The Cream song that Jack Bruce was never happy with: “He’d throw a tantrum”
No one names themselves something like Cream and claims to be anything less than the greatest in the world. The world’s first major power trio had practically called themselves that out of necessity after dominating the English music scene, so anything that they released was going to need to be among the finest rock and roll ever made, right? You’d be correct, but that didn’t mean that Jack Bruce had to like everything they played, even when it came down to classics like ‘Strange Brew’.
At the risk of going into slightly hot water here, though, there’s a good chance that the band would have never made it if they had kept doing what they were doing on their first album. Fresh Cream was a fine debut for what it was, but there were more than a few issues regarding their songwriting at this stage.
A lot of the covers may go down in legend like ‘Spoonful’, but hearing a song like the single ‘Wrapping Paper’ isn’t exactly the sound of a band ready to take on the world, especially with lyrics that sound so basic. And while Ginger Baker was a pure madman who could switch between jazz subtlety and utter insanity on a dime, it’s not like ‘Toad’ was going to be at the top of the charts any time soon.
The band had a fresh look when it came to their next album, Disraeli Gears. They still loved their blues favourites, but a pure psychedelic pastiche coated the rest of the project, almost like they had dipped their guitars in acid before they were ready to record.
Kicking off with ‘Strange Brew’, the beginnings of one of their anthems, started off as just a goof messing around with another blues standard, ‘Lawdy Mama’, before Felix Pappalardi suggested changing the tune from the ground up. Everyone seemed happy, but just like any old married couple, it was the little things that started to get to Bruce.
When putting together the song, Baker remembered that Bruce was unhappy with the arrangement they chose, writing in Hellraiser, “Jack got pissed off because in one part he was playing a minor chord and Felix’s vocal was in a major key. Then Felix wanted Eric to sing the song, and Jack wasn’t happy about this. He kept turning up with new songs, and me and Eric would say, ‘Great, but we’re working on something else’. Then Jack would throw a massive tantrum and get his stuff played”.
Then again, hearing Bruce’s sultry blues voice singing ‘Strange Brew’ would have seemed a bit out of place. Clapton may not have been the most experienced vocalist in the group by a long shot, but his feeble attempts at singing in a higher register actually give the track more character. You listen to that voice paired with the smooth sounds of his leads, and you know you’re listening to a band about to turn into a monster.
If Bruce wasn’t happy, he could rest easy knowing that the vocal arrangements would be split down the middle for the rest of their material, featuring him singing on other classics like ‘White Room’ and ‘Sunshine of Your Love’. For anyone that knows the story, who are we kidding? Bruce may have rolled over this once, but bringing this argument to an end was like putting a bandage on a gunshot wound.
