No you'd never confuse them with John Coltrane or any other great jazz group of that era, but they stretched out their studio tunes and nobody else was doing that before them. Don't take my word for it, do the research yourself.

Audiences sat and listened. Cream created "rock music". Listen to "As You Said" from Wheels of Fire and convince me Jimmy Page didn't get influenced by the raga folk element of that particular tune.

Sorry, I realize fandom has no end but I stand by my original statement about Cream. I'm not talking about the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or even The Who, all of that was something different. I'm specifically referring to what was termed "heavy" music which turned into "hard" rock which lasted for well over a decade or more. Cream was the blueprint, everybody else followed.

This doesn't mean Zeppelin wasn't any good either, they surely were. But they didn't just fall out of the sky. I never met Jack Bruce or Ginger Baker so I don't know how they are as people. I'm not sure I care either. They were brilliant and ground breaking and that's all that matters.

I agree. Cream set the template for what bands like Zeppelin would do shortly after. I don't think Zeppelin were directly influenced by Cream in so much that they were trying to emulate them exactly, but I think Page was influenced by their volume & free form yet structured jams on stage. But that's only half of the Zeppelin equation. I think Page was also influenced by what Traffic was doing in the studio. Combine what Cream did onstage & the Traffic did in the studio then I think you have a pretty good idea of what Page may have had in mind when he started to form Zeppelin. And yet Zeppelin sounded nothing like Blind Faith which was really the combination of Cream & Traffic, but that comes down to Clapton not wanting to play loud at all anymore.

[sandwich]

I don't see how Cream had any influence on Zeppelin, They were basically contemporaries, Cream might have done certain things first, but in my opinion they did them poorly. Cream was not that great of a band, they were pretty lame and boring, and Eric Clapton is one of the most boring musicians of all time. These are of course just my opinions and therefore will probably be unpopular but I must say that I'm not impressed at all with Cream.

[Tripmender]

I don't see how Cream had any influence on Zeppelin, They were basically contemporaries, Cream might have done certain things first, but in my opinion they did them poorly. Cream was not that great of a band, they were pretty lame and boring, and Eric Clapton is one of the most boring musicians of all time. These are of course just my opinions and therefore will probably be unpopular but I must say that I'm not impressed at all with Cream.

I agree entirely with everything you say there, sarny. In fact, I'd go further: Cream were pathetic.

[dazedcat]

LOL.