This is what happens when the best lead guitar player, the best bass guitar player and the best drummer are dueling for the top spot......ABSOLUTE MAGIC HAPPENS
Even after 53 years, and listening to this thousands of times, I'm still amazed by how good it is. I doubt there's ever been another band who could even copy this. This is phenominal workmanship. Three virtuosos at the pinnacle of their talent. If this doesn't get the hairs standing up on your neck, and the goosebumps going, nothing ever will. RIP Jack and Ginger, you did us proud. EC just keep playing, for ever.
Heh -- as good as this is, I've always thought the contemporaneous cover by Ten Years After (ruclips.net/video/wZutU24zT5g/видео.html) is at least comparable.
There has never been,nor will there ever be anything better than this live performance. I'm 73 and heard and seen some great acts in the 60s and 70s. Nothing comes close
He had classical vocal training when he was young so his technique was solid. And his style was the precursor to the power vocals that became predominant with bands like LZ, DP, BS, Queen etc.
We were kids of 16 years old and we had heard Clapton and heard him with John Mayall and the Yardbirds and it was quite time to be a teenager. Cream changed the we listened to music. Nobody talked about musicians liked we talked about Clapton, he was an exceptional musician. It is a pleasure to listen to this epic even over 50 years later!
Likewise. I'll be 73 in October, '23. Cream was the '60s English Blues equivalent of Dave Brubeck putting his jazz group together in the '50s. Improvisation set loose.
I doubt very much whether there will ever be another trio like these guys. If you didn't know how great Ginger Baker was, listen carefully. RIP Ginger, you were one hell of a presence on this earth!
@@diegomunozcid7253 in Bakers documentary he said his cocktail in a syringe would be liquid LSD, cocaine, and heroin mixed together in shots as R & R. Fuckin madman
The way all three of them could take off in their own directions during the extended solos, and lay down such great riffs and yet come back together very smoothly to the song was exciting to listen too. I was totally spellbound when I first heard this album, and I was forever influenced by them, particularly by Jack with his unique wailing vocals and his great harmonica playing. Thank you Cream from The Bluesman
a shocking display of virtuosity.... I don't know if individually they ever reached this peak again.....Clapton certainly didn't. Just freaking brilliant
My brother's, I first heard this when I was 14 in '69. Blew me away then as it does right now! Cream put me on a plane to London for their re union in '05. Fucking complete Heaven on Earth! RIP Jack and Ginger ❤
As a 16 year old in 1968, I was just totally out in left field with my adoration of this classic. Being the new little kid amongst my "hipper" and older (pot smoking) pals, I clung to this as my neutral talisman for my future. I just knew this would stay with me - marking my passage - through Vietnam and home. I cannot shake the tingles, tears and jubilation I still feel while a celebrant at the altar of perhaps the most indelible piece of music ever performed. All three were in TOP form. I am happy to be considered part of.
same here; I have the double-album. Been listening to it again recently, along with Disreali Gears, Led Zeppelin I and Jimi Hendrix "are you experienced?" albums. They were master almums, IMO.
Why would he want to?......It`s improvisation at it`s finest,....it was never meant to be repeated again by Eric, Jack,or Ginger...a one off,......a piece of brilliance that was magical in that moment.......
This is just the best, ever ... Listen to it and just focus on Eric, then listen again and focus on Jack, then again and focus on Ginger. Unbelievable playing. And then listen to the sublime whole. Music for the gods by the gods.
Right high energy ,drive drive,get up and go it does not fail to bring out fun feelings, a jam that cooks and cooks,stretch out and runs,a feet of skill,tight,go go go,excite,music special,in my youth i stumbled on this 14:44 cc miller ,by happy accident
I have to say. I have been listening to this for 50 years and it never gets old. What is so wild is that Jack and Ginger are all over the place using various rhythms, Jack using every possible scale, flat 5, sharp 5, jazz minor scales, but Clapton holds it all together doing nothing but pentatonic scale blues licks...just fantastic..Clapton's ferocity and touch with the blues here is just stunning. How he can meld in to the improv with nothing but blues is unreal...thats what made them so great, the blend of three distinct styles and approaches to music. I also think that the last 20 seconds of the song, the 'big rock ending', is the best I have ever heard, after everything quiets down, Jack says something I cant completely understand, but the last vocal is '...SPOONFULLLLL...", and Ginger Baker does the drum lead into the ending, and Clapton plays the G chord, with Jack playing the corresponding 5th 'D', and then GB plays there fantastic drum crashes over Clapton's G chord, is maybe the best 'ending ' i have ever heard. Gingers drum rolls at the end are superb...Oh Yeah!!! Chills! ' And Cheers!
I love when somebody who knows all scales and theory to describe Cream I wish I had the knowledge you carry. I have a hard time learning to read the stuff I am a beginner guitar player. This comment may have just inspired me to finally learn scales. Starting with pentatonic..
@@mikekoenig6467 well, learning to read music is a great thing. It will certainly open up avenues of music you would otherwise likely not get into. That said, yes, if you want to learn to play 99% of all rock music, learn the pentatonic scale. Its the key to everything in that area. Clapton basically his entire carrier played nothing but the pentatonic, with a few flashes here and there of minor and 'country scale"mixed in. Country is basically the pentatonic form moved down three frets for your pentatonic key. Once you get it, you will have an 'ah hah' moment as 100s of guitar licks and solos become accessible to you. One of the first solos I learned was the solo by Dave Gilmour for 'Money'. Gilmour, as wild as he sounds, does nothing but pentatonic. Nothing but. Once you learn the scale (and it is quite easy to learn), it will all make sense. Good luck.
Freshmen year 1969, I was a seminarian that year. For some reason a senior had his Stereo setup with gigantic furniture size speakers. I think everyone went to lunch but I asked the senior if he would let his reel to reel play. I laid out in the middle of the athletic field and watched the sky as this album played. Wow!!!
absolutely totally agree ... probably not even clapton knew where this was coming form ... but HE Jack and Ginger tore into it and made it happen ... sublime on the spur of the moment heartfelt genius
+Bunker Bunt This and Jimi Hendrix's Machine Gun performance @ Filmore East New Year's Eve 1969. After these two it's a dog fight for third. Actually I have a performance by a Japanese artist named Osamu Kitajima. The song is Whoma(Imortality)from the Benzaiten album. 1976 I think. It's on RUclips so check it out.
+Neal Ward Good thought, I would agree with that, I played this track to death, I feel so humbled to have been around to get this album when It first came out, so much incredible music then.
I agree that Baker was the glue that kept this band's sound coherent, especially on the longer improvisations. Baker was the most experienced musician in Cream and his jazz style comes through in everthing he plays. Just brilliant.
I never tire of hearing this wonderful consortium of souls operating on the same intensely vibrating wavelength, transcending time and space at the speed of light and sound. It is inter-planetary music of the spheres that can be enjoyed and savored by any generation for all time. Sheer joy and freedom.
Best blues oriented rock jam ever! First heard this in the RP 1968. Clapton's extended lead solo has never been touched. And what can I say about Jack Bruce's fiery bass and over the top vocals except pure awesomeness, and well Ginger Baker laid the blueprint for Live rock-blues drumming. Together they were Cream the first and only super group of the 1960s!!!
This page is where you'll find some great & true fans of Cream! Reading these comments makes my heart so glad. As great as Spoonful live is, there's a rival on the "Goodbye Cream" album & that song is "I'm so Glad" live.
Agree. More creative here but more combative in I'm So Glad. The Grand Ballroom version is even more maniacal. But NSU from Live Cream is perhaps Clapton's finest moments. Clapton says I am God then begins to destroy all, leaving nothing but dust.
Paul R. Yep, that's what I tell people. What I love about this song is all the classical traits about it. On 4 different occasions they pick it up an bring it back down again. Sorry, don't know if there's a correct term for that. Anyway, I'm so glad is just one nasty fast level of playing, especially on Ginger's part. How he maintains that four limb Independence for that long is beyond me. I also love Sitting On Top from that same concert.
As far as I'm concerned this is probably the greatest spontaneous 'Live' improvisation in all of rock. The interplay between the three of them is extraordinary. Bruce is astonishing, continually bombarding Clapton with phrases and suggestions etc. Baker is amazing in the section around 4.15m where the whole thing gradually doubles in speed. At one point, there's just one limb playing the original tempo until that finally gives up and joins in too! Now we're motorin'
+Andy Thomas It's uncanny how often you hear people say this is the best live blues/rock improvisation they have ever heard. I completely agree. They were at the peak of their powers here. Eric and Jack thought one of the shows at the Spectrum was their best, but I've never heard a recording of that. Of all their recorded material, the Winterland/Fillmore shows are the best by a light year. Those were magical days, unparalleled before or since.
Walkingshadow1 They peaked 'Live' on the Autumn '67 & Spring '68 US Tours. The '67 Grande Ballroom set is an Awesome racket. Check out the 'intro' to 'Sitting On Top Of The World'! Also the Dallas '68 gig is worth investigating too!
Spontaneous improvisation?? You're kidding right? Every note of this tune was compiled and rehearsed to the finest of details. Musicians who toured with them (ie: the Guess Who spoke of it) said they rehearsed their live act meticulously.
35 + years for me, I have an original UK copy that sounds awesome on the HiFi, I just don't fire up the tube amps so much anymore but when I do this is a sure play.
The singular thing about Jimi was his "feel". Sure, players can now duplicate his songs, but they can't "get inside of it" the way he could, as Tom Morello has said. This version of "Spoonful" has feel to spare, but also fantastic chemistry between all 3. That it's stood the test of time tells me it will be evergreen. For volume, tone, chemistry and yes, feel, this one is forever. May those in the years 3000, 4000, and beyond know we had something truly great in our time: ROCK
My band used to play this and several other Cream songs. Jack Bruce was one of the best bassist ever. The combination of the three of them was unsurpassed. I still love listening to their music.
There are a lot of very fine drummers who are & who have been in this world...,but I'm still blown away by the "cataclysmic" break Ginger does at the end of this song!!
In my opinion, this is the best version of the best live recording they ever made. I paid lots to see their reunion at the Royal Albert Hall. Memories I will cherish forever.
Neil Oracz it truly was great. If you could only take 5 songs onto a desert island instead of albums this would be one of them. My ears Orgasm several times during this song.
Jack Bruce, sounds like he is playing more than one bass, and this is live,.........the guy was the greatest, bassist of his time........broke all the rules of bass playing and became a lead bass player........not just root and 5th playing...and a ........great Scottish brogue singing, too........and Clapton and Baker were also the Cream of the Crop, thus, the name of the band.......I listened to them, when this music first hit the airwaves, and blew me away then, and still does now, great album............3 guys making all that full sound.....more than the sum of their parts.......music history made in 1968....
you're right about Bruce being a lead playing bass, best example is Crossroads from wheels of fire, the man is playing faster than Clapton on that song
sam epstein Yep, Clapton wouldn't of been what he was had it not been for Jack an Ginger, who pushed him past his expectations. Clapton was becoming a great guitar player, which was evident on the Beano Album, but what he did with Cream was supernatural and like I said, that's because Jack n Ginger were already God's who gave Eric his abilities.
I had the good fortune to see them when they came to Des Moines on their goodbye tour. I am a drummer and I sat listening to Ginger Baker the entire concert with my mouth open because I could not believe the rhythm patterns he was laying down. This song has been one of my favorites ever since. We wont ever see the like again, because if it is over 4 minutes, a radio station will either edit it down or refuse to play it. And that is sad.
I just recalled a summer day in NYC some many years back when in my suit and carrying my heavy salesman’s case down an avenue on the east side around 56th St when I came to a busy corner and there was Spoonfull wailing from a boom box that a street vendor was playing. I had to stop, and perspiring from the heat and the weight of my case, I just had to stand there and listen to the end. Made my load lighter.
Having been brought up on a diet of the 3 minute pop record, I simply couldn't believe a song could be so long when I first heard this, 50 years ago. It totally changed my outlook on music, and what could be achieved with some imagination and a pair of ears.
Yeah, you know. It was a new experience, sitting through that 16:20; kinda had to train ourselves (me and my sister) to listen that long. But oh, was it worth it
No 3 musicians ever blended so well while jamming in each one's separate styles and what was spontaneously coming into to their heads. Simply never heard anything like this before or since. I'll be listening to this in heaven or hell!
I think that the magical element of what transpired between these musicians was the fact that they took the traditional elements of what they were used to as individuals having played music in their own right. And combined these musical elements into something that had never been accomplished on a wider scale before. Combining jazz and blues influences into a rock format with extended improvisational jams. This really had never been accomplished before at this kind of level, commercially or otherwise. in such a "high energy" atmosphere. For anyone who appreciates the roots of music at any level this has to be a defining moment.
Clapton's answers to Jack Bruce's vocal in the verses are unbelievable. The first one he answers after "Find that spoonful of diamonds" "BA-DA BA-DA BOW''''' (Clapton answers, gives me chills every time. the best five note lick ever....sounds like the amp will explode...there is no substitute for a 1968 Marshall 100 stack....
Jesus, even with the all occasional vamping from EC (who can blame him?) so good, so damn good. The sound, the power of such a solid trio. There it is, can't beat it.
So true. I listen to this often and it is always fresh and a little different. So much layered into it perfectly, tough to do in a free form piece. Seems almost effortless. The musical chemistry between these three cannot be replicated
Cut my chops as a drummer on Fresh Cream and on and on! I wanted to play like Mitch Mitchell, settled for Bonham and Baker! Driving, single stroke, pushy played with compassion while listening to where the band was going and werkin with it! Our cover bands included many of Creams songs and not just the hits like Sunshine but NSU and Spoonful! Good Times! Yes i enjoyed a lead guitarist and bass player at 17 / 18 that could hang with improv!
I used to listen to this every day while still a school kid. I've never heard anything like before or, sadly, since. Equivalent in technique, spirit, soul and music to the best ever created. I feel so sorry for the young kids today who never got to experience greatness like this by their own generation, expressing their own world like this expressed ours. For those of us old enough to remember, let us count our blessings.
Dear Hippy, You mean the decadent narcissistic "me" generation of posers who used politics as an excuse to get fucked up on drugs, grow long hair, and be lazy bastards, who, after realizing their "revolution" was a failure, got haircuts, became lawyers and stockbrokers, and corporate whores driving BMW's with deadhead stickers,, started a bunch more wars, shipped all the jobs to china, bankrupted the nation, and sold their children into debt servitude? Don't really think the musicians and beatniks who walked the walk would want to be associated with your generation, after all. Signed, Punk Rock
yup. His drumming was absolutely essential in the sound and improvisations of Cream. the interplay between he and jack is fantastic. i know they hated each other personally, but geez could they wail together musically. Ginger is a technical genius with fantastic inventive drum lines. Can anyone think of another drummer who would have created the beat to 'Sunshine of your Love', other than Ginger? I think not.
If I sit back and close my eyes, let the music roll over me, it's 1968 again at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles and I'm having my mind blown by these 3 English gents. Saw the last 3rd of the show from the edge of the stage. A memory of a lifetime. RIP Jack....
Back when Clapton could really play!@# And the whole band WAS AMAZING! Jack Bruce's lead bass playing and of course Ginger Baker's propulsive drumming....one of the best of all time IMHO!@#
This is the level of playing a mere kid was able to put out there. He was, I think, only in his early twenties and playing like this. Well the other two musicians were also at the same level with the instruments they played. They were born to play together and play off of each other. For the musicians out there who can play all three of these instruments at any level, this is brain and spiritual candy to the ears and the soul. This level of guitar playing cannot be created, it must already exist in the player at his/her creation. All the player has to do is practice. Lesser mortals must struggle just to be able to keep up with what other's are doing, but guys like these are already there on the next planet waiting for us to catch up.
As some writer once said, "Creams version of the blues had purple polka dots." Improvisation wise, peerless. Slowhand is dynamite, but in my contention the impresarios were Baker and Bruce. They pushed Eric to be at his best.
Видеоклипы
This is what happens when the best lead guitar player, the best bass guitar player and the best drummer are dueling for the top spot......ABSOLUTE MAGIC HAPPENS
Ralph Tomsco Hey Don’t forget The Robin Trower Band
Thats why they are CREAM
You hit the nail on the head ,Ralph just awesome!
You are so right.Sadly tonight only one man's left standing...TJ S
John McKevitt p
Even after 53 years, and listening to this thousands of times, I'm still amazed by how good it is.
I doubt there's ever been another band who could even copy this.
This is phenominal workmanship. Three virtuosos at the pinnacle of their talent.
If this doesn't get the hairs standing up on your neck, and the goosebumps going, nothing ever will.
RIP Jack and Ginger, you did us proud. EC just keep playing, for ever.
Agreed. Best ever
Hard to grasp how a band could take a song in this direction and be so incredible unless you are experienced (thanks, Jimi, for the expression.
Heh -- as good as this is, I've always thought the contemporaneous cover by Ten Years After (ruclips.net/video/wZutU24zT5g/видео.html) is at least comparable.
We lived it, we heard it and we loved it!
Would nordi
There is nothing else that gets better than this live version. It is still mind blowing. No one can replicate this brilliant work today.
Jonah,i absolutely agree,not even close,hendrix did a good one with machine gun
Michael Ervin the Pinnacle of live rock in the Heyday: Wheels of Fire and Band of Gypsies. Nothing else comes close.
Man fuck that, this was a great jam for sure but there are plenty of people who still carry the torch of proper blues rock jam sessions
DangerZone i know right? Allman Brothers being a homorable mention is such an under statement
Tedeschi Trucks Band kills it these days
There has never been,nor will there ever be anything better than this live performance. I'm 73 and heard and seen some great acts in the 60s and 70s. Nothing comes close
Agreed✌😎🎵🇺🇸
What about Band of Gypsies and the Beatles?
Allman Brothers At Fillmore East is right up there as far as live performances.
Jack bruce had one of the best singing voices in rock music history
Amen!
And an awesome Bassist and harmonica player!
I think you’re over-egging that just a bit bro
He had classical vocal training when he was young so his technique was solid. And his style was the precursor to the power vocals that became predominant with bands like LZ, DP, BS, Queen etc.
agreed, along with the likes of David Clayton Thomas; unlike the shrillness of Geddes (sp?) of Rush
We were kids of 16 years old and we had heard Clapton and heard him with John Mayall and the Yardbirds and it was quite time to be a teenager. Cream changed the we listened to music. Nobody talked about musicians liked we talked about Clapton, he was an exceptional musician. It is a pleasure to listen to this epic even over 50 years later!
When I first heard this in 1968 it blew me away. In two weeks I turn 70. Guess what? It still blows me away. 😆
Likewise. I'll be 73 in October, '23.
Cream was the '60s English Blues equivalent of Dave Brubeck putting his jazz group together in the '50s. Improvisation set loose.
Nothing like putting on headphones, closing your eyes, and zoning out to this
well...kept on doing it ! lol
Done that many times and still do.
Firstname Lastname I'm at it right now, writing this as they pick up the jam for the 4th time in the song.
That's exactly what I'm doing right now...
Still the ultimate Cream track.
I doubt very much whether there will ever be another trio like these guys. If you didn't know how great Ginger Baker was, listen carefully. RIP Ginger, you were one hell of a presence on this earth!
probably the greatest solo of all times by Eric
The pinnacle of English blues-rock adaptations. Three virtuosos held together by love of the blues, ego, and centrifugal force.
Thanks Tim, Could not have said it better myself. I saw them with the Mothers in Chicago in April 1968 from the front row.
Cool. I was there also as a sailor stationed at Great Lakes Training Center. Great show!
That was beautiful man.
and also lsd and cocaine
@@diegomunozcid7253 in Bakers documentary he said his cocktail in a syringe would be liquid LSD, cocaine, and heroin mixed together in shots as R & R. Fuckin madman
The way all three of them could take off in their own directions during the extended solos, and lay down such great riffs and yet come back together very smoothly to the song was exciting to listen too. I was totally spellbound when I first heard this album, and I was forever influenced by them, particularly by Jack with his unique wailing vocals and his great harmonica playing. Thank you Cream from The Bluesman
a shocking display of virtuosity.... I don't know if individually they ever reached this peak again.....Clapton certainly didn't. Just freaking brilliant
Ginger is meeting Jack right now. Hope they stop fighting and find something sublime just like they did in this performance of Spoonful. RIP to both.
Absoutely, 2 fantastic musicians but apparently each one more hardheaded than the other. Never be another Cream, the Best!
No doubt in the court of the Crimson King
It's OK. Hendrix and EVH will keep them busy.
This is the best rock song that ever existed.
the best version.. I've been listening to it all my life
Nothing beats these riffs, heard it first as a 17 year old, still no. 1rock jam of all time
Agreed. I was 17 or 18 also and it just blew my mid away to realize this kind of sound could be imagined by rock musicians.
My brother's, I first heard this when I was 14 in '69. Blew me away then as it does right now! Cream put me on a plane to London for their re union in '05. Fucking complete Heaven on Earth! RIP Jack and Ginger ❤
Spoonful is my favorite song by Cream; this version is magnificent. Sends chills down my spine after all these years.
I have been absolutely thrilled by Cream, and this cut in particular, for 46 years!
AMEN! barry
16 minutes plus and not a moment wasted...there is no weak link...they are The CREAM of the crop.
That's Right.
As a 16 year old in 1968, I was just totally out in left field with my adoration of this classic. Being the new little kid amongst my "hipper" and older (pot smoking) pals, I clung to this as my neutral talisman for my future. I just knew this would stay with me - marking my passage - through Vietnam and home. I cannot shake the tingles, tears and jubilation I still feel while a celebrant at the altar of perhaps the most indelible piece of music ever performed. All three were in TOP form. I am happy to be considered part of.
Heard this in my school library. The most magical 17 minutes of my life. I decided to become a musician because of Cream.
It is a truly awesome performance. I used to have that solo nearly memorized and I don't even play guitar (didn't until a couple years ago.)
Dogdrum That comment brought tears to my old eyes!
Last song I would expect in a library lol
Listening to it with headphones in a library that has a cd collection on loan. Any problem with that?
Yes. I thought you mean it was playing over the speakers in the library.
At 7 minutes they go absolutely stratospheric!
Agreed
you know it.
I still have this on vinyl, and even now after all these years, I still get an eargasm!
same here; I have the double-album. Been listening to it again recently, along with Disreali Gears, Led Zeppelin I and Jimi Hendrix "are you experienced?" albums. They were master almums, IMO.
Jack's bass on this and many other Cream songs-incredible! RIP
best bass player ever
clapton has never been to repeat this.
Why would he want to?......It`s improvisation at it`s finest,....it was never meant to be repeated again by Eric, Jack,or Ginger...a one off,......a piece of brilliance that was magical in that moment.......
best live jam ever
cream is a dish best served live and raw!
I just wanna be stuck in a void where an infinitely long version of this song plays. With the perfect ups and downs and climaxes.
you don't hear music like this any more ,this tune is without paralell
This is just the best, ever ... Listen to it and just focus on Eric, then listen again and focus on Jack, then again and focus on Ginger. Unbelievable playing. And then listen to the sublime whole. Music for the gods by the gods.
Right high energy ,drive drive,get up and go it does not fail to bring out fun feelings, a jam that cooks and cooks,stretch out and runs,a feet of skill,tight,go go go,excite,music special,in my youth i stumbled on this 14:44 cc miller ,by happy accident
I have to say. I have been listening to this for 50 years and it never gets old. What is so wild is that Jack and Ginger are all over the place using various rhythms, Jack using every possible scale, flat 5, sharp 5, jazz minor scales, but Clapton holds it all together doing nothing but pentatonic scale blues licks...just fantastic..Clapton's ferocity and touch with the blues here is just stunning. How he can meld in to the improv with nothing but blues is unreal...thats what made them so great, the blend of three distinct styles and approaches to music. I also think that the last 20 seconds of the song, the 'big rock ending', is the best I have ever heard, after everything quiets down, Jack says something I cant completely understand, but the last vocal is '...SPOONFULLLLL...", and Ginger Baker does the drum lead into the ending, and Clapton plays the G chord, with Jack playing the corresponding 5th 'D', and then GB plays there fantastic drum crashes over Clapton's G chord, is maybe the best 'ending ' i have ever heard. Gingers drum rolls at the end are superb...Oh Yeah!!! Chills! ' And Cheers!
I love when somebody who knows all scales and theory to describe Cream
I wish I had the knowledge you carry. I have a hard time learning to read the stuff
I am a beginner guitar player. This comment may have just inspired me to finally learn scales. Starting with pentatonic..
@@mikekoenig6467 well, learning to read music is a great thing. It will certainly open up avenues of music you would otherwise likely not get into. That said, yes, if you want to learn to play 99% of all rock music, learn the pentatonic scale. Its the key to everything in that area. Clapton basically his entire carrier played nothing but the pentatonic, with a few flashes here and there of minor and 'country scale"mixed in. Country is basically the pentatonic form moved down three frets for your pentatonic key. Once you get it, you will have an 'ah hah' moment as 100s of guitar licks and solos become accessible to you. One of the first solos I learned was the solo by Dave Gilmour for 'Money'. Gilmour, as wild as he sounds, does nothing but pentatonic. Nothing but. Once you learn the scale (and it is quite easy to learn), it will all make sense. Good luck.
Freshmen year 1969, I was a seminarian that year. For some reason a senior had his Stereo setup with gigantic furniture size speakers. I think everyone went to lunch but I asked the senior if he would let his reel to reel play. I laid out in the middle of the athletic field and watched the sky as this album played. Wow!!!
I have often said that this is the greatest live musical performance I have ever heard.
absolutely totally agree ... probably not even clapton knew where this was coming form ... but HE Jack and Ginger tore into it and made it happen ... sublime on the spur of the moment heartfelt genius
+Bunker Bunt This and Jimi Hendrix's Machine Gun performance @ Filmore East New Year's Eve 1969. After these two it's a dog fight for third. Actually I have a performance by a Japanese artist named Osamu Kitajima. The song is Whoma(Imortality)from the Benzaiten album. 1976 I think. It's on RUclips so check it out.
pwk22 i absolutely agree,just phenomenal!
+Neal Ward Good thought, I would agree with that, I played this track to death, I feel so humbled to have been around to get this album when It first came out, so much incredible music then.
Duane Allman's solo on 'In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" ( Fillmore East ) is TITANIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The more you listen to these live Cream tracks, the more you begin to realise it's Ginger that makes it work.
Truth. Anybody else would crumble under pressure
Not one wasted beat by baker.
But, it still was a TRiO and without either of them it would never have been what we adore.
I agree that Baker was the glue that kept this band's sound coherent, especially on the longer improvisations. Baker was the most experienced musician in Cream and his jazz style comes through in everthing he plays. Just brilliant.
In the year 2068, a young future dweller will discover this tune and wonder how it was done. Same thing will happen in 2168...
I never tire of hearing this wonderful consortium of souls operating on the same intensely vibrating wavelength, transcending time and space at the speed of light and sound. It is inter-planetary music of the spheres that can be enjoyed and savored by any generation for all time. Sheer joy and freedom.
Heavy Metal Music before it's inception. The Wild Animal Energy of these guys is still beautiful, still powerful.
Best blues oriented rock jam ever! First heard this in the RP 1968. Clapton's extended lead solo has never been touched. And what can I say about Jack Bruce's fiery bass and over the top vocals except pure awesomeness, and well Ginger Baker laid the blueprint for Live rock-blues drumming. Together they were Cream the first and only super group of the 1960s!!!
This page is where you'll find some great & true fans of Cream! Reading these comments makes my heart so glad. As great as Spoonful live is, there's a rival on the "Goodbye Cream" album & that song is "I'm so Glad" live.
Agree. More creative here but more combative in I'm So Glad. The Grand Ballroom version is even more maniacal. But NSU from Live Cream is perhaps Clapton's finest moments.
Clapton says I am God then begins to destroy all, leaving nothing but dust.
Paul R. Yep, that's what I tell people. What I love about this song is all the classical traits about it. On 4 different occasions they pick it up an bring it back down again. Sorry, don't know if there's a correct term for that. Anyway, I'm so glad is just one nasty fast level of playing, especially on Ginger's part. How he maintains that four limb Independence for that long is beyond me. I also love Sitting On Top from that same concert.
I quite agree doe john!
One of the baddest jams ever recorded
As far as I'm concerned this is probably the greatest spontaneous 'Live' improvisation in all of rock. The interplay between the three of them is extraordinary. Bruce is astonishing, continually bombarding Clapton with phrases and suggestions etc. Baker is amazing in the section around 4.15m where the whole thing gradually doubles in speed. At one point, there's just one limb playing the original tempo until that finally gives up and joins in too! Now we're motorin'
+Andy Thomas It's uncanny how often you hear people say this is the best live blues/rock improvisation they have ever heard. I completely agree. They were at the peak of their powers here. Eric and Jack thought one of the shows at the Spectrum was their best, but I've never heard a recording of that. Of all their recorded material, the Winterland/Fillmore shows are the best by a light year. Those were magical days, unparalleled before or since.
Walkingshadow1 They peaked 'Live' on the Autumn '67 & Spring '68 US Tours. The '67 Grande Ballroom set is an Awesome racket. Check out the 'intro' to 'Sitting On Top Of The World'! Also the Dallas '68 gig is worth investigating too!
Spontaneous improvisation?? You're kidding right? Every note of this tune was compiled and rehearsed to the finest of details. Musicians who toured with them (ie: the Guess Who spoke of it) said they rehearsed their live act meticulously.
@@keithhinchcliffe4377 Are you trippin? Cream never rehearsed. They hardly had time to take a piss.
@@keithhinchcliffe4377 Yeah, there are some bands who meticulously plan their acts. Cream was not one of them.
Jack, thanks for all those wonderful musical escapades. Enjoy Jamming with Hendrix. RIP
nothing else that gets better than this masterpiece live version
been listening to this album for 50 yrs............still get a rush everytime i hear it
35 + years for me, I have an original UK copy that sounds awesome on the HiFi, I just don't fire up the tube amps so much anymore but when I do this is a sure play.
50 yrs here too .This stands the test of time. I was pissed off when they broke up. RIP Jack
Me too.
I discovered this record in my Dad's collection in 79 when I was 12. His record collection was a gold mine I mined for many years.
listening ti it now Dec 2016,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,seems like yesterday...........gonna get bearied with a copy of this album in my grave
The singular thing about Jimi was his "feel". Sure, players can now duplicate his songs, but they can't "get inside of it" the way he could, as Tom Morello has said. This version of "Spoonful" has feel to spare, but also fantastic chemistry between all 3. That it's stood the test of time tells me it will be evergreen. For volume, tone, chemistry and yes, feel, this one is forever. May those in the years 3000, 4000, and beyond know we had something truly great in our time: ROCK
Well said
This long live version Of Spoonful is a Classic!
My band used to play this and several other Cream songs. Jack Bruce was one of the best bassist ever. The combination of the three of them was unsurpassed. I still love listening to their music.
Rest in peace Ginger Baker! 1939 - 2019
There are a lot of very fine drummers who are & who have been in this world...,but I'm still blown away by the "cataclysmic" break Ginger does at the end of this song!!
From now on when you hear thunder in the sky, you can tell your children it's Jack Bruce.
'Zacktly......
Thunder and Lightning!
In my opinion, this is the best version of the best live recording they ever made. I paid lots to see their reunion at the Royal Albert Hall. Memories I will cherish forever.
How was it? I've seen a concert on pbs & noticed how they slowed songs down.
Not quite what I expected.
One of the all time great jams! These guys showed the world how it's done! Out-fucking- rageous
this was the best song ever recorded live
Neil Oracz it truly was great. If you could only take 5 songs onto a desert island instead of albums this would be one of them. My ears Orgasm several times during this song.
Jesse Eal this and the Allman Bros Fillmore East live Whipping Post jam is in my top 5
I concur Neil. Just remarkable. High on my list would also have to be Rock & Roll from Lou Reeds Rock & Roll Animal.
Blues + Rock + Jazz = Soul !
The best 16 minutes of music ever
Jack Bruce, sounds like he is playing more than one bass, and this is live,.........the guy was the greatest, bassist of his time........broke all the rules of bass playing and became a lead bass player........not just root and 5th playing...and a ........great Scottish brogue singing, too........and Clapton and Baker were also the Cream of the Crop, thus, the name of the band.......I listened to them, when this music first hit the airwaves, and blew me away then, and still does now, great album............3 guys making all that full sound.....more than the sum of their parts.......music history made in 1968....
+tomcata1467 Jack Bruce was the Cream of the Cream...... the musically weakest artist in this formation was Eric Clapton.
really? C.O.L.
chuckle out loud
you're right about Bruce being a lead playing bass, best example is Crossroads from wheels of fire, the man is playing faster than Clapton on that song
sam epstein Yep, Clapton wouldn't of been what he was had it not been for Jack an Ginger, who pushed him past his expectations. Clapton was becoming a great guitar player, which was evident on the Beano Album, but what he did with Cream was supernatural and like I said, that's because Jack n Ginger were already God's who gave Eric his abilities.
This is far superior to the likes of Layla and Wonderful Tonight in terms of musicianship.
I had the good fortune to see them when they came to Des Moines on their goodbye tour. I am a drummer and I sat listening to Ginger Baker the entire concert with my mouth open because I could not believe the rhythm patterns he was laying down. This song has been one of my favorites ever since. We wont ever see the like again, because if it is over 4 minutes, a radio station will either edit it down or refuse to play it. And that is sad.
alas, gone are are early days of FM radio. I first heard this on an FM station in Vancouver--CKLG, in the early 1970s.
I just recalled a summer day in NYC some many years back when in my suit and carrying my heavy salesman’s case down an avenue on the east side around 56th St when I came to a busy corner and there was Spoonfull wailing from a boom box that a street vendor was playing. I had to stop, and perspiring from the heat and the weight of my case, I just had to stand there and listen to the end. Made my load lighter.
Having been brought up on a diet of the 3 minute pop record, I simply couldn't believe a song could be so long when I first heard this, 50 years ago.
It totally changed my outlook on music, and what could be achieved with some imagination and a pair of ears.
Yeah, you know. It was a new experience, sitting through that 16:20; kinda had to train ourselves (me and my sister) to listen that long. But oh, was it worth it
No 3 musicians ever blended so well while jamming in each one's separate styles and what was spontaneously coming into to their heads. Simply never heard anything like this before or since. I'll be listening to this in heaven or hell!
The WHO?
if i was stranded on an island with only one song for the rest of my life
this would be #1
An excellent choice. Damn right.
Rip. Ginger Baker. Thanks for making the soundtrack of a misspent youth.
still arguably one of the best if not the best jams in rock, it's rock music perfection ...
rock blue,i don't think it is arguable
This exact performance is all I want played at my memorial service. It inspired me for decades.
Most people listen to Clapton. I do. But tonight I'm here for Ginger 10/06/19....TJ STRUSKA
49 years later it still hasn't been equaled, much less excelled!
Correct!! But you know who came close funny enough; Moore, Bruce and Baker. Gary Moore playing with Jack and Ginger. It does come close....
I think that the magical element of what transpired between these musicians was the fact that they took the traditional elements of what they were used to as individuals having played music in their own right. And combined these musical elements into something that had never been accomplished on a wider scale before. Combining jazz and blues influences into a rock format with extended improvisational jams. This really had never been accomplished before at this kind of level, commercially or otherwise. in such a "high energy" atmosphere.
For anyone who appreciates the roots of music at any level this has to be a defining moment.
What an enormous privilege, a monumental blessing, a paragon of brilliance unequaled. Few things are forever: This is forever.
STILL BLOWS MY MIND
Clapton's answers to Jack Bruce's vocal in the verses are unbelievable. The first one he answers after "Find that spoonful of diamonds" "BA-DA BA-DA BOW''''' (Clapton answers, gives me chills every time. the best five note lick ever....sounds like the amp will explode...there is no substitute for a 1968 Marshall 100 stack....
"The night fell spoons full of diamonds" **** and yes i agree
I find this excellent Blues Composition HYPNOTIC. I can play this on my Clapton Stratocaster.
Eric played Gibson Sg, Es335 and Firebird at the time but this song sounds great on any axe.
It''s just one great riff after another with ole Slowhand and the gang in top form. Probably the best long solo ever. Not a wasted moment.
monsieur la croix Not a wasted moment - precisely right
Jesus, even with the all occasional vamping from EC (who can blame him?) so good, so damn good. The sound, the power of such a solid trio. There it is, can't beat it.
@Vaughn Jacobsen Playing the same note or chord over and over again. The most obvious examples in this jam are 6:07 and 8:03.
Still sounds great. I was there. Remarkable night to remember....RIP Jack B
We blasted this song out our dorm window during an intense thunderstorm in 1968. Far out!
And we saw them that year in New Haven, their next to last US show (until 2005).
Cool story.
17 minutes of the most amazing jam I was a young kid when this came out and shaped my music interests .
So true. I listen to this often and it is always fresh and a little different. So much layered into it perfectly, tough to do in a free form piece. Seems almost effortless. The musical chemistry between these three cannot be replicated
The late great Jack Bruce - such an underrated singer. Full of raw emotion and soul, all while playing fretless bass like a boss!
@@paulr.8105 an EB-3
I own about 300 albums, I think this is my favorite!!
like the man said been listening to this 4 50 yrs,what a great song!!!!!!!!
Cut my chops as a drummer on Fresh Cream and on and on! I wanted to play like Mitch Mitchell, settled for Bonham and Baker! Driving, single stroke, pushy played with compassion while listening to where the band was going and werkin with it! Our cover bands included many of Creams songs and not just the hits like Sunshine but NSU and Spoonful! Good Times! Yes i enjoyed a lead guitarist and bass player at 17 / 18 that could hang with improv!
Was there ever a bass player like Jack Bruce ? RIP Jack you are much missed.
I used to listen to this every day while still a school kid. I've never heard anything like before or, sadly, since. Equivalent in technique, spirit, soul and music to the best ever created. I feel so sorry for the young kids today who never got to experience greatness like this by their own generation, expressing their own world like this expressed ours. For those of us old enough to remember, let us count our blessings.
Dear Hippy,
You mean the decadent narcissistic "me" generation of posers who used politics as an excuse to get fucked up on drugs, grow long hair, and be lazy bastards, who, after realizing their "revolution" was a failure, got haircuts, became lawyers and stockbrokers, and corporate whores driving BMW's with deadhead stickers,, started a bunch more wars, shipped all the jobs to china, bankrupted the nation, and sold their children into debt servitude? Don't really think the musicians and beatniks who walked the walk would want to be associated with your generation, after all.
Signed,
Punk Rock
Ginger was so important in this band.
Ginger said,.."A good drummer makes a good band good, but a great drummer makes a good Band great!" How true...and I'm not even a drummer! :)
yup. His drumming was absolutely essential in the sound and improvisations of Cream. the interplay between he and jack is fantastic. i know they hated each other personally, but geez could they wail together musically. Ginger is a technical genius with fantastic inventive drum lines. Can anyone think of another drummer who would have created the beat to 'Sunshine of your Love', other than Ginger? I think not.
Ginger and Jacks timing starting at about 3:50 to the 5:00 mark. Love his placement of the cymbals. Its like mathematically perfect
When I hear that “tink tink tink” I think Oh Boy!! Hear we GO!
they were all 3 equal, artistic monsters, giving and taking at the highest level.
Still great music, to listen and jam to, many years later… classic…
Best jam ever.
Now this is BLUES! Thank you Willie Dixon!
One of the greatest jams ever
If I sit back and close my eyes, let the music roll over me, it's 1968 again at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles and I'm having my mind blown by these 3 English gents. Saw the last 3rd of the show from the edge of the stage. A memory of a lifetime. RIP Jack....
total treasure
Jack was 🏴 Scottish
Cream, one of the great rock n roll bands of all time!
Everything Eric did up to and including Lalya is pure class.
San Francisco 1968 @the Filmore West...R.I.P. Ginger Baker & Jack Bruce.
Greatest Call and response > My first album ever i WAS 12 and and after 50 years I still think this is the best .
Back when Clapton could really play!@# And the whole band WAS AMAZING! Jack Bruce's lead bass playing and of course Ginger Baker's propulsive drumming....one of the best of all time IMHO!@#
Fucking incredible. Amazing how volume & virtuosity, mixed with a bit of LSD, can turn the blues into this.
LSD most definitely stoked the fire that was Cream.
Those transitions say it all.
Mountain was in there rear view live
This is the level of playing a mere kid was able to put out there. He was, I think, only in his early twenties and playing like this. Well the other two musicians were also at the same level with the instruments they played. They were born to play together and play off of each other. For the musicians out there who can play all three of these instruments at any level, this is brain and spiritual candy to the ears and the soul. This level of guitar playing cannot be created, it must already exist in the player at his/her creation. All the player has to do is practice. Lesser mortals must struggle just to be able to keep up with what other's are doing, but guys like these are already there on the next planet waiting for us to catch up.
Music beyond categories.
Still the high water mark of rock musicianship.
This still floats my boat.
Still marvellous '23 😎 🇬🇧 RIP
As some writer once said, "Creams version of the blues had purple polka dots." Improvisation wise, peerless. Slowhand is dynamite, but in my contention the impresarios were Baker and Bruce. They pushed Eric to be at his best.
Yes, correct.
Still magnificient