Jack Bruce & Robin Trower – Seve Moons Live

There is no need to introduce Jack Bruce, one of the heroes of the British-Blues wave of the sixties and the mastermind behind the exceptional trio The Cream. Talented songwriter, charismatic bass player with trademark singing, Bruce has been, surprisingly enough, the only Cream to persist in putting together trio guitar-drums-bass such as West, Bruce and Laing in the 70s, but also bits with Cozy Powell, Billy Cobham, Gary Moore and Clem Clempson. Clapton e Baker agreed in reforming temporarily The Cream some years ago in a celebration remake of good old days. Extremely versatile musician, Bruce also worked with numerous jazzmen. His association with Robin Trower – former Procol Harum guitar player - started in the 80s in the form – could it have been otherwise? – in power trios with Bill Lordan first and Reg Isidore later on drums. The drummer in “Seven Moons Live” is Gary Husband, mostly known for his collaboration with Allan Holdsworth and Level 42 and his skills on keyboards as well. Bruce is a magnet for projects with seasoned musicians. Said this in a nutshell, “Seven Moons Live” hardly manages to convince the listener: perhaps owing to bad mixing, the sound is stiff, tough but without that energy that blessed many Bruce’s workouts. In addition, the general atmosphere is cold, not warm and sympathetic how it should be in a live concert. Anyway, songs like White Room and “Politician” maintain their long-standing beauty. Jack Bruce remains a fundamental musician: by all means, the large majority of his work is of a terrific quality. In the field of power trios, you may wish to go back to BBM, where the other two minstrels were Ginger Baker and Gary Moore.

Luca Lupoli