Jack Bruce (above) picked up the Classic Album gong for Cream's Disraeli Gears at last night's Classic Rock awards.
After the ceremony Dave Ling grabbed Bruce for a quickfire interview – and was stunned when the legendary bassist launched into an extraordinary anti-Led Zeppelin tirade.
Here's a transcript of what transpired...
The million dollar question: Are Cream going to do anything again?
Oh yeah, I'm sure we will. But we'll have Todd Rundgren [who's just walked by] in the band by then.
It's good news that there might be more from Cream.
Well, the trouble is that I'm doing so many amazing things on my own. Cream is just a band from many, many years ago, and we did do something [referring to the reunion shows in 2005]... Everybody talks about Led Zeppelin, and they played one fu#$$#cking gig – one fu#$#cking lame gig – while Cream did weeks of gigs; proper gigs, not just a lame gig like Zeppelin did, with all the [vocal] keys lowered and everything. We played everything in the original keys. [Becoming animated]: Fu#$ck off, Zeppelin, you're cr#$ap. You've always been cr#$ap and you'll never be anything else. The worst thing is that people believe the cr#$ap that they're sold. Cream is 10 times the band that Led Zeppelin is.
That's a bold opinion.
What? You're gonna compare Eric Clapton with that fu#$#cking Jimmy Page? Would you really compare that?
To be fair, they're different kinds of player, aren't they?
No! Eric's good and Jimmy's cr#$ap. And with that I rest my case.
Wow, all these years I thought Jimmy Page was an amazing guitar player.
I really respect Jack Bruce as an artist but he's way off. Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones are all amazing musicians. Anyone who doubts that should listen to When the Levee Breaks.
I'm sure he had a few when he said this....but I've even heard Clapton in the past say he was not a fan of Zeppelin. I love Zeppelin but not as much as Cream.
Shit. Wow. I can respect some Clapton, but he doesn't nearly do for me what Page does. Page plays like man possessed live. Clapton? I haven't seen too much, but everything that he's put out in my lifetime has me left with a sour taste in my mouth. I know that's a little unfair, because he fucking rocked with Cream, but Page had the sense to not have radio hits of songs that soured his incredibility. Of course, I am ignoring his post-Zeppelin solo work, but I guess we're all biased, eh? Just dig him more, I suppose.
But Jack. Jacky boy. Did you ever see Zeppelin live? Did you not enjoy yourself? Just a little? No? Too bad, man. Hell, the DVDs of those guys getting down are enough to give me chills. Damn.
I love Page...and obviously Zep rocked in the heyday but Clapton does way more for me. I mean take Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Domino's alone. I think he was more diverse. I agree his later stuff and the hits didn't do as much for me but there are still some great albums like the Robert Johnson covers album. Live his band with Derek Trucks over the last few years has been great and I though the Cream reunion rocked as well as the shows he did with Wiinwood. Zep reunion i'm not so sure...and now they are trying to go out with a different singer? that is just bad.
Hey Jack, who cares? This isn't 1972.
QuoteHey Jack, who cares? This isn't 1972.
oh no one has ever agrued that Jack Bruce was not out of his mind. Ginger Baker too for that matter.
Outrider is SUCH an amazing album....well OK not really...hey Tom E go check out 461 Ocean Boulevard and Eric Claptons self entitled album with Bonnie and Delaney and Leon Russell..early 70's stuffis rocking
Quote461 Ocean Boulevard
score
one of my all time favorites
in fact, I am going to listen to it right now, thanks
8-)
Led Zeppelin>Jack Bruce
Led Zeppelin>Cream
Led Zeppelin>Clapton
QuoteLed Zeppelin>Cream
Led Zeppelin>Clapton
People are quick to knock Clapton these days but I'm a huge fan!
I'm gonna to say I enjoy listening to Led Zeppelin & Clapton equally (which means Clapton solo, Cream, John Mayall, Blind Faith, Derek etc)
Seriously though, don't you just hate all these silly <>= posts? State your argument you lazy bastards! ;)
QuoteQuoteLed Zeppelin>Cream
Led Zeppelin>Clapton
People are quick to knock Clapton these days but a huge fan!
I'm gonna to say I enjoy listening to Led Zeppelin & Clapton equally (which means Clapton solo, Cream, John Mayall, Blind Faith, Derek etc)
Seriously though, don't you just hate all these silly <>= posts? State your argument you lazy bastards! ;)
Don't get me wrong, I like Clapton. He's far from a favorite though, I only have Cream of Clapton and some Cream stuff too that I borrowed from a friend to put on itunes. I guess I should eventually get the Derek And The Dominos album.
My use of <>= is partly satirical :)
QuoteI guess I should eventually get the Derek And The Dominos album.
yes
Do yourself a huge favor and get this today. It is simply amazing. If not just for Bell Bottom Blues alone, perhaps one of my top 36 rock songs of all-time. Seriously, though. You know Duane Allman is in on this one, right?
score it
QuoteQuoteI guess I should eventually get the Derek And The Dominos album.
yes
Do yourself a huge favor and get this today. It is simply amazing. If not just for Bell Bottom Blues alone, perhaps one of my top 36 rock songs of all-time. Seriously, though. You know Duane Allman is in on this one, right?
score it
One of the greatest blues rock albums ever. Also, when you are listening to the album, don't assume that the standard lead solos are all done by Clapton. Slow Hand and Duane traded-off solos throughout except on the first three songs. "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad" finds Clapton and Allman jamming and trading solos, and they are indistinguishable most of the time.
Derek and the Dominos is a great album. Scored it for $3 on vinyl...BEST BUY EVER
One of the best albums ever. Duane and Eric...nothing else to say.
I fucking hate Led Zeppelin, there I said it. I think they are one of the most over rated bands ever. They stole so much music and called it their own that I can never respect them. Robert Plant sounds like a banshee, Jimmy Page learned one solo and plays the same thing every time, John Bonham stole everything he knows from Carmine Appice, and they only member really worth anything, hardly gets mentioned (John Paul Jones). With all the bands from that era that are incredible and have been some what forgotten with time, it pisses me off (a lot) that Led Zeppelin gets the praise that they do.
Some of what you said Crosby is actually true. Zeppelin did indeed steal some music, ideas etc... from blues greats. However, name me a blues legend that didn't "borrow" from their peers or from one or many of their heroes? Plus, I like how Zeppelin used, refined and amplified the music they "borrowed." Jeff Beck is guilty of this too.
However, Carmine Appice is more of a contemporary of Bonzo's and even though both are heavy hitters and looked exactly the same, Carmine played in the abhorent Vanilla Fudge, so your can stop the argument right there.
I agree that JPJ hardly gets mentioned, but I think he wouldn't have had it any other way, kind of on-par with another quiet multi-talented bassist, John Entwistle.
Page was more than just lead solos (and he's far more melodic than you give him credit). His riffs are highly influential and his production techniques were innovative for the time.
I used to hate Zeppelin, and I think I might know why you do. All the stuff they play on the radio is stupid. Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Stairway, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, all tunes I hate. However, if you really look into their catalogue (and skip the first two albums), you'll see that their music is a lot more diverse than it seems from their hits, most of which are from Zep II and IV. While IV does have some incredible stuff like Battle of Evermore and When the Levee Breaks, I really recommend checking out Physical Graffiti, which contains basically every style they ever worked in. Skip to track three and listen to In My Time of Dying, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot and Kashmir and see if you still hate Zeppelin.
QuoteI used to hate Zeppelin, and I think I might know why you do. All the stuff they play on the radio is stupid. Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Stairway, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, all tunes I hate. However, if you really look into their catalogue (and skip the first two albums), you'll see that their music is a lot more diverse than it seems from their hits, most of which are from Zep II and IV. While IV does have some incredible stuff like Battle of Evermore and When the Levee Breaks, I really recommend checking out Physical Graffiti, which contains basically every style they ever worked in. Skip to track three and listen to In My Time of Dying, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot and Kashmir and see if you still hate Zeppelin.
I disagree with most of this post. How the hell you think
When the Levee Breaks (which is a stright forward blues song) is more "diverse" than
Dazed and Confused or
How Many More Times (off Zep 1) is sort of silly, IMO.
Hating music is silly, also. And "hating" Led Zeppelin is like hating your parents.
Unless you experienced Zeppelin when it was new and fresh, then of course you will not feel the magificance in it. But it blows away anything that has come out recently, hands down. Those guys helped create modern rock as we know it today, but some of you hate them.
I'd say some of you were born at the wrong time to "get" Zeppelin (and Jack Bruce is a bitter old fart).
I hate a lot of music: Britney Spears and her followers, gangster rap, Love Shack, ect. And if you read my post carefully, I never said that When the Levee Breaks was one of their diverse songs. It's not, but it does destory all the songs on Zep I and II.
QuoteI hate a lot of music: Britney Spears and her followers, gangster rap, Love Shack, ect. And if you read my post carefully, I never said that When the Levee Breaks was one of their diverse songs. It's not, but it does destory all the songs on Zep I and II.
When the Levee Breaks is filler. It's bad ass filler, none the less, but good grief I don't think you understand how Led Zeppelin I and II blew the lid off things.
If you're suggesting people skip their first 2 albums then I'd say you're missing the boat.
I understand that they're historically important, I just don't like the way they sound. And if When the Levee Breaks is filler, then so's almost everything on those records.
QuoteSome of what you said Crosby is actually true. Zeppelin did indeed steal some music, ideas etc... from blues greats. However, name me a blues legend that didn't "borrow" from their peers or from one or many of their heroes? Plus, I like how Zeppelin used, refined and amplified the music they "borrowed." Jeff Beck is guilty of this too.
However, Carmine Appice is more of a contemporary of Bonzo's and even though both are heavy hitters and looked exactly the same, Carmine played in the abhorent Vanilla Fudge, so your can stop the argument right there.
I agree that JPJ hardly gets mentioned, but I think he wouldn't have had it any other way, kind of on-par with another quiet multi-talented bassist, John Entwistle.
Page was more than just lead solos (and he's far more melodic than you give him credit). His riffs are highly influential and his production techniques were innovative for the time.
No matter what band Appice was in before (you think Vanilla Fudge is embarrasing, he played with Rod Stewart in the 80's), I think that one of the Bonzo trademarks was the double bass peddle and I feel like a lot of the times he is given credit for pioneering it into rock music but I feel like Appice did it first (and for some reason I think I remember Bonham saying himself in some interview I read that he feels like Appice was a big influence on him).
Now I used to love Led Zeppelin til I was about 17, when I found out that they stole a lot of music, that mad me really dislike them. Now in the blues genre many people have borrowed ideas and what not, but that is something that goes with the genre, and when old blues musicians were using other people's ideas they weren't making millions of dollars off it. When other blues musicians from the 70's were also borrowing ides they tended to not put their own names as the songwriters.
The music that Led Zeppelin stole that blows my mind that not many other people know about it songs like, "Stairway To Heaven" and "Since I've Been Loving You". The opening guitar riff in Stairway that the song is pretty much based off of is stolen from a Spirit song called Taurus. The worst case of the musical theft is "Since I've Been Loving You". Listen to the Moby Grape song called Never off of Grape Jam, this is the same song (written by Bob Mosley on Grape Jam in 1968) that somehow was written by Page/Plant two years later in 1970. So the beginning of the song is sort of a narrative from a man working all night and waiting till he gets home to his women. In the MG version the lyrics talk of working all night from 11 - 7. But Led Zeppelin thought they would mix it up a bit and steal the song and screw it up, in the Zep version Plant sings of the back breaking work shift he had from 7- 11 (thats the shift I used to work when I was in high school). So pretty much they stole the song and screwed it up, lame.
QuoteQuoteSome of what you said Crosby is actually true. Zeppelin did indeed steal some music, ideas etc... from blues greats. However, name me a blues legend that didn't "borrow" from their peers or from one or many of their heroes? Plus, I like how Zeppelin used, refined and amplified the music they "borrowed." Jeff Beck is guilty of this too.
However, Carmine Appice is more of a contemporary of Bonzo's and even though both are heavy hitters and looked exactly the same, Carmine played in the abhorent Vanilla Fudge, so your can stop the argument right there.
I agree that JPJ hardly gets mentioned, but I think he wouldn't have had it any other way, kind of on-par with another quiet multi-talented bassist, John Entwistle.
Page was more than just lead solos (and he's far more melodic than you give him credit). His riffs are highly influential and his production techniques were innovative for the time.
No matter what band Appice was in before (you think Vanilla Fudge is embarrasing, he played with Rod Stewart in the 80's), I think that one of the Bonzo trademarks was the double bass peddle and I feel like a lot of the times he is given credit for pioneering it into rock music but I feel like Appice did it first (and for some reason I think I remember Bonham saying himself in some interview I read that he feels like Appice was a big influence on him).
Now I used to love Led Zeppelin til I was about 17, when I found out that they stole a lot of music, that mad me really dislike them. Now in the blues genre many people have borrowed ideas and what not, but that is something that goes with the genre, and when old blues musicians were using other people's ideas they weren't making millions of dollars off it. When other blues musicians from the 70's were also borrowing ides they tended to not put their own names as the songwriters.
The music that Led Zeppelin stole that blows my mind that not many other people know about it songs like, "Stairway To Heaven" and "Since I've Been Loving You". The opening guitar riff in Stairway that the song is pretty much based off of is stolen from a Spirit song called Taurus. The worst case of the musical theft is "Since I've Been Loving You". Listen to the Moby Grape song called Never off of Grape Jam, this is the same song (written by Bob Mosley on Grape Jam in 1968) that somehow was written by Page/Plant two years later in 1970. So the beginning of the song is sort of a narrative from a man working all night and waiting till he gets home to his women. In the MG version the lyrics talk of working all night from 11 - 7. But Led Zeppelin thought they would mix it up a bit and steal the song and screw it up, in the Zep version Plant sings of the back breaking work shift he had from 7- 11 (thats the shift I used to work when I was in high school). So pretty much they stole the song and screwed it up, lame.
Bonham did not have two bass drums, nor did he play with two bass pedals. Sorry, I stopped reading after that.
QuoteWhen the Levee Breaks is filler. It's bad ass filler, none the less, but good grief I don't think you understand how Led Zeppelin I and II blew the lid off things.
If you're suggesting people skip their first 2 albums then I'd say you're missing the boat.
Led Zeppelin only really got popular in the 70's in America really. Most of their contemporaries disliked them and apparently still do. So I really don't think that Led Zep I + II were really that important and blew the lid off of anything besides their drug habits.
They were important because, though Zeppelin were not a metal band themselves, the tracks on those records especially helped create a new genre.
QuoteQuoteWhen the Levee Breaks is filler. It's bad ass filler, none the less, but good grief I don't think you understand how Led Zeppelin I and II blew the lid off things.
If you're suggesting people skip their first 2 albums then I'd say you're missing the boat.
Led Zeppelin only really got popular in the 70's in America really. Most of their contemporaries disliked them and apparently still do. So I really don't think that Led Zep I + II were really that important and blew the lid off of anything besides their drug habits.
Dude, I can understand not liking a band, but you are just throwing out bs statements. Seeing how they formed around 69 and ended in 80, yeah I would also say they "only really got popular in the 70s", too. But only in America really? Please show me how they were not as popular in Europe or places like Japan.
Zeppelin actually stole The Yardbirds "Dazed and Confused" version they in-turn stole off a folk singer.
Double-bass? Who cares? The 60's moved at such a hyper pace that someone was going to do the double-bass first, and until today, I thought that person was Keith Moon - at least he made it famous in a rock star sense. Moon remains my favourite drummer and rock star regardless.
The haunting heavy main riff in "No Quarter" is a throw-away Hendrix bridge from "Machine Gun" from the original Band of Gypsies. Jeff Beck turned the end coda from "In From The Storm" into one of his best known instrumentals, "Rice Pudding."
I don't hate buried thievery for some reason, I just like - and hate - music. I let the lawyers settle that. Elvis was a thief. Bill Haley was a thief. Muddy Waters was a thief. Chuck Berry was a theif. Genesis sucks. I hate The Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode (the last two sentences are to see if Tracy is reading any of this).
QuoteQuoteSome of what you said Crosby is actually true. Zeppelin did indeed steal some music, ideas etc... from blues greats. However, name me a blues legend that didn't "borrow" from their peers or from one or many of their heroes? Plus, I like how Zeppelin used, refined and amplified the music they "borrowed." Jeff Beck is guilty of this too.
However, Carmine Appice is more of a contemporary of Bonzo's and even though both are heavy hitters and looked exactly the same, Carmine played in the abhorent Vanilla Fudge, so your can stop the argument right there.
I agree that JPJ hardly gets mentioned, but I think he wouldn't have had it any other way, kind of on-par with another quiet multi-talented bassist, John Entwistle.
Page was more than just lead solos (and he's far more melodic than you give him credit). His riffs are highly influential and his production techniques were innovative for the time.
No matter what band Appice was in before (you think Vanilla Fudge is embarrasing, he played with Rod Stewart in the 80's), I think that one of the Bonzo trademarks was the double bass peddle and I feel like a lot of the times he is given credit for pioneering it into rock music but I feel like Appice did it first (and for some reason I think I remember Bonham saying himself in some interview I read that he feels like Appice was a big influence on him).
Now I used to love Led Zeppelin til I was about 17, when I found out that they stole a lot of music, that mad me really dislike them. Now in the blues genre many people have borrowed ideas and what not, but that is something that goes with the genre, and when old blues musicians were using other people's ideas they weren't making millions of dollars off it. When other blues musicians from the 70's were also borrowing ides they tended to not put their own names as the songwriters.
The music that Led Zeppelin stole that blows my mind that not many other people know about it songs like, "Stairway To Heaven" and "Since I've Been Loving You". The opening guitar riff in Stairway that the song is pretty much based off of is stolen from a Spirit song called Taurus. The worst case of the musical theft is "Since I've Been Loving You". Listen to the Moby Grape song called Never off of Grape Jam, this is the same song (written by Bob Mosley on Grape Jam in 1968) that somehow was written by Page/Plant two years later in 1970. So the beginning of the song is sort of a narrative from a man working all night and waiting till he gets home to his women. In the MG version the lyrics talk of working all night from 11 - 7. But Led Zeppelin thought they would mix it up a bit and steal the song and screw it up, in the Zep version Plant sings of the back breaking work shift he had from 7- 11 (thats the shift I used to work when I was in high school). So pretty much they stole the song and screwed it up, lame.
sort of funny that this pisses you off so much
Hate is a pretty strong word to describe harmless music that other people love.
My brother-in-law (the jazz snob) hates My Morning Jacket.
so be it
but seriously, I haven't had a Led Zeppelin argument since 1986 when some twit gutiar player friend of mine (who now sells insurance) said Jimmy Page was a sloppy guitar player. Man, we almost came to blows! ;D (I think we both ended up crying and hugging it out).
there was Budweiser involved... :-?
QuoteHate is a pretty strong word to describe harmless music that other people love.
My brother-in-law (the jazz snob) hates My Morning Jacket.
so be it
Of course, if his car brakes were to "accidentally" fail on the way to work one morning, well he wouldn't have much to be snobby about then; would he? ;D
QuoteHate is a pretty strong word to describe harmless music that other people love.
How about "strongly dislike"?
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eueFiMM3AU[/media]
QuoteQuoteQuoteSome of what you said Crosby is actually true. Zeppelin did indeed steal some music, ideas etc... from blues greats. However, name me a blues legend that didn't "borrow" from their peers or from one or many of their heroes? Plus, I like how Zeppelin used, refined and amplified the music they "borrowed." Jeff Beck is guilty of this too.
However, Carmine Appice is more of a contemporary of Bonzo's and even though both are heavy hitters and looked exactly the same, Carmine played in the abhorent Vanilla Fudge, so your can stop the argument right there.
I agree that JPJ hardly gets mentioned, but I think he wouldn't have had it any other way, kind of on-par with another quiet multi-talented bassist, John Entwistle.
Page was more than just lead solos (and he's far more melodic than you give him credit). His riffs are highly influential and his production techniques were innovative for the time.
No matter what band Appice was in before (you think Vanilla Fudge is embarrasing, he played with Rod Stewart in the 80's), I think that one of the Bonzo trademarks was the double bass peddle and I feel like a lot of the times he is given credit for pioneering it into rock music but I feel like Appice did it first (and for some reason I think I remember Bonham saying himself in some interview I read that he feels like Appice was a big influence on him).
Now I used to love Led Zeppelin til I was about 17, when I found out that they stole a lot of music, that mad me really dislike them. Now in the blues genre many people have borrowed ideas and what not, but that is something that goes with the genre, and when old blues musicians were using other people's ideas they weren't making millions of dollars off it. When other blues musicians from the 70's were also borrowing ides they tended to not put their own names as the songwriters.
The music that Led Zeppelin stole that blows my mind that not many other people know about it songs like, "Stairway To Heaven" and "Since I've Been Loving You". The opening guitar riff in Stairway that the song is pretty much based off of is stolen from a Spirit song called Taurus. The worst case of the musical theft is "Since I've Been Loving You". Listen to the Moby Grape song called Never off of Grape Jam, this is the same song (written by Bob Mosley on Grape Jam in 1968) that somehow was written by Page/Plant two years later in 1970. So the beginning of the song is sort of a narrative from a man working all night and waiting till he gets home to his women. In the MG version the lyrics talk of working all night from 11 - 7. But Led Zeppelin thought they would mix it up a bit and steal the song and screw it up, in the Zep version Plant sings of the back breaking work shift he had from 7- 11 (thats the shift I used to work when I was in high school). So pretty much they stole the song and screwed it up, lame.
Bonham did not have two bass drums, nor did he play with two bass pedals. Sorry, I stopped reading after that.
Seriously. Do a little homework. His right foot was the fucking
foundation of that band. I will argue that the questioned foot was
THE hammer of the gods that everyone talked about. That was one damn foot. You can hear it on The Ocean and Since I've Been Lovin' You. You heard those squeaks? All the same pedal. I'm pretty sure there've been whole books written about the man's right foot. It was massive. Everything about it. And all of rock respected that. Bonham's death was a TRAGEDY, not because no one liked him, but because all of rock realized what an incredible drummer they'd just lost.
And don't get me started on Page. Sloppy? Yes. Virtuousic? Hell yes. The way the man could work his way inbetween styles on the extended jam sessions, could turn things around and solo and just...dammit. Sit down and listen to all 20 minutes of "Whole Lotta Love" from the
How The West Was Won live disc from a couple years back and tell me Page is awful. The man could solo like a man possessed. I can't help but respect that.