Try getting the best guitarist, best bassist, and best drummer in the London music scene to work well together it isnt likely to happen for long. Supergroups are, by their very nature, extremely ego-driven outfits. The first major supergroup in rock, Cream is no exception. Although they managed to create big waves in pop music, they didnt keep it together very long. Fresh Cream, the bands debut, dropped in 1966, and by 1968 they were releasing their final album, Goodbye. All along, though, the troubles were obvious the bands intense, lengthy jams could often be dazzling spectacles of musical virtuosity, but many of them sound like giant pissing contests as each member struggles for space with each of the others. The problems were especially apparent with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. Bruces bass was often so loud and overdriven that Baker had to pummel his kit just to be heard. Eric Clapton allegedly stopped playing during one concert, and neither Bruce nor Baker noticed. Discontented with the showiness and pomposity, Clapton left the band for milder collaborations and a solo career in which he refashioned himself from a guitar hero to a singer-songwriter. The group has reunited for a few shows since their breakup, but Baker and Bruces feud kept flaring up; all three members have flatly said No to the possibility of a prolonged reformation.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
