Given how important they’re considered to be in the history of rock music, it’s remarkable to think that Cream were only a band for just over two years, and that during this time, there were only four studio albums’ worth of material that they made as a trio.
With a line-up consisting of bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, it was no surprise that they’re so highly regarded, but you’d think that there would’ve been far more mileage in a project like this.
Of course, all three members enjoyed illustrious careers outside of the band and were all in high demand as session musicians due to their prowess. But the impact that they had together in such a brief span of time is still staggering to comprehend. To record one album every year is one thing, but to manage to squeeze out double the amount and maintain such high standards goes to show how much of a force this trio was when they were working alongside each other.
However, the problem was that they simply couldn’t work together any longer than this. As much as they may have been able to demonstrate an incredible amount of chemistry as musicians, their interpersonal relationships were never as strong as a band requires to have any longevity. The tension that built between members early on in their existence, especially between Bruce and Baker, meant that there were several bust-ups throughout their time together that ultimately led to their demise.
They may have reunited once in 1993, 25 years after their initial disbandment, for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, but it has to be noted that there was scepticism surrounding the idea coming from all parties involved. All of the members initially expressed significant apprehension about playing onstage together for the first time in two and a half decades, given the sour note they ended things on, but it wouldn’t be the final time they all graced the stage as a group.
In 2005, the band chose to embark on a reunion tour, culminating in a four-day residency at the Royal Albert Hall in London. They may have shown that they could see beyond their differences in 1993, and given that they’d reunited once before without any mishaps, their decision to make a go of a larger reunion felt like a much safer prospect than it might have been in years gone by.
The excitement from Clapton’s perspective was palpable, and years after the performance, he would declare that the reunion shows he did with the band were the finest of his entire career. “It was the best gig of all,” the guitarist claimed. “What we did at the Albert Hall was for the love of it. I’d looked around, they’d all looked around, we’d been playing in different outfits, and I thought, I just have to pay respect to these guys. When I look back, and I think how great these two players were individually and as a unit with me, I mean, what we brought together was unique.”
His respect for Baker and Bruce as musicians is evident from this, and while the passing of both members in the years since means that there is zero chance of such an event taking place again, at least they got to reunite to see out their career as a group on a high note rather than one filled with animosity towards each other.
