Search - Jack Bruce :: Somethin Els

Like riding a seesaw: plenty of ups and downs

loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 10/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jack Bruce, reunited with lyricist Pete Brown, recorded "Somethin' Els" over a span of nearly six years. He does not explore anything particularly new here---but considering that Mr. Bruce does cover rock, blues, jazz-rock, and ballads---that's not a knock. Well, there is a piano solo, FM, which closes this session and foreshadows Mr. Bruce's subsequent keyboards-only album Monkjack.



This CD starts off with three superb tracks, Waiting on a Word, Willpower, and Ships in the Night, notable also because Eric Clapton adds some very fine, even restrained guitar which really shimmers on the latter track. (It's really good to hear EC playing with focus and energy on these songs.) This track is also notable for Mr. Bruce's vocal duet with the esteemed Maggie Reilly. The other musicians are all superb, somewhat eclectic folks, many of whom have crossed paths with Mr. Bruce previously.



The next four tunes, Peaces of East, Close Enough for Love, G.B. Dawn Blues, and Criminality are likely to put off casual listeners, for Mr. Bruce indulges his somewhat avant-garde tendencies, with varying degrees of success, and wasting a rare guest appearance from sax legend Dick Heckstall-Smith plus one of Clem Clempson's appearances on the worst track here, G.B. Dawn Blues.



Childsong, the wonderfully haunting penultimate track, help anchors the CD and likely will inspire repeated listens.



Listening to this recording is like riding a seesaw: you cannot have the ups without the downs. Four stars may be a tad much, but three would imply "average" to me, and I don't mind tilting the scale for creativity.



The lyrics are worth reading as a standalone exercise if, for no other reason, to marvel at the muses that cajole lyricist and poet Pete Brown. Mr. Bruce's own liner notes are the sort of cryptic, scattershot that minds like his foment even as he must be thinking of his next project.

"

Say, wasn't he also in Cream?

take403 | 04/30/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The minute you read this review, your 1st thought may very well be "Jack Bruce, say, wasn't he also in Cream?" The answer is: of course, he was! It wasn't all Eric Clapton! This album took a long time to record (1986-1992). Eric Clapton lends a hand on the 1st 3 songs the Steve Winwood-esque "Waiting On a Word," "Willpower" (which is probably the most Cream-esque with Bruce's multi-layered chorus "What a lotta talk about... Will-pow'r!" though since Ginger Baker is missing, it can't be called Cream) and the romantically melancholy "Ships In The Night." Clapton's guitar work comes in handy and adds a lot particularly to the last 2. "Criminality" is my least favorite song, though the BBC voice is quite humorous "What I'm here t'talk about is blatant criminality of the WAWRST kawnd!" "Peaces Of The East" features some cool avant garde jazz (reminiscent of Peter Gabriel) and "Close Enough For Love" is an interesting mellow song, with a lounge-piano and 1980's style synthesizer. "FM" is haunting, sounding almost like it should be in a suspense movie. "Childsong" is eerie and probably features Bruce's bass more than other songs. I have to admit if a friend of mine hadn't given me this a gift, I don't suppose I would have heard it. I kind of wish I had heard his other solo contributions because it's obvious that Jack Bruce is both creative and versatile."