A slice of Cream on the side

When I was in High School I used to listen to two classic rock stations a lot. One station was in Hartford and the other was in New Haven. The Hartford one used to play more classic rock then the one in New Haven. The one in Hartford had a better afternoon DJ. As part of a school class project I got to spend time with the afternoon DJ. I met Keith Emerson and talked music with him and asked him some cool thought provoking questions. That will be for another post in the future.

The DJ's for the New Haven station were crazy. They had an awesome morning show and a really fun late night 7PM to Midnight show. The late show played less classic rock and played new rock. They were the first in the state to play The Black Crowes, they were the first to debut Pearl Jam.

One night the DJ announced that he had a new band he wanted us to listen to. He mentioned it was like a new Cream. He also mentioned that Ginger Baker was part of this project. I got excited. Then they played the song. "Fuckin' believe it" opens the studio dialog begins the song by Ginger Baker. His drumming is like a march and the guitar and bass kick in. It feels like a modern Cream just entered your ears.



The only song from that album that made airplay was the song that the radio station played that night. It's title alone can send the mind thinking. The title "She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)." When I heard the song I was ready to buy the album and see the tour. As a trio this band was pretty damn good. I saw the show in New Haven and they were great. It was the only time I saw Ginger Baker in a rock setting. He was awesome. He even made his signature vocals at the show and on the album.

The show was only and hour and half, but it felt like forever. I even closed my eyes thinking that this is what Cream sounded like. I went home and cranked the album. Masters of Reality is a great edgy rock album. The hooks are amazing and Ginger could be nothing short of perfect. Each song has it's own identity. The result is fiery, smoking rock in a classic vein, rescuing the genre from the dullard efforts that groups like The Black Crowes were plaguing listeners with; even by-the-numbers blues-rock struts like "V.H.V." have a sharp, immediate kick to them.(AM)



A few of my favorite songs on the album are "Rabbit One" and "The Moon In Your Pocket." Each of these songs has it's own vision and once you listen to them you can hear that pretty clearly. If you listen to this album I am sure that you would want to try to start your own trio. It's got so much fun effort of playing you will be assured that you to can play like this. All in all a great album. Enjoy a early 90's classic as much as I do.