![\"Issue35-jack-bruce\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue35-jack-bruce.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nJack Bruce cemented his legacy when he composed one of rock\u2019s most enduring riffs\u2014the signature bassline of \u201cSunshine of Your Love.\u201d But his many contributions to the 1960s supergroup Cream\u2014which he formed with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker\u2014comprise but a fragment of a career that\u2019s veered from jazz to metal to R&B. In the years since Cream broke up, Bruce has released more than a dozen studio albums. His first solo record in a decade, Silver Rails<\/i>, finds his innovative instincts as sharp as ever. \u201cI\u2019m simply still in love with making music,\u201d says Bruce, 71.<\/p>\n
Why the 10-year wait?<\/b><\/p>\n
The head of Esoteric Records asked if I\u2019d be interested in making a studio album, and I realized I hadn\u2019t made a totally solo album since More Jack Than God<\/i>, which was released just before I got ill [liver cancer]. I knew then I simply had to make the album. The first song I wrote, \u201cDrone,\u201d was inspired by listening to my son\u2019s favorite band, Om. The others quickly formed themselves in my mind, a combination of ideas I had been playing with as well as some brand-new ones. \u201cCandlelight\u201d was inspired by a beautiful and evocative lyric written by my wife, Margrit Seyffer, and the tone and pace for Silver Rails<\/i> was set.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How did the sessions go? \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The recording was amazingly smooth and organic thanks to my wonderful producer Rob Cass, as well as others at Abbey Road Studios, including recording engineer Paul Pritchard and programmer and engineer Pearse MacIntyre.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sum up your experience with Cream.<\/b><\/p>\n
Cream was tremendously hard work at the time, but ultimately very satisfying. The internal pressures were significant, but I think that applies to all successful bands. Most problems were caused by extremely poor management\u2014and our manager, Robert Stigwood, was very greedy to say the least. His shortsighted vision of the band helped its early demise.<\/p>\n
How\u2019d you write the rock classic \u201cSunshine of Your Love\u201d?<\/b><\/p>\n
One night I was working with my lyricist and friend Pete Brown, and we just hadn\u2019t come up with anything good. Suddenly I picked up my double bass and played the \u201cSunshine of Your Love\u201d riff. Pete looked out the window at the glow in the sky and wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s getting near dawn.\u201d I took the riff, melody and lyrics to a band rehearsal and Eric [Clapton] wrote the turnaround chords and we had a song. It was [engineer] Tom Dowd\u2019s idea to reverse the drum beat. He told Ginger, \u201cPlay like those Western movies when the Indians appear and the drums go, BOOM boom boom boom BOOM boom boom boom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any chance of another reunion?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m only in irregular contact with Eric, but I know we have mutual respect for each other\u2019s work. I don\u2019t believe there will be further Cream reunions. However, I never thought the first one would happen, so there you go!<\/p>\n
What inspires your diverse styles?<\/b><\/p>\n
I love the challenge of attempting to master many different musical styles and techniques. I have been very comfortable playing blues-rock with Robin Trower or my late friend Gary Moore. But I also love the edgier music of Carla Bley or Tony Williams\u2014or my recent band, Spectrum Road.<\/p>\n
\u2013Lee Zimmerman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JACK BRUCE The legendary bass ace returns with his first solo album in a decade Jack Bruce cemented his legacy when he composed one of rock\u2019s most enduring riffs\u2014the signature bassline of \u201cSunshine of Your Love.\u201d But his many contributions to the 1960s supergroup Cream\u2014which he formed with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker\u2014comprise but a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[7648,7638],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14594,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14592\/revisions\/14594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}