The Cream song that made Jack Bruce cry: “That really got me”
Cream was never a band known for sentimentality. They may have had moments when they could have a softer touch, but no one was listening to songs like ‘White Room’ or ‘Strange Brew’ thinking that they were going to hear the smooth sounds of soft rock or anything. This was supposed to be the hardened version of psychedelia, but Jack Bruce did admit that ‘Pressed Rat and Warthog’ was one of the few times that he ever got emotional playing onstage.
Then again, anyone who actually got emotional listening to the studio version of ‘Pressed Rat and Warthog’ probably wasn’t listening to it correctly. Considering Bruce and Eric Clapton were known to work around each other’s voices on nearly every other song, the idea of letting Ginger Baker get behind the microphone seemed like a bit of a gamble.
Since when did the band care about their chart success? Outside of becoming one of the most outlandish live acts in the world, they were more interested in making tracks that turned them on rather than making something that could be right next to The Monkees on pop radio. So, when you’re making a studio album of new material, and you need another song, why not have something lighthearted in the mix?
It’s hard to really call what Baker does singing, though. Outside of the orchestral instruments plodding away in the background, half of the piece feels like a showcase for Baker’s drums as he tells this nonsensical story about the titular animals whose shop burned down and having to move on with their lives.
While the band may have had a sense of humour then, everything would fall apart when they got back on the road. After not wanting to deal with each other anymore, Clapton and Baker eventually worked their way into Blind Faith without Bruce before every member launched their own solo career.
Even though anyone with decent social skills would tell Bruce and Baker to stay as far away from each other as possible for the rest of their lives, their reunion shows yielded one of the greatest comebacks of any band’s career. Outside of their handful of classics, the group also gave fans a treat by finally letting Baker sing ‘Pressed Rat and Warthog’ live.
Despite the absolute nonsense behind the song, Bruce remembered nearly breaking down as they were playing it, recalling, “Ginger certainly never did ‘Pressed Rat and Warthog’. I found that very moving. When we did it, I was close to tears. I don’t know why, but that was the one that really got to me.”
Looking at the live footage, though, all of the in-fighting from years ago seemed to melt away just a little bit, with every musician just enjoying the moment of getting to play together once again. The fact that the band got back together at all was impossible, but having a mad comedy song to send everything off was as close to a happy ending as they could have hoped for.
