The song Rick Wakeman said changed the guitar forever: “They blew my mind”
Rick Wakeman might have the best knowledge of song structure and the impact that music has on the listener. Working with Yes, he has been responsible for elongated prog-rock ballads and quick, radio-friendly hits. This comes from his good knowledge of his instrument and understanding of how people will react to different aspects of music.
In order to do this, you need to listen to a lot of music and be on the ground enough to appreciate the reaction to it. Wakeman has dedicated a great proportion of his life to mastering the art of making music and understanding how its perceived. This has meant making music and also observing what others think about it.
As a result, Wakeman has experienced a number of different facets of music, each of which has impacted the industry and various trends in its own way. When speaking about some of his favourite songs and significant moments, Wakeman touched upon the guitarist who changed how people approached playing.
“When Cream’s ‘Strange Brew’ came out, everybody went: ‘What’s that?’” he said, discussing when Cream first burst onto the scene and how people reacted to Eric Clapton’s guitar playing. “Every band were playing like The Shadows, then along comes Eric and changes the whole face of guitar work.”
It seems that many artists who would go on to make excellent prog-rock love Cream. Rush’s Geddy Lee was also very vocal about the band, saying that seeing them live was life-changing. Rush’s first time playing together also consisted of the three of them doing a range of Cream covers for a small crowd in a local bar.
“Cream sort of changed my life,” he said, “They blew my mind, and I remember they were coming to Toronto. I couldn’t get any of my friends interested to go see them; they were playing at Massey Hall, and I went down and bought a ticket, and I went by myself.”
Reflecting on the gig that would inspire so much of what he would go on to make, Lee remembered, “I just had to see them. They were such an important band to me. Jack Bruce’s bass playing was just out of this world. Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, I mean they were the ultimate trio. The most influential band in my entire career in many ways.”
Cream did change the game when it came to creating music. With just a few members, they made a psychedelic sound that caught the hearts of listeners and performers worldwide. Their riff-heavy and melodic approach inspired a great deal of what came after, and the atmospheric tint entwined within their sound also helped prog-rock artists understand how to make drawn-out tracks appear more cinematic.
