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Cream Stirring Up 2005 Reunion
11/09/2004 6:45 PM, Reuters
Jonathan Cohen
Vintage rock trio Cream will reunite
for a string of shows next year at London's Royal Albert Hall,
sources tell Billboard.
The group -- guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton , drummer
Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce -- played its final shows
at Albert Hall before splintering in November 1968. Cream has
not performed together since its 1993 induction into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame.
Billboard understands that the trio will begin rehearsals
after the first of the year, with an eye on a weeklong run of
gigs at Albert Hall. It is unknown if plans call for additional
shows in other parts of the world. A spokesperson for Clapton
had no comment.
In just two years, Cream achieved legendary status on the
strength of the albums "Fresh Cream," "Disraeli Gears"
(recently reissued in a deluxe edition by Polydor) and the
half-live/half-studio "Wheels of Fire," expertly blending
blues, rock and the burgeoning strains of psychedelia.
"Disraeli Gears" is a particular landmark, sporting such
signature tracks as "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love,"
which features one of the most distinctive riffs in rock
history.
"Live, Cream was a great, hardworking band -- Eric was
supreme and Ginger the most musical drummer alive -- and those
original live albums were very good, probably the best records
of their kind up to that point," Bruce told Billboard in 1997,
prior to the release of the boxed set "Those Were the Days."
"But our studio recordings were probably more important,
although there you can tell that each one of us had a different
idea of what Cream should be."
After Cream's split, Clapton and Baker joined another
supergroup, Blind Faith, with Traffic's Steve Winwood and
Family bassist Rick Grech. But the combo issued only one album
before Clapton set off on an enduring solo career. Baker and
Bruce have continued to record and tour in a variety of
incarnations.
Clapton will release a new CD/DVD, "Sessions for Robert J,"
on Dec. 7 via Duck/Reprise.
Reuters/Billboard
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