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Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005 by Martyn Atkins
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DVD detailsActor: Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce Director: Martyn Atkins Cinematographer: J?rg V. Walther Cinematographer: Martyn Atkins Editor: William Bullen Producer: Anu Krishnan Producer: Barry Schulman Producer: David Horn Producer: James Pluta Producer: John Beug Producer: Kathy Rivkin Producer: Natalie Johns Producer: Stephen 'Scooter' Weintraub Writer: Janine Polla Werner DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), DTS 5.1 Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 130 minutes Published: 2005 DVD Release Date: 2005-10-04 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Warner Strat. Mkt.
DVD Reviews of Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005DVD Review: A great performance Summary: 5 StarsCream sounds better than ever. This is a great DVD. If the camera work was better (why look at the inside of an elevator at Royal Albert or some rather unattractive women when the camera should be on the stars). Despite the less than stellar cinematography this seems to show these 3 guys at their best. I wish the DVD contained more songs and longer interviews.
DVD Review: RIP Cream Summary: 1 StarsI didn't have much hope for this from the start, yet probably like so many other fans I was wishing for some kind of resemblance to the groundbreaking band and sound I've enjoyed. There's truly nothing here folks. Ginger is flat alright, but I feel it's got to be said that Eric is really the no-show. With all due respect to him and his achievements, he seems to have made no effort to recapture any of the magic. Completely gone is the fire, ferocity, imagination, style, improvisation, spaciness, intensity, and so on that marked his playing back then. Not to mention the more tangible technical effects like any feedback, vibrato, etc, - all screaming for a Gibson SG like that lovely "Fool" he once played. Now I wasn't expecting the brilliance of shows like the Whisky A Go-Go club or Detroit Grand Ballroom, as heard on the boots available from their fall '67 tour, but those players were absent completely. Gone was what made his playing so incredible then - the fusion of blending the Mayall period licks with the psychedelia, and even a little country for good measure. It could well be true what Eric has said in interviews - that there was a brief peak, and '68 was a long fall. By the time of the pro live recordings of early '68, you can tell the enthusiasm is fading. He may have indeed blacked out much of the time, which is unfortunate. Eric has never seemed to be one to look back. Ironically it's Jack, who is showing his age the most, that comes through with some degree of style and imagination. To me, this reunion certainly did not merit filling London or New York's most prestigious halls or arenas. Or making this DVD. RIP Cream.
DVD Review: Looks vintage, but it is not Summary: 1 StarsThe best thing about the DVD is the cover, which looks like an old Haight-Ashbury poster advertising a gig at the Fillmore East, the three members of the band looking in their 20s (rather than their 60s - Clapton was 60, Jack Bruce was 62, Ginger Baker was 66 - as they are onstage). Nowhere on the outside packaging does it say that the concert was recorded in 2005, other than in the cover graphic, there are no still pics from the show either on the back with the song list and DVD features.
I'm a casual Cream fan, and my interest is more in the "vintage look and sound" I expected from something archival. Knowing that I wasn't going to get that, I still did watch about about four songs. The music is good, the sound not so good, and the sight of three aging hippies is unappealing, most especially the absurd close-up of Ginger Baker's stockinged foot as he hits the bass pedal. He looks more like Margaret Thatcher's late husband Dennis than a rock `n' roller. Jack Bruce seems quite frail, while Clapton looks exactly as you remember him from the past 20 years - the signature hairstyle, the beard and glasses, he looks about 20 years younger than Bruce and Baker. I might skip through this to see if the extras have anything of interest, but I certainly won't watch all of it. This is for fans only, people who remember the band when they were releasing new albums, people who maybe did see them in the day. I will probably see if someone else wants it, or just throw it in the garbage. Very disappointed. I should have done my research.
DVD Review: Cream Never Looked & Sounded Better! Summary: 5 StarsEric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker re-unite to play all their songs from 35 years ago when they formed a trio called "Cream." Those were the psychedelic days of England and America and these guys looked it: all skinny, very long hair, wild clothes and loud music. They played a combination of rock and blues and it was, for the most part, good stuff.
Well, these guys are now 60-something years old and they can still sing and play at a high level as this wonderful DVD concert disc shows us. I was always extremely familiar with Clapton, of course, who has never been out of the limelight, but I didn't know what to expect from Bruce and Baker, neither of whom I hadn't seen in decades. They surprised me. When he was young, Baker was so gaunt he looked like a speed freak near death. Now he looks healthy, in shape and his drum playing was solid. Bruce looked a bit haggard but his voice is great, as good as ever and a pleasure to hear on these old songs. This is just excellent material and performing from guys who know what they're doing.
Some people criticized this show for being low-key. I don't agree with that. I have no complaints. The concert sounded very good. The second song, "Spoonful," was outstanding, the highlight of the concert for me.
Highly recommended.
DVD Review: "A dream Come True" Summary: 5 StarsI can't put into words how happy I am that this reunion came to be. The band was great..We all have to appreciate the fact that ever since Cream broke up, it was only on occasion that each member played in bands with just 3 musicians..i.e. Most of the members band's had Keyboards, Rythum guitars, etc. My point is, for a great musician like Clapton, he had to resort back to doing all the guitar work, keeping the sound full, as a result of playing both "lead" and "Rythum". In any event, a wonderful job!!
My only regret is that Clapton stuck to a strat for the entire concert, as opposed to using other guitars that he had played in Cream, such as a Les Paul, SG, Firebird, Explorer, etc. This is what I observed in NYC, at the Madison Square Garden concert. Even though he emulated the sounds pretty well, It would have been interesting to see him play the others...Anyway, all in all it was beautiful sight!
Description of Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005In May of 2005 Cream returned to London's Royal Albert Hall-to the same stage where they had completed what was thought to be their final performance in 1968. It was one of the most eagerly anticipated, hard-to-get tickets in rock history. With the exception of a brief reunion set at their 1993 induction into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame, Cream had not played together in nearly four decades. This DVD documents Cream's momentous London shows. Performances from each of the four nights are featured and much more. Also included are alternate performances and interviews with Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton. Cream formed in 1966 and disbanded in 1968. The band were a prolific and thrilling live act and toured incessantly in their short but remarkable history.Track Listings: I'm So Glad, Spoonful, Outside Woman Blues, Pressed Rat & Warthog, Sleepy Time Time, N.S.U., Badge, Politician, Sweet Wine, Rollin' & Tumblin', Stormy Monday, Deserted Cities of the Heart, Born Under a Bad Sign, We're Going Wrong, Crossroads, Sitting on Top of the World, White Room, Toad, Sunshine of Your Love, Spoonful (Alternate Takes), Sleepy Time Time (Alternate Takes), Badge (Alternate Takes), Sweet Wine (Alternate Takes), Rollin' & Tumblin', We're Going Wrong, White Room, Sunshine of Your Love They step onto the stage of London's Royal Albert Hall: Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton. The capacity crowd, which includes Sean Penn and Jude Law, stands to greet them. Thirty-seven years after their farewell concert, the famously fiery Cream did the unthinkable--they reunited. This double-disc collection (and accompanying CD set) captures highlights from the historic four-day engagement, beginning with a buoyant "I'm So Glad" and ending with a triumphant "Sunshine of Your Love." It would be churlish to suggest that Cream appears exactly as they did in the 1960s (Bruce looks a little frail), but the legendary power trio still has the goods. Bruce is still the essence of soul (a particularly rich vocal on "Politician"), while Baker is as irrepressible as ever (a rare vocal on "Pressed Rat and Warthog," percussive tour-de-force "Toad"). Then there's Clapton, who remains as much a master of the guitar as of understatement. "Thanks for waiting all these years," he quips after a slow-burning "Outside Woman Blues," then adds, "We're going to do every song we know." The track listing is, indeed, generous, despite the absence of such Cream classics as "I Feel Free," "Strange Brew," and "Tales of Brave Ulysses." All told, there are 22 songs plus three alternate takes--and not a bad one in the bunch. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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