Found another Jack Bruce quote on Zep

[Anjin-san]

Cream -invented- rock music?

[dazedcat]

Inventing "rock music" as the majority of people on this very web site consider it to be, yes they did. No band before Cream played at such massive volumn on stage and no band turned blues classics into something entirely different like Cream did. Once Cream became popular every band turned it up and started to stretch out on stage. Bands started to abandon the three minute pop tune structure live because of what Cream did. The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Who all hinted at it but none of them ever elevated electric blues noise to an artform like Cream did. Even the early Hendrix Experience didn't stretch it like Cream was doing at that time.

Self indulgent they were and I'm not saying Cream were better than anybody else, or even that their body of music has held up that well over the decades. You can't deny their impact on history though.

No Cream..............no 70's icons.

Flame away part two then.

[Jahfin]

I'm not going to "flame" you but I will respectfully disagree with you. It also depends upon how you choose to define "rock music". If you're referring to hard rock, heavy metal or the heavier side of rock n' roll then Blue Cheer are often the ones credited with taking rock n' roll in that direction but even then they weren't the absolute first. As for stretching out musically into lengthy jams there was also the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band before Cream.

[Strider]

^^^Cream was way before the Allman Brothers. Grateful Dead were more in the same time period as Cream, although it should be noted Cream's first LP came out in 1966, while the Dead's first album was released in 1967.

[Jahfin]

^^^Cream was way before the Allman Brothers. Grateful Dead were more in the same time period as Cream, although it should be noted Cream's first LP came out in 1966, while the Dead's first album was released in 1967.

Thanks for the clarification. The Allman Brothers released their first album in '69, Cream was formed in '66. Perhaps someone would refer to three years as being "way before" but I wouldn't. At that time the Allmans were known as the Allman Joys. I'm not sure when they started getting into the lengthy jams but I would imagine they had their impetus in those early years prior to becoming the Allman Brothers Band.

At any rate, back to the point, I would still refer to Cream as "legendary" no matter how you cut it.

[Deborah J]

^^ I think Jahfin stated it , if you listened to Classic Rock radio, Cream was right there, and even though I think the comments are stupid and shows an insecurity IMHO, I do love the music. But late 60's to me was Zeppelin, Faces, Steppenwolf, CCR, Buffalo Springfield, Allman Brothers, Humble Pie, Blood Sweat & Tears, The Guess Who, The James Gang, Canned Heat, Iron Butterfly, Deep Purple, Free...just off the top of my head

[Jahfin]

To clarify, I was talking about what is commonly referred to as the "Classic Rock" radio format, specifically, the one that is so prominent today. Cream is played to death on there. Plus there's the examples given of their sold out reunion shows in recent years. They definitely had a huge impact on rock n' roll, there's no doubt about it.

[imPLANTed]

I think Cream was a good band for the short time they lasted and I think they inspired Zep in a way. I won't take away from them musically (even though I only care for a handful of tracks) They were a good power/blues-trio. The personalities are a different story. Every interview I've seen has either Bruce or Baker (sometimes drunk) mad at the world in some form or another.

I think a lot of Jack's jealousy stems from the fact that Led Zeppelin took over where Cream left off (blusesy/heavy metal innovators). He saw them achieve the fame and success Cream could have enjoyed had they not disbanded prematurely. Led Zeppelin ran with it and took over the world. Ginger Baker has said that when he created Cream, he wanted to be very big and successful and famous. Led Zeppelin did just that and I can see a little bit why they are bitter. Led Zeppelin didn't steal Cream's audience. Cream handed it to them on a silver platter. They paved a way for that heavy blues sound that LZ fans enjoy to this day. Let's face it, we all know Jack and Ginger (although fantastic musicians) are not very nice people.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

[Strider]

I think a lot of Jack's jealousy stems from the fact that Led Zeppelin took over where Cream left off (blusesy/heavy metal innovators). He saw them achieve the fame and success Cream could have enjoyed had they not disbanded prematurely. Led Zeppelin ran with it and took over the world. Ginger Baker has said that when he created Cream, he wanted to be very big and successful and famous. Led Zeppelin did just that and I can see a little bit why they are bitter. Led Zeppelin didn't steal Cream's audience. Cream handed it to them on a silver platter. They paved a way for that heavy blues sound that LZ fans enjoy to this day. Let's face it, we all know Jack and Ginger (although fantastic musicians) are not very nice people.

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

And a mighty fine two cents it is, imPLANTed. My feelings exactly. Cream(and the Yardbirds and the Jimi Hendrix Experience) had laid the groundwork and sown the seeds for a new generation of listeners wanting some hard and heavy rock with some instrumental prowess and jams.

Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly, Jeff Beck Group, and others tried to take advantage and fill the need of this new audience. Some were more successful than others.

But when Led Zeppelin hit, it hit with the impact of a thousand nuclear bombs. The thing is, Led Zeppelin was simultaneously what the current audience wanted in the wake of Cream yet also so far ahead of its time that it was confusing to its audience as well. People were used to gonzo-guitar players, thanks to Hendrix, Clapton and Beck. But they weren't prepared for the sheer power and agression of Bonzo and Plant.

Led Zeppelin raised the bar for Cream/Hendrix-style heavy rock so high that it put pressure on the wannabe pretenders such as Iron Butterfly to keep up or die. Bands or personalities that were already fragile(Jeff Beck) self-imploded before they could mount any challenge to Zeppelin. In fact, Zeppelin hit with such force and impact, that it soon left its supposed rivals(Beck, Steppenwolf, Vanilla Fudge, Grand Funk, Butterfly, Ten Years After) in the dust and were threatening the place of the original British wave in the rock hierarchy.

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and the Kinks were the Big 4 of Rock n Roll. In that order. So, when the Beatles started to dissolve in 1969, the Rolling Stones moved to #1 and it was assumed that The Who and the Kinks, who had toiled long and hard for success in the U.S., would move up accordingly in the ranks.

Lo and behold, Led Zeppelin appears and by the end of 1969, has not only made most people forget Cream and Iron Butterfly, but they are already challenging the Beatles and Stones for the Title of Top Dog in Rock...essentially leap-frogging the Who and the Kinks as if they didn't exist.

This is why, in my opinion, you often find jealousy creep into remarks by Pete Townshend and Ray Davies on Led Zeppelin. It is also instructive to note that Rolling Stone reviewer John Mendelssohn was a MAJOR MAJOR Kinks acolyte.

By 1970 it was like Cream never existed...and I'm sure that didn't sit well with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

[FireOpal]

Keep in mind also that he sounded like a yodelling goat.

LOL. He should do a duet with Shakira.