Record Reviews

JACK BRUCE ~ THE 50TH BIRTHDAY CONCERTS MIG 90610 (Barcode: 885513906106) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1993 Released: 2014 This Box Set is a document of the two concerts organized in order to celebrate the 50th Birthday of British vocalist / bassist / composer Jack BruceFind albums by this artist, one of the greatest figures of Rock / Blues-Rock / Prog-Rock and Jazz-Rock. These concerts took place on November 2nd and 3rd of 1993 and were recorded and videoed for posterity. The Box Sets includes two DVDs which present the music played during the two nights (totaling in almost four hours of unadulterated Jack Bruce genius) and in addition it also includes a third DVD with an extensive collection of interviews with Bruce and his guests recorded at the time and a CD with another hour of music, which is not included on the two concert DVDs. In short about six hours of Jack Bruce, his music and his unique personality, which made his one of the most respected and admired musicians of the 20th Century. Bruce invited a formidable stable of musicians / friends to come and play with him during these two days, a list of which reads like the who´s who of British Rock and includes: guitarists Clem ClempsonFind albums by this artist and Gary MooreFind albums by this artist, drummers Ginger BakerFind albums by this artist and Simon PhillipsFind albums by this artist, pianist / drummer Gary HusbandFind albums by this artist, organist Bernie WorrellFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Dick Heckstall-SmithFind albums by this artist and Art ThemenFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Henry LowtherFind albums by this artist, trombonist John MumfordFind albums by this artist and vocalists Gary "Mudbone" CooperFind albums by this artist and Maggie ReillyFind albums by this artist. Poet / lyricist / vocalist and a lifetime friend of Bruce, the incredible Pete BrownFind albums by this artist also makes an appearance. With such lineup the music is simply exploding with talent and incredible performances. The music includes a selection of mostly Bruce originals, spanning from the glorious CreamFind albums by this artist days and through all the solo albums Bruce recorded after Cream disbanded. His brilliant compositions prove again that they are completely resistant to the passing of time, and present a fabulous legacy that will stay with us forever. My personal favorite part of the concert is the last hour on the second DVD, which presents just the trio of Baker, Bruce and Moore, playing a series of Cream favorites, which is simply breathtaking and presents an "alternative" Cream vision, which is in every respect as exciting as the original group with Eric ClaptonFind albums by this artist. The absence of Clapton is in fact a great disappointment and might have been a momentous occasion, but it was corrected twelve years later during the Cream reunion concerts in 2005. Overall this is a package no lover of Classic Rock will consider to miss, especially in view of the fact that some of the people captured here are no longer with us (Heckstall-Smith, Moore and of course Bruce himself). Since nobody makes music like this any more, this stuff is even more important today for the sake of the new generation, in case it´s not completely lost yet.

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted: 03/05/2016

3DVD+CD 4 Digipak Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend