Pretty much anything he played. He was one of my main influences when I started playing bass. Jack Bruce, John Entwistle and McCartney. Wide range of styles, but it was who I listened to, switching from guitar midstream.
I loved all his work with Cream. You could do any of them! Cant miss. He opened so many doors for rock bass, and wouldn’t you know it, he was a jazz player at heart.
@@tonysimmons5729 My late,classical violinist brother led me to Cream.Cream, led me to explore Mingus & Parker , Indian Ragas , and of course-Delta blues.
Leslie West was my brother and when The Vagrants and Mountain disbanded, Les, Jack and Corky started West Bruce and Laing and began practicing and recording. I was fortunate enough to be there when they practiced and recorded in upstate NY. I love Jaco but Jack was more attainable for me as a bass player. Keep the videos coming, You do a great job.
Of course Bruce was more accessible than Jaco. Same way the Beatles are more accessible than Beethoven. That being said. Bruce was an amazing musician.
thx for sharing larry . great.. just one of so many that got on board the "cream' jack bruce train way back.. probably the first time i heard "sunshine' when i was 14 or so.. so our little band down in south san diego had to add that to the list.. anyway.. i became a fan.. and more than obsession even.. i lived it everyday.. soon after i had to get an EB3.. couldn't afford it though.. so eventually i got the first year that Ibanez made their version.. the neck pickup didn't cut it so i was able to score a gibson .. yeah.. huge difference.. sorry for goin on but this brings back a lot.. i didn't see cream but i know they player in san diego way back.. but the first time i saw jack was west, bruce, and laing.. in san diego.. so a dream come true.. jack's tone live as you know was awesome just awesome.. he had two marshall stacks and one "stramp" stack.. i believe les had three stramps.. man.. corky was a wild man thats for sure.. sort of keith moon crazyness.. i never saw corky or les again.. but did see jack with his own band a few years later.. the one with david sancious ..oh.. songs for a tailor never left the turntable.. it changed my whole idea of everything.. i saw jack in his last year or so. with a tony williams lifetime tribute.. at yoshis in oakland.. amazing time seeing jack in a small venue. cindy blackman was drumming.. so at the end of the second set . carlos who is married to cindy got up and did sunshine etc.. anyway.. thanks for sharing .. i also saw jaco on three differect occasions.. i moved his acoustic 360's the first time .. he was very quiet.. mostly with his hoodie pulled tight so you couldn't really talk to him.. and then around 86 he was in SF area and came into the Sweetwater in Mill Valley to see the Charles Neville band.. called the survivors.. so he didn't play that night.. just watched from the bar for a set .. on the break he met the band .. and met the 19 year old piano player "harry connick jr".. i wonder if harry remembers.. ha.. yeah both jack and jaco changed my life.. and i still listen at least once a week to both of them.. hey why not.. they are legends .. ok caio.. cheers.. and im still playin.. i'll bend a couple of extra notes for jack and throw in a few harmonics for jaco.. ha..
@LarryWestWeinstein Holy Sh...Tah ! Hello Larry .Any brother of Leslie's is a brother of mine. He was fantastic , always had the best f'n time seeing him with Mountain and later with WB&L..part of my BEST memories. Shalom, peace to you & family.
Jaco was more of a purist while Jack was eclectic, a wild card. He was a remarkable musician. He'd pull in influences and phrases from all over the place (especially Bach) and bend them to his purpose. He was incredibly well grounded in music and loved everything.
I was very fortunate at fifteen/ sixteen to see Jack Bruce play in the Graham Bond Organization several times, with Ginger Baker of course. Then Cream in 67. Even at that age I knew I was listening to something very special. Thanks for your observations and insights into his unique style of playing. He was a man of great humility as well.
I would see the Graham Bond Organization once a week throughout 1965 at the Cooks Ferry Inn Edmonton London...they really were very good..Graham could handle that Hammond Organ effortlessly often playing the Hammond and a saxophone at the same time. What an unbelievable band they were.
Hey Luke, glad you woke up to "Crossroads" and realize it's not "Dad Rock". As a Dad right now, I was a teenager learning bass when the original record came out in 1968. I was totally astounded from the first time I heard it, and I'm still totally astounded all these years later. It's a masterpiece on three levels --- guitar, bass, and drums. It's the culmination of many performances by Cream and is a live recording. I never get tired of listening to it. Nobody has ever done anything that exceeds it in terms of virtuoso performance.
Jack Bruce is one of the all time greats. A career in Jazz, blues and rock n roll, all of it done superbly. His use of the Eb3 with Cream really established the use of a rich, full, bass sound. His writing, singing, piano playing and more make him a great musician. To sing And improvise on the bass is very hard but he does it with ease. I can't praise him enough.
Jack is one of my musical heroes. A phenomenal bassist, vocalist, songwriter, cellist, and pianist. I was lucky enough to meet him in 2012. A highlight of my life. Thank you so much for this lesson!!!
There's also the incredible fact that he's the main vocalist in Cream as well. He's such a high-level player he can turn in excellent performances in both spheres simultaneously.
I believe Ginger also started in jazz. Despite their legendary behind the scenes punch ups, Ginger and Jack were like Brothers when it came to playing.
Thank you for the Bruce appreciation! His various solo albums went far beyond the Cream stuff, as good as that stuff was . :"More Jack than God" and other albums are full of such great musicianship. Rarely given enough credit. Thank you for paying tribute.
I went through a brief Black Sabbath phase *years* ago, but I could possibly go back and relisten to all the Geezer stuff. Is there any particular bass line/song/album that you love @Christian Clausen?
Now I feel old. I had a Cream album with this and several other songs. The drummer, Ginger Baker, was one of the three best drummers in rock, with the other two being John Bonham, and Mitch Mitchell. The Crossroads song really made Clapton sound like a super guitar player. I never realized Jack Bruce was bending - good to know. Badge was a great song to hear the bass on, too. Great video!
I used a lot of jack Bs live bass riffs as jumping off points for songs. works well form drone. The craziest bass line is from the Goodbye album Im so glad.
That was great, Luke. I've been working through the entirety of Cream's album Disraeli Gears. It's been my first attempt at Jack Bruce baselines, and I've really come to appreciate his style of playing. And in your video the way you cook it down to some essential ideas is very helpful. Thanks.
Thanks so much for the kind words @John Marino - I really appreciate it. Good luck with the rest of Disraeli Gears. There are some monster lines in there.
Wheels of Fire was the first LP record I bought with my pocket money aged 13 when it came out. So I know this song very well indeed. It does have an exceptional bass line which is probably one reason why it's maybe the third most famous Cream song after Sunshine of Your Love and White Room. As to other Jack Bruce bass brilliance I've always thought his work in Lou Read's album Berlin was exceptional. However I think his best bass work of all is on his first record after Cream broke up, the largely forgotten and criminally underrated Songs for a Taylor.
This is a very cool and welcome analysis. Most people talk about Clapton's guitar work on this track and rightly so but they totally miss the brilliance of Bruce and Baker.
nice vid. I am 62 and picked light gauge flatwound strings when I starting playing bass in 1975 because the word then ( we didnt have the web) was that was what Jack Bruce used. Still favour flatwounds all these years later.
Well well- That is the missing part of my puzzle. Jack much later ,in the late 80's detailed his new rig in a Guitar Player, or (?)RS interview. With the Warwick bass he chose round wounds to interface with the "punchier" Hartke bass amp aluminum cone speakers with a Hughes& Kettner "fortress" pre-amp.
It's about time someone did a video on just Jack Bruce, he is the reason why I switched from guitar to bass at 13. My first bass was a Gibson EB-0. Plus he was a multi- instrumentalist, guitar, piano, every kind of bass guitar, harmonica and great voice and songwriter. He influenced so many great rock bass guitar players. One of my favorite songs he wrote he did not even make famous, Theme From an Imaginary Western that Mountain first recorded, with his long time writing partner Pete Brown.
@frankperricone2065 I'm Jack's OG warrior, as well. Pretty sure you love this-I found Jack playing Hammond B3 as part of Stephen Still's band (w/Dallas Taylor of CSN&Y on Fender bass )performing Black Queen here on YT.
@@anauticalgate5496 I'm going to have to look that up, never saw Jack behing a B-3 and he has played with so many great musicians. Thanks for the heads up, going to Utub right now to check it out, thanks again.
It has always been one of my favorite tracks. Jack, He also shines with Alan Holdsworth, especially with White Line-Sherwood Forest Tapes/Demos. I look back now and REALLY admire him for the bass player he was!
Damn I will never forget being a teenager and playing in a band that wanted to cover this song. I always had whatever song we were doing figured out by the time we got to practice. I remember looking at the tabs for this and realizing i was in over my head at the time. I was just phoning it in the first few times we played it, it probably took me a month to actually have it down haha. He was a musical genius for sure.
Hi Luke.....I saw Jack with Cream 6 times in 1967 and 1968......and in 1970 with Mitch Mitchell in the Jack Bruce Group....as a solo artist in San Diego and with Ginger Baker in Los Angeles......He was a major influennce on my writing and music.....Ray George (The George Edwards Group)
One of the best. The EB3 is a shortscale bass which again will add to the tone and the ability to bend the strings easier. Thank you for putting this out. Regards.
Presenter Luke did a very good job of talking about music, theory as applied by Bruce in this song, and helpful suggestions - rather than focusing too narrowly on simply reproducing Bruce's' lines. This is quite refreshing. You can only take, or I can, only take so many note-by-note tutorials. Dude Luke's volume occasionally clipped my speakers, LOL, but that's okay. I like Bruce's playing and singing in Cream. There's a school of thought that his lines sometimes didn't work well with Clapton's guitar parts and I think that's very occasionally true. Generally though their parts worked well together. When asked about rock bassists, Jack, who was nothing if not confident said "there's only two. Me and Paul McCartney." True or not it was amusing to hear him say it! Good video, cheers.
A cool bass line he used was when he was playing with manfred Mann. Its from the song machines....definitely a preview of the sound he would use in cream.
Hey Luke --- here's a Jack Bruce "secret" that I still don't understand. How on earth does he sing and play bass at the same time so fantastically well? For a great example, check out "Born Under A Bad Sign" by Cream. That is some of the most difficult singing and playing bass I have ever heard. It seems like Jack is singing in a different tempo than the music. HIs vocal seems to be half the time of the music, and I'm sure he is doing this deliberately. Try copying him! It's extremely hard.
Sure, the riff is different from Robert Johnson's original on 'Cross Road Blues'. But calling Cream's version of the song "just a straight-up 12 bar Blues" is to sell it just a wee bit short. It's riff is different because Clapton (quite sagely) interchanged it with the (far catchier) riff from another of Mr. Johnson's songs, 'Travelling Riverside Blues'. Eureka! Yeah? Thanks for keeping the music alive, Luke. Lovin' that Bass.
Lots of insight in this video. Thanks! As a teenager Jack studied at conservatory with all the academic courses like harmony and counterpoint. I think his depth of knowledge of music theory was unusual in rock music and it gave him the confidence to be more daring in his bass lines. Also, he just had a cocky personality.
Wow! What a lesson, Luke! I had to learn this for a jam with my father in law. He likes that Dad rock. I learned the basic line, but man, Jack Bruce goes off on this song. I like how you summed up the song with Jack's quote about Cream really being a jazz band. That makes perfect sense listening to this song and how he plays on it. Thanks!
Terrific lesson Luke. As much as learning Jack Bruce's piece would be great, understanding what he did allows one to create an entirely unique yet complimentary interpretation. I'm doing this with one of my band's as we learn to play The Who's 'The Real Me'.
17:44 Yes. When we started there was no Internet, no tutorials, just vinyl. The method we all used was to pick someone whose playing we liked and copy that. I mean, note for note. We learned ghe chromatic, major and minor scales but we didn't obsess over them. All of the great blues and rock players of the 60s and 70s were the same. Many were practically illiterate in music theory (not Bruce) but they had internalised the playing they liked so well that it just came out. Clapton once described it as 'singing' not playing, the instrument. Practising scales will help your dexterity, especially on the bass, but not your musicality.
Thanks for this breakdown video lesson, Luke! Jack Bruce (and his playing on Crossroads from Wheels of Fire) really fired me up about playing bass. Prior to that I enjoyed playing but felt the vibe that a bass player's role is to stick to the background and be subtle while supporting the backbone of the song. What an eye-opener it was to hear Jack's playing.
Jack Bruce was truly my first bass guitar hero. Love Jack's playing, voice, and music in general. I would also recommend his solo work (albums) aside from his collaborative efforts with other groups. Often imitated, NEVER duplicated. I would say Mel Schacher (Grand Funk) is closest I could compare with the similar "thick" bass tone and playability. Although I think Schacher used a pick a lot more.
Jack Bruce had a wide and varied music education. Beginning as a boy soprano then classically trained in Cello then immersed into the Jazz and Blues world on upright bass to finally ending up here in a kind of hybrid pop/progressive rock band which would be a precursor to hard rock, prog and metal.
Thanks Luke I enjoyed that and I'll sit down and put some workshop time into it. I've listened to that recording many times, but never really heard it until now. Cheers
Yes Luke! This and John Entwistle 's bass on The Real Me by the Who - Made me see the bass in a different way. Like Jamerson, they played around melodically and rhythmically but always served the song first and foremost. Inspired by these as a teenager and probably helped me choose the bass over anything else. Almost 40 years later still finding new ideas from these 2 lines.
Such a masterpiece is right.A musician's musician.What Cream and Bruce do is pure magic! That you're able to cop his lines so effortlessly is high skill indeed.Cheers!
Hey Luke! Great lesson!! Being a dad with kids in their 20’s, I’ve learned to appreciate a ton of the great music still being made in the last 10 years i.e. One Republic, Imagine Dragons,etc. It’s awesome to discover more. Glad you’ve highlighted the genius of Jack Bruce 55 yrs ago for others to hear. And to think he did this all in one live take with Eric & Ginger! Yes, too bad there’s no video …
Hi Luke Jack was a classical cellist before he took up the upright bass and then electric bass. Lots of his style and riffs come from a classical cello approach.
This is one of your many amazing "teaching" videos that you present very well and in a very approachable manner and not OTT with all that hey you guys stuff This video happened to pop up on my mobile and I knew I had to listen. This was such a relieved clicked in error on a video demonstrating how playing slap bass it's not hard. It is quite probably be on me to play like that but I have no desire to play or listen to a slapped bass. I don't doubt that it's cool full and it's all part of the musical spectrum but it all sounds to me like people rapidly breaking wind 🤣
Uh... a few... With a LIttle Help from My Friends (Joe Cocker version), Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding (Elton John) (or anything else Dee Murray played on), Man Who Sold the World (Nirvana Unplugged version), Losing My Religion (REM), anything by Led Zeppelin, It’s My LIfe (Talk Talk - Live in Montreax version), London Calling (the Clash), Mexico (James Taylor)….
You see multi-instrumentalist use this type of note choice, he played guitar, piano, and double bass. BTW: I was at their last tour show on Oct 24, 1968 at the Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, Line-up was : "White Room" "Sunshine of Your Love" "I'm So Glad" "Sitting on Top of the World" "Cross Road Blues" (as it was called then) "Train Time" Toad Spoonful
Listening to you, I remembered the first time I heard this, on a cheap Cream greatest hits. Blew me away with its energy and intensity - that mix of frenzied playing and "minding the shop". Really enjoyed your analysis. Cheers.
Fabulous lesson Luke! Have sent you a separate email with more detail, my other favourite Bruce bass lines would include Badge, I Feel Free and Born Under a Bad sign. Going to study the video again and the tabs!
Really enjoyed this, thanks, but I found some distortion coming through from your base and your volume seemed to get higher towards the end of your video. But yes I would like to see more like this. Rob
Very enjoyable Luke. My favourite bass man hands down, since the first time I saw him with the Graham Bond Org. in 1965 at tiny club in Leicester and later with Cream in 67. Although the majority of what your are so well illustrating here is way beyond novice, aging digits.
I'm fundamentally a guitar player but play all my own instruments on my compositions and there are two bassists that I try to channel when composing basslines and that´s Jack Bruce and Paul McCartney, depending on the song. Crossroads was Baker´s vehicle more than it was Clapton´s if you ask me, and Bruce and Baker really attracted me to listening to Cream more than Clapton did.
I saw Cream in Providence, R.I. in 1969? Yes, I am that old. JB was a great bass player and vocalist. May I recommend his very fine post-Cream album "Songs for a Tailor". RIP Jack.
You nail this and your assessment is so spot on.How do you bend like he does.I love his overdriven EB bass.What a musical genius.And also one of the best vocalist ever.His voice shines on Theme from an imaginary western among others.
Great question @Kev Mac - I don't have a lesson about bending, but the way I think about it is almost getting 'under' the string you're trying to bend and leveraging all my finger/hand strength to push it up.
![Duff McKagan: Decoded [Punk-King Of The Bass Melody]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SrEcFNtPmCA/mqdefault.jpg)
Do you have other favorite Jack Bruce bass lines? If so, what are they?
Pretty much anything he played. He was one of my main influences when I started playing bass. Jack Bruce, John Entwistle and McCartney. Wide range of styles, but it was who I listened to, switching from guitar midstream.
white room--could you also comment on the "lead bass" jams unique to cream. spoonful, sweet wine (live versions) unique in rock music.
Bruce studied cello. he said Bach had great bass lines.
I loved all his work with Cream. You could do any of them! Cant miss. He opened so many doors for rock bass, and wouldn’t you know it, he was a jazz player at heart.
@@tonysimmons5729 My late,classical violinist brother led me to Cream.Cream, led me to explore Mingus & Parker , Indian Ragas , and of course-Delta blues.
Leslie West was my brother and when The Vagrants and Mountain disbanded, Les, Jack and Corky started West Bruce and Laing and began practicing and recording. I was fortunate enough to be there when they practiced and recorded in upstate NY. I love Jaco but Jack was more attainable for me as a bass player. Keep the videos coming, You do a great job.
Your brother was one of my guitar heroes, but aside from that, IMO Jack Bruce's best rock playing was with West, Bruce and Laing
Of course Bruce was more accessible than Jaco. Same way the Beatles are more accessible than Beethoven. That being said. Bruce was an amazing musician.
thx for sharing larry . great.. just one of so many that got on board the "cream' jack bruce train way back.. probably the first time i heard "sunshine' when i was 14 or so.. so our little band down in south san diego had to add that to the list.. anyway.. i became a fan.. and more than obsession even.. i lived it everyday.. soon after i had to get an EB3.. couldn't afford it though.. so eventually i got the first year that Ibanez made their version.. the neck pickup didn't cut it so i was able to score a gibson .. yeah.. huge difference.. sorry for goin on but this brings back a lot.. i didn't see cream but i know they player in san diego way back.. but the first time i saw jack was west, bruce, and laing.. in san diego.. so a dream come true.. jack's tone live as you know was awesome just awesome.. he had two marshall stacks and one "stramp" stack.. i believe les had three stramps.. man.. corky was a wild man thats for sure.. sort of keith moon crazyness.. i never saw corky or les again.. but did see jack with his own band a few years later.. the one with david sancious ..oh.. songs for a tailor never left the turntable.. it changed my whole idea of everything.. i saw jack in his last year or so. with a tony williams lifetime tribute.. at yoshis in oakland.. amazing time seeing jack in a small venue. cindy blackman was drumming.. so at the end of the second set . carlos who is married to cindy got up and did sunshine etc.. anyway.. thanks for sharing .. i also saw jaco on three differect occasions.. i moved his acoustic 360's the first time .. he was very quiet.. mostly with his hoodie pulled tight so you couldn't really talk to him.. and then around 86 he was in SF area and came into the Sweetwater in Mill Valley to see the Charles Neville band.. called the survivors.. so he didn't play that night.. just watched from the bar for a set .. on the break he met the band .. and met the 19 year old piano player "harry connick jr".. i wonder if harry remembers.. ha.. yeah both jack and jaco changed my life.. and i still listen at least once a week to both of them.. hey why not.. they are legends .. ok caio.. cheers.. and im still playin.. i'll bend a couple of extra notes for jack and throw in a few harmonics for jaco.. ha..
@LarryWestWeinstein Holy Sh...Tah ! Hello Larry .Any brother of Leslie's is a brother of mine. He was fantastic , always had the best f'n time seeing him with Mountain and later with WB&L..part of my BEST memories. Shalom, peace to you & family.
Jaco was more of a purist while Jack was eclectic, a wild card. He was a remarkable musician. He'd pull in influences and phrases from all over the place (especially Bach) and bend them to his purpose. He was incredibly well grounded in music and loved everything.
I was very fortunate at fifteen/ sixteen to see Jack Bruce play in the Graham Bond Organization several times, with Ginger Baker of course. Then Cream in 67. Even at that age I knew I was listening to something very special. Thanks for your observations and insights into his unique style of playing. He was a man of great humility as well.
I would see the Graham Bond Organization once a week throughout 1965 at the Cooks Ferry Inn Edmonton London...they really were very good..Graham could handle that Hammond Organ effortlessly often playing the Hammond and a saxophone at the same time. What an unbelievable band they were.
Hey Luke, glad you woke up to "Crossroads" and realize it's not "Dad Rock". As a Dad right now, I was a teenager learning bass when the original record came out in 1968. I was totally astounded from the first time I heard it, and I'm still totally astounded all these years later. It's a masterpiece on three levels --- guitar, bass, and drums. It's the culmination of many performances by Cream and is a live recording. I never get tired of listening to it. Nobody has ever done anything that exceeds it in terms of virtuoso performance.
Jack Bruce is one of the all time greats. A career in Jazz, blues and rock n roll, all of it done superbly. His use of the Eb3 with Cream really established the use of a rich, full, bass sound. His writing, singing, piano playing and more make him a great musician. To sing And improvise on the bass is very hard but he does it with ease. I can't praise him enough.
Jack is one of my musical heroes. A phenomenal bassist, vocalist, songwriter, cellist, and pianist. I was lucky enough to meet him in 2012. A highlight of my life. Thank you so much for this lesson!!!
There's also the incredible fact that he's the main vocalist in Cream as well. He's such a high-level player he can turn in excellent performances in both spheres simultaneously.
I believe Ginger also started in jazz. Despite their legendary behind the scenes punch ups, Ginger and Jack were like Brothers when it came to playing.
Thank you for the Bruce appreciation! His various solo albums went far beyond the Cream stuff, as good as that stuff was . :"More Jack than God" and other albums are full of such great musicianship. Rarely given enough credit. Thank you for paying tribute.
I went through a brief Black Sabbath phase *years* ago, but I could possibly go back and relisten to all the Geezer stuff. Is there any particular bass line/song/album that you love @Christian Clausen?
Now I feel old. I had a Cream album with this and several other songs. The drummer, Ginger Baker, was one of the three best drummers in rock, with the other two being John Bonham, and Mitch Mitchell. The Crossroads song really made Clapton sound like a super guitar player. I never realized Jack Bruce was bending - good to know. Badge was a great song to hear the bass on, too. Great video!
I used a lot of jack Bs live bass riffs as jumping off points for songs. works well form drone.
The craziest bass line is from the Goodbye album Im so glad.
That was great, Luke. I've been working through the entirety of Cream's album Disraeli Gears. It's been my first attempt at Jack Bruce baselines, and I've really come to appreciate his style of playing. And in your video the way you cook it down to some essential ideas is very helpful. Thanks.
Thanks so much for the kind words @John Marino - I really appreciate it. Good luck with the rest of Disraeli Gears. There are some monster lines in there.
JB was an absolute MONSTER player! Great video 👍
Wheels of Fire was the first LP record I bought with my pocket money aged 13 when it came out. So I know this song very well indeed. It does have an exceptional bass line which is probably one reason why it's maybe the third most famous Cream song after Sunshine of Your Love and White Room. As to other Jack Bruce bass brilliance I've always thought his work in Lou Read's album Berlin was exceptional. However I think his best bass work of all is on his first record after Cream broke up, the largely forgotten and criminally underrated Songs for a Taylor.
Songs is my favorite lp. Got it when it was released and still play it today.
Thank you SO much! I've been wrapping my head around that terrific bass line for a long time! 👍👏
This is a very cool and welcome analysis. Most people talk about Clapton's guitar work on this track and rightly so but they totally miss the brilliance of Bruce and Baker.
nice vid. I am 62 and picked light gauge flatwound strings when I starting playing bass in 1975 because the word then ( we didnt have the web) was that was what Jack Bruce used. Still favour flatwounds all these years later.
Well well- That is the missing part of my puzzle. Jack much later ,in the late 80's detailed his new rig in a Guitar Player, or (?)RS interview. With the Warwick bass he chose round wounds to interface with the "punchier" Hartke bass amp aluminum cone speakers with a Hughes& Kettner "fortress" pre-amp.
It's about time someone did a video on just Jack Bruce, he is the reason why I switched from guitar to bass at 13. My first bass was a Gibson EB-0. Plus he was a multi- instrumentalist, guitar, piano, every kind of bass guitar, harmonica and great voice and songwriter. He influenced so many great rock bass guitar players. One of my favorite songs he wrote he did not even make famous, Theme From an Imaginary Western that Mountain first recorded, with his long time writing partner Pete Brown.
@frankperricone2065 I'm Jack's OG warrior, as well. Pretty sure you love this-I found Jack playing Hammond B3 as part of Stephen Still's band (w/Dallas Taylor of CSN&Y on Fender bass )performing Black Queen here on YT.
@@anauticalgate5496 I'm going to have to look that up, never saw Jack behing a B-3 and he has played with so many great musicians. Thanks for the heads up, going to Utub right now to check it out, thanks again.
It has always been one of my favorite tracks. Jack, He also shines with Alan Holdsworth, especially with White Line-Sherwood Forest Tapes/Demos. I look back now and REALLY admire him for the bass player he was!
As a jack’s fan for years this is the best tribute that can be done to his playing. Thank you.
That's high praise @philippe melkonian - I really appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Youf lessons are always so cool and so helpful things you can start applying now,thanks again brother!!
Damn I will never forget being a teenager and playing in a band that wanted to cover this song. I always had whatever song we were doing figured out by the time we got to practice. I remember looking at the tabs for this and realizing i was in over my head at the time. I was just phoning it in the first few times we played it, it probably took me a month to actually have it down haha. He was a musical genius for sure.
Join the club .my fingers bled trying to keep up on my EB 0,much less anticipate where Jack would go
Good vid - thanks. A point to remember, bending on an EB3 is fairly easy even with medium strings - the short scale is key.
That's also a really good point @Jon Gibbins - thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Luke. Really awesome analysis of Jack Bruce.
Hi Luke.....I saw Jack with Cream 6 times in 1967 and 1968......and in 1970 with Mitch Mitchell in the Jack Bruce Group....as a solo artist in San Diego and with Ginger Baker in Los Angeles......He was a major influennce on my writing and music.....Ray George (The George Edwards Group)
One of the best. The EB3 is a shortscale bass which again will add to the tone and the ability to bend the strings easier. Thank you for putting this out. Regards.
Presenter Luke did a very good job of talking about music, theory as applied by Bruce in this song, and helpful suggestions - rather than focusing too narrowly on simply reproducing Bruce's' lines. This is quite refreshing. You can only take, or I can, only take so many note-by-note tutorials.
Dude Luke's volume occasionally clipped my speakers, LOL, but that's okay.
I like Bruce's playing and singing in Cream. There's a school of thought that his lines sometimes didn't work well with Clapton's guitar parts and I think that's very occasionally true. Generally though their parts worked well together.
When asked about rock bassists, Jack, who was nothing if not confident said "there's only two. Me and Paul McCartney." True or not it was amusing to hear him say it!
Good video, cheers.
Do Deserted Cities of the Heart next! Absolutely Jack's finest moment on Wheels of Fire, IMO, between the playing and singing
A cool bass line he used was when he was playing with manfred Mann.
Its from the song machines....definitely a preview of the sound he would use in cream.
Hey Luke --- here's a Jack Bruce "secret" that I still don't understand. How on earth does he sing and play bass at the same time so fantastically well? For a great example, check out "Born Under A Bad Sign" by Cream. That is some of the most difficult singing and playing bass I have ever heard. It seems like Jack is singing in a different tempo than the music. HIs vocal seems to be half the time of the music, and I'm sure he is doing this deliberately. Try copying him! It's extremely hard.
Sure, the riff is different from Robert Johnson's original on 'Cross Road Blues'. But calling Cream's version of the song "just a straight-up 12 bar Blues" is to sell it just a wee bit short. It's riff is different because Clapton (quite sagely) interchanged it with the (far catchier) riff from another of Mr. Johnson's songs, 'Travelling Riverside Blues'. Eureka! Yeah?
Thanks for keeping the music alive, Luke. Lovin' that Bass.
Lots of insight in this video. Thanks! As a teenager Jack studied at conservatory with all the academic courses like harmony and counterpoint. I think his depth of knowledge of music theory was unusual in rock music and it gave him the confidence to be more daring in his bass lines. Also, he just had a cocky personality.
Wow! What a lesson, Luke! I had to learn this for a jam with my father in law. He likes that Dad rock. I learned the basic line, but man, Jack Bruce goes off on this song. I like how you summed up the song with Jack's quote about Cream really being a jazz band. That makes perfect sense listening to this song and how he plays on it. Thanks!
Definitely - when you look at it through that lens, the entire approach is crystal clear. Glad you liked it @Thomas Fioriglio
Terrific lesson Luke. As much as learning Jack Bruce's piece would be great, understanding what he did allows one to create an entirely unique yet complimentary interpretation. I'm doing this with one of my band's as we learn to play The Who's 'The Real Me'.
17:44 Yes. When we started there was no Internet, no tutorials, just vinyl. The method we all used was to pick someone whose playing we liked and copy that. I mean, note for note. We learned ghe chromatic, major and minor scales but we didn't obsess over them. All of the great blues and rock players of the 60s and 70s were the same. Many were practically illiterate in music theory (not Bruce) but they had internalised the playing they liked so well that it just came out. Clapton once described it as 'singing' not playing, the instrument. Practising scales will help your dexterity, especially on the bass, but not your musicality.
He was wonderful. One can argue (as a local guitar teacher did in the 80s) that Clapton was the weakest member of Cream.
This is a fantastic analysis, thanks for making this!
Thanks for this breakdown video lesson, Luke! Jack Bruce (and his playing on Crossroads from Wheels of Fire) really fired me up about playing bass. Prior to that I enjoyed playing but felt the vibe that a bass player's role is to stick to the background and be subtle while supporting the backbone of the song. What an eye-opener it was to hear Jack's playing.
Great breakdown on this song. This is an awesome lesson.
Jack Bruce was truly my first bass guitar hero. Love Jack's playing, voice, and music in general. I would also recommend his solo work (albums) aside from his collaborative efforts with other groups. Often imitated, NEVER duplicated. I would say Mel Schacher (Grand Funk) is closest I could compare with the similar "thick" bass tone and playability. Although I think Schacher used a pick a lot more.
Jack Bruce had a wide and varied music education. Beginning as a boy soprano then classically trained in Cello then immersed into the Jazz and Blues world on upright bass to finally ending up here in a kind of hybrid pop/progressive rock band which would be a precursor to hard rock, prog and metal.
Thanks Luke I enjoyed that and I'll sit down and put some workshop time into it.
I've listened to that recording many times, but never really heard it until now.
Cheers
Yes Luke! This and John Entwistle 's bass on The Real Me by the Who - Made me see the bass in a different way. Like Jamerson, they played around melodically and rhythmically but always served the song first and foremost. Inspired by these as a teenager and probably helped me choose the bass over anything else. Almost 40 years later still finding new ideas from these 2 lines.
That's another great line @Darren Marzell - I'm not surprised you're still learning new things from them after so long. They're both immense!
Such a masterpiece is right.A musician's musician.What Cream and Bruce do is pure magic! That you're able to cop his lines so effortlessly is high skill indeed.Cheers!
Capisco poco del tuo post, ma so che su una cosa siamo d'accordo: Jack era IMMENSO ❤
Hey Luke! Great lesson!! Being a dad with kids in their 20’s, I’ve learned to appreciate a ton of the great music still being made in the last 10 years i.e. One Republic, Imagine Dragons,etc. It’s awesome to discover more. Glad you’ve highlighted the genius of Jack Bruce 55 yrs ago for others to hear. And to think he did this all in one live take with Eric & Ginger! Yes, too bad there’s no video …
Jack's vocal were as fierce as his incredible bass work.
Hi Luke Jack was a classical cellist before he took up the upright bass and then electric bass. Lots of his style and riffs come from a classical cello approach.
This is one of your many amazing "teaching" videos that you present very well and in a very approachable manner and not OTT with all that hey you guys stuff
This video happened to pop up on my mobile and I knew I had to listen.
This was such a relieved clicked in error on a video demonstrating how playing slap bass it's not hard.
It is quite probably be on me to play like that but I have no desire to play or listen to a slapped bass.
I don't doubt that it's cool full and it's all part of the musical spectrum but it all sounds to me like people rapidly breaking wind 🤣
Fun fact, Jack Bruce was Geezer Butler's biggest influence on bass.
Geddy lee as well
Wow this was great. Never knew what a madman he was on bass!
I've always appreciated his jazz-style vocals on Cream songs, didn't realize his amazing bass had jazz roots as well. Thanks.
I can see how Jack Bruce inspired Geddy Lee.
With cream, I always just listened to Jack.... I adore his interpretations!.... nice to hear this analysis!
Bruce was a great singer and bass player. "Badge" is one of my favorites.
To hear him is one thing ,when you've witnessed his mastery in person , the experience ruins you for any other bassist. and yes i love Jaco too.
This is amazing! Do more of these "decoded" things - we can learn so much from diving this deep into a song &/or bassist.
There's definitely more of these kinds of videos in the work @JT washere59. Did you have any particular song/album/artist that you'd want 'decoded'?
Uh... a few... With a LIttle Help from My Friends (Joe Cocker version), Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding (Elton John) (or anything else Dee Murray played on), Man Who Sold the World (Nirvana Unplugged version), Losing My Religion (REM), anything by Led Zeppelin, It’s My LIfe (Talk Talk - Live in Montreax version), London Calling (the Clash), Mexico (James Taylor)….
Glen Cornick, the first bass player in Jethro Tull. Very underrated
The bassline for I'm So Glad live on Goodbye is what opened my ears to the bass.
Excellent Video and Content Format!
Jack Bruce is criminally under-rated IMHO. GREAT bass player but more importantly a great musician. RIP Mr Bruce. Thanks for posting.
He was voted best bass player in the world in the 1970 Melody Maker polls.
Here we go again. "Jack Bruce was underrated" "Beatles were underrated" "Mozart was underrated"
Underrated singer to boot
Another fascinating lesson Luke. I love the tone you get from your bass; what exactly is it?
Thank you brother, another great vid and some feakin' great playing.
One of my favorite moments is at roughly 0:46, where Jack plays a G instead of a D in the bass, creating a Gmaj9 chord.
You see multi-instrumentalist use this type of note choice, he played guitar, piano, and double bass.
BTW: I was at their last tour show on Oct 24, 1968 at the Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas,
Line-up was :
"White Room"
"Sunshine of Your Love"
"I'm So Glad"
"Sitting on Top of the World"
"Cross Road Blues" (as it was called then)
"Train Time"
Toad
Spoonful
Listening to you, I remembered the first time I heard this, on a cheap Cream greatest hits. Blew me away with its energy and intensity - that mix of frenzied playing and "minding the shop". Really enjoyed your analysis. Cheers.
Fabulous lesson Luke! Have sent you a separate email with more detail, my other favourite Bruce bass lines would include Badge, I Feel Free and Born Under a Bad sign. Going to study the video again and the tabs!
I used to think Politician wasn't so hard till I tried singing it while playing.Everything he plays in it is counter to his singing.
Tales of brave Ulysses
What a superb summary!
Like an A+ essay
Geezer Butler says Jack was one of major influences. Also Leo Lyons from Ten Years After.
When he drops down to the 3rd, he's using a standard Jazz/Blues/R&B tactic .
Really enjoyed this, thanks, but I found some distortion coming through from your base and your volume seemed to get higher towards the end of your video. But yes I would like to see more like this. Rob
thank you , if only id seen this video 50 years ago
Great lesson as always. I am a Cream fan and Jack Bruce is one of the greatest rock bass players
100% agreed!
Yeh he was great made the band what they were
Crossroads in my opinion was the Greatest live Rock recording ever made
A Masterpiece ,
Awesome video yo!
Fascinating video - thank you so much for your knowledge.
Crossroads was one of my first songs I learned all the way through. It was a lot of work, but it's the only way to do it
I wish Jack could have seen this. He really would have enjoyed it.
Awesome material Man, thank you!
Very enjoyable Luke. My favourite bass man hands down, since the first time I saw him with the Graham Bond Org. in 1965 at tiny club in Leicester and later with Cream in 67.
Although the majority of what your are so well illustrating here is way beyond novice, aging digits.
That would have been awesome to see him even before Cream. You're a lucky man @vince O
Fantastic analysis! Great lesson!
I'm fundamentally a guitar player but play all my own instruments on my compositions and there are two bassists that I try to channel when composing basslines and that´s Jack Bruce and Paul McCartney, depending on the song. Crossroads was Baker´s vehicle more than it was Clapton´s if you ask me, and Bruce and Baker really attracted me to listening to Cream more than Clapton did.
HAVE FOLLOWED YOU ON AND OFF OVER THE YEARS AND YOU REMAIN SUCH AN ENTHUSIAST THAT YOU REMAIN FOR ME AMONG THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL BASS MENTOR!!!
Thanks so much @marie dega - I'm glad you're finding it inspirational. Jack was hugely inspirational to me for sure.
Thanks excellent lesson Luke
I saw Cream in Providence, R.I. in 1969? Yes, I am that old. JB was a great bass player and vocalist. May I recommend his very fine post-Cream album "Songs for a Tailor". RIP Jack.
Thanks Luke. Wow, lot to work on there. My friend knew Jack Bruce, his wife gave him his hash pipe!
Haha! That's awesome! I'm sure he was very appreciative for the pipe.
@@BecomeABassist Yeah, haven’t managed to persuade him that we should use it together to try to connect to the spirit of Jack!
You nail this and your assessment is so spot on.How do you bend like he does.I love his overdriven EB bass.What a musical genius.And also one of the best vocalist ever.His voice shines on Theme from an imaginary western among others.
Great question @Kev Mac - I don't have a lesson about bending, but the way I think about it is almost getting 'under' the string you're trying to bend and leveraging all my finger/hand strength to push it up.
@@BecomeABassist jack used very light strings on his eb3 bass to allow easier bending of strings
His live performances were played differently too. Jack Bruce’s live improvisations were great.
Thumbnail looks more like Roy Scheider holding a bass.
Thanks much , great work🎶👍
I suspect you are right. Jack Bruce knows what he’s doing. I wonder why exactly Ginger Baker and Jack were in disagreement about anything.
you're so right. it's the best version!
That Spector sounds gorgeous man.
Yeah, it really does!
try the album "live cream". I saw them in the 60s - incredible.
I heard that Jack Bruce learned classical music as well. Jack Bruce also knew about the music of Johan Sebastian Bach.
Luke, thanks for this. Now I can 'build' the bass lines instead of 'butchering' them!
Jack Bruce's book about blues bass is underrated
Thanks for doing this Luke, I am a big Jack Bruce fan. Have you thought about doing one on Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath?
Absolutely Geezer is a beast as well these two to me are the heaviest.
Ripper of a lesson, mate! Love theses detailed breakdowns. Mostly beyond my abilities but there is always a take-away. You are an excellent educator!
Thanks so much @Andy Eastbank. I love that you're still getting some little nugget, even if the entirety of the line is beyond you at the moment.
Jack was one of the great talents of the 20th Century
100% agree!
There are not enough superlatives to describe Jack Bruce.
Se penso a lui piango e basta, di gioia per la meraviglia che ci ha lasciato, e di struggimento perché non c'è più