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From: blueharvest16
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  • Emma rose

  • They play it "safe" here, just listen to Crossroad at the reunion in 2005, it's much better ..

  • eric clapton is fuckin surgical with that guitar

  • jack is the man

  • Why do people argue and act like little children?Cream is my favorite group.these 3 guys just really meshed together so well.

  • I love Jack Bruce's bass playing

  • Comment removed

  • Haha, poor old Ginger Baker, still looks the same XD

  • Clapton wearing a sportcoat. Bruce wearing a sportcoat. Ginger.....wearing a Masters of Reality t-shirt. He can get away with it because he's a complete badass.

  • This was in 1993, when EC was delivering the best blues playing of his career, imho. The footage from this era shows he was trying a sort of reaggeish version of Crossroads in his live tour (see the rehearsals in NYC or the bootlegs from RAH and the Fillmore. Not the best vibe and groove for the song, I think. Hence the lack of bite in this rendition.

  • This was tighter than the reunion tour, i have to say...without a doubt. Very laid ack, and of course, nowheree near as daring, improvisationally as in their heyday, but these guys are tight! The begining was sloppy, but they made up for it by somehow finally realizing to respect the other players in front of them.They went back and forth, and all were in good form.It could've been louder, though.

  • Ah, a nice relaxed version. This is closer to the old blues version...laid back and easy. Nice! Let's Eric play with his vocal and rip some on the strat! Like it. Thanks for posting!

  • @zepphead1981 O h yes, I want to be a metal head who loves his idols so much that he rips them off by searching for bootleg discs. You get the music and Zepp gets nothing. I want your life? The life of a thief? Not really.

  • @zepphead1981 And once again, you demonstrate how pathetic your life is. Perhaps you should stop writing. It seems to upset you.

  • @zepphead1981 What a remarkably pathetic and small life you must live if you get your rocks off spewing invective and vitriol to people on youtube. Sad.

  • @zepphead1981 This is closer to the original Robert Johnson version. Get educated about the music before you form a half-assed opinion.

  • Who the fuck cares what Clapton is or isn't doing. Bruce and Baker just killing it!

  • check out the live `68 version. The problem with Clapton is he is so bloody English! He holds himself back, doesn`t let go like he did in the 60`s. LOL

  • this sucks big time. They should Have Eddie Van Halen or Gary Moore play while Bruce sang

  • they are all to homage robert johnson , willie dixon - going back to original inent

  • a rather subdued performance, none the less what a fucking great collective of muso's.

  • This sounds less like Cream and more like Dire Straits.

  • @Wandered1441 Dire straits is much faster

  • Clapton has kinda lost his GODNESS, Page still's has it, Gilmoir as well but something bout Eric has lost itself

  • why did he have to ruin it. he did a great version of this earlier in his life but this sucks. no offense intended to the person who posted this.

  • CHECK OUT JOE T- ENGLISHBLUESMAN-ON YOU TUBE.

    THERE CALLING HIM THE NEXT BEST PLAYER NEXT TO ERIC CLAPTON.

    THAT HE HAS THE FIRE,ERIC ONCE HAD.

    I HAVE SEEN HIM PLAY.

    I WAS BLOWN AWAY.

    HE CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF CLAPTON,BECK,PAGE,HENDREX,BLOO­MFIELD,ALL IN ONE.

    WITH IN 1 YERA,I PREDICT,JOE T ENGLISHBLUESMAN,WILL BE A HOUSE HOLD NAME IN THE INDUSTRY.

  • I love how Clapton plays barre chords... FUCK YOU!!

  • Rather a large difference between this and how they played it in 1968! I think Gingersknees have gone, all the double bass drumming missing. Shows what aload of shite the RRHOF is for taking this long to induct Cream.

  • go to "englishbluesman"

    watch joe T play.

    he gives a crossroads lesson.

    its the best of the best.

    i also believe he is one of the best ,pertaining to that clapton style of playing.

    im sure you will agree.

  • How did Elvis Costelo get into the RRHoF? How much did he pay to be inducted?

    and Jethrow Tull? did they get in..what a bunch of SKAT!

    Rush is a hellova lot better than those people.

  • 2005 performance was slow too but so much better than this one, IMHO

  • i couldnt believe Ginger couldnt find the 1.......

  • What would RUSH - the Ultimate Power Trio - play at their induction, IF, i repeat IF and when it ever happens? Answer? NEVER HAPPEN??

  • @pylgrym i am a rush fan of 55 years and at this point in time it would almost seem like an afterthought for them to be put in the rrhof. it is quite telling of how stupid/stubborn/idiotic the self-appointed gods who make the decision are since rush has lasted 40 years and influenced every musician of note from the 70's on. if they ever get inducted maybe they could sing "take this job and shove it".

  • we are all so different. This is brilliant. Cream at their best... Bruce's driving bass and the clapton rifts..... what more would you want from this.. and i don't think it's slow.. they have just shunted it more into the 'blues' side of music rather than the 'rock' end..

  • A Great song! I love Clapton, but a little slow & mellow......Check out Antar Blue...Peter Green doing Crossroads!...It rocks! Peter is AWESOME!

  • @ITryNot2Cash: Check the video Cream - Crossroads (1968) THAT is the best performance of Crossroads... this one here is slow and almost methodical. You're quite right.. it really is 'not very exciting'

  • i mean they are old ¬¬ they are not the same 20 year old cocaine lsd filled motherfuckers they used to be i mean jack bruce was like a sex symbol on stage , ginger baker made the whole fucking place tremble qith the force of his drums and clapton just......made you feel ashamed of yourself with all those awsome solos!!! god cream was awsome.....:D

  • snore. I was so looking forward to this, but the tempo is so damned slow!  ????????? bummer.

  • this is the lamest thing ive ever heard

  • heh jokes

  • One must remember that Cream IS a jam band. The music is not supposed to sound the same from night to night.

  • This version sucks. Leave it to Clapton to make it dull and boring...

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  • you lot need to actually know what your talking about gingers on drums bruce on bass and clapton on lead you lot are pathetic you evidently dnt know f*#k all about the music industry what are you 12 year olds ???

  • It looks like they didn't feel so comfortable on stage. Get this bootleg (with any rehearshals tracks added) many years ago, and when I listened I got disappointed....

    What a difference in comparison with the 2005/05 shows!!

  • who the hell are these guys? These idiots totally screw up a great song done by a great band like Cream. Im sure the members of Cream want to punch those twats for such a shit performance.

  • @TheDicamillo Bro.... Thats Cream...

  • @TheDicamillo seriously? you did this question seriously? these 'idiots' like you say are the fucking original Cream... I can't believe that you don't recognise Eric Clapton at least... Im sure the members of Cream want to punch you now!

  • This song is killer. At his worst, this is still killer.

  • ginger stop drinking so much

  • this was they first time they played together in 25 years, so you cant expect it to be great

  • this version is slower but more feeling.I think they could do it all over again ! They are that great !

  • A slightly more laid back, probably under-rehearsed and less overdriven guitar rendition that the 60's version and still cooks, I reckon. Having seen the 2006 reunion concerts it's clearly not the same band as in the 60's but in all reasonablness how could you really expect that after all that time! They're still first rate musicians.

  • it may not be the most exciting cream performance .. but it's amazing that these guys can still do it considering the copious amount of drugs that have gone into them...while seeking solace and musical inspiration...and the fact that bruce and ginger have such personal differences ... but they defined Rock in it's blesy.. jazzy form

  • I agree it's not a very exciting performance of this song. I remember seeing Eric in Hartford in the early nineties and Crossroads was one of the first few numbers played and it was blistering...I was blown away by the power of his playing that night.

  • The worst perfomance they have done. But they r old and prob sick of playing the same ol songs. I wish the would play somthing different. Like I'm so gladd!! Now that's a song!! U rock cream !!!!!!!!

  • I also thinks it's their worst perfomance they have done,i prefer the original 60' version

  • @gasmanlp even Jimi hendrix got sick of playing "Hey Joe"- and that was when he would start playing a Cream song in his set!

  • incredible ! those guys are so into it.. ! i love it !!! uncompareable

  • all you guys are idiots!!! This is a classic and w/ original peeps. Its like a bottle of old wine, ----you can still drink it & appreicate its taste

  • @13litzkrieg65 i dont know the cover by Rosedale was more exciting. Now if jack and ginger went postal on each other it would be ok.

  • Not very exciting, and this from a huge Clapton fan. Sometimes I think Clapton fans in general are not the most discriminating listeners -- happy to hear the same old stuff over and over again. If it were anyone besides Clapton doing it, they would think it's just another mid-level white dude on a strat. Every once in a while I see a Clapton performance that absolutely kills. Sorry to say this isn't one of them. But, hey. So what? He's a monster & can phone it in most of the time if he wants.

  • @ITryNot2Crash Thats true you are right.. I also love him in some other moments but in this one..

  • @ITryNot2Crash I agree. Im a real die hard clapton fan, and I've heard a VERY large part of his discography. And I can say with great confidence that this was honestly a very weak version of the song. But, he is standing in his own shadow, so no one can really blame him.

  • @ITryNot2Crash I have to agree with you. But we all should consider that they didn't play together for a long time and that Clapton is a little older here... you can't expect the same "feeling".

  • @ITryNot2Crash I agree with you, i love Clapton he is my absolute favorite guitarist, but I would love to se him with play an old les paul or 335 through an old marshall again as I believe that his tone and playing was most expressive in his bluesbreakers, cream, and blind faith days.

  • @ITryNot2Crash Finally! Someone else who see's it like I do. I don't consider myself a Clapton 'fan' as such, I respect him as a guitarist, but far too often people seem too ignorant of the fact that being a 'fan' does predispose you to like even his very mediocre writing and performances. Which yes, he does do a lot of.

  • @ITryNot2Crash agree!!

  • @ITryNot2Crash im sure none of them wanted to be there they hadn't played together since 1969 for a reason and clapton plays a different every night. Most musicians would hope to be able to that. But clapton plays off feeling and it probably wasn't there that night wth those guys.

  • @ITryNot2Crash Clapton returned to his roots, which is the blues. So now, he's doing songs in ways that are closer to the originals. He stays true to the music which is a lot less rocky than it used to be. But when you look at the Rotting Corpses, i mean the Rolling Stones, it can't get anymore ridiculous than these sextigenarians prancing around stage like they did 40 years ago. Viva Clapton for his maturity. And his talent.

  • @ITryNot2Crash Your observation is probably why he's been doing more acoustic stuff of late, collaborated more and done the Crossroads shows. Unlike a Van Morrison or Bob Dylan he's really not ventured much beyond the genre of his youth and 5 decades later he knows it inside out (and I'm a fan as well)

  • @ITryNot2Crash Love to see your great musical skillz where you change it up every night and reinvent the wheel.  Remember that they hadn't played together in 25 f&^%king years so they're probably not going to take many chances.

  • @ITryNot2Crash Completely agree - I too, am a fan, but he loves to cruise, sometimes. Pity, 'cos when he leans back and plays the blues, he can still make time stand still!

  • @ITryNot2Crash how does a fucker like you get 22 likes?!?! Why?? They had not played together in over ten years....than just get up and play....and the other 2 songs they did that, specifically sunshine, clapton plays amazingly. If you mixed "a mid-level white dude on a strat" with some with the phrasing, string bends, tone and emotion than you are truly a dumb-ass.

  • @pageyzoso84 The answer to your question is simple: 22 people "liked" what I wrote. The extremely defensive and immature comments you wrote are what the courts call "facts already in evidence." You are exactly the kind of Clapton fan I meant, so at least you got that part of it. Go ahead and confuse your blind spot with discernment. I, and 22 others, will not, but will continue to admire Clapton from a rational perspective. Have a good cry. hearbreaker.

  • @ITryNot2Crash how does a fucker like you get 22 likes?!?! Why people???

  • @pageyzoso84 There's absolutely no explaining that.Steven Hawking and John Lennon,with an intro by Clapton himself,wouldn't get 22 likes.If it's likes you're after,say something really brain dead and really short.

  • @ITryNot2Crash ur right it seems like their doing it to make people shut up about the cream thing, it just makes me wonder what hendrix would sound like today.

  • @ITryNot2Crash agreed. One of the most boring concerts i ever saw was Clapton on hdnet a few years ago. it was like he was playing a Florida retirement resort.

  • @mik661 Agree.

  • how are they all still alive

  • @lennonisgod576 how are you still alive?

  • i know lol, claptons even tried to kill himself once or twice i just dont get it

  • lame

  • Much prefer their original version. This ones pretty lame.

  • Crappy solo he should go and sleep first ..

  • Do it better.

  • youre talking about eric clapton you little shit.have some respect

  • Even if you cut your ears off your head and blind both your eyes it would make no diferense to how you hear or see something in your understanding spectrum you ignorant lamb . . You are not much of an obsrver so it wouldnt be a problem for you even if you did

  • EC feeling a little bare up there with a 3 piece.

  • Check out our cover version recorded on an open mike night

  • And as a drummer... in my VERY humble opinion Peter, those Ludwigs don't sound half as good as the DW's in 2005 reunion. I play vintage Tama, so who an I to comment?...lol

  • Not their best version, but I'll take it !

    Cream live on and on.

    They've been in my Top Five since 1968, and they're not leaving it.

  • The Cream of the fucking crop

  • @bibhuna that's exactly where the name came from

  • @nicosfi That's why I said it...

  • @bibhuna ok

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  • ginger fucked it up a lil at the start

  • Cream, so blues !!!! it' s rules !!!!!

  • Peter is a great drummer even This day he is 65 years old and he hits the drums like a champ!

  • this needed more energy. too relaxed but still a jam. :)))

  • You completely miss the point of the NOW Cream, still diversifying... not doin' the same stuff the same over and over. They don't want to be a tribute band to themselves. Always the best improvisers in the business, still are. That's what made them the best.

  • I don't know if it's possible to be your own tribute band. There's no shame in playing a song like you used to play it back in the day.

  • Man! lot's of big egos in here! You can emulate Bruce? Maybe in your mind you can. He is recognized as one of the all-time great bassists in rock music. His influences span, jazz, blues and classical. He has played with the greatest bands in rock and blues history. He can get sloppy but show me a player, who really know how to tear it up, who doesn't get sloppy on occassion. Really! This is CREAM baby! Sit back, listen and learn some humility!

  • These guys are the kings in Rock music, they certainly led to the way to modern music, each so very diverse and a master in his own genre, they made the most unique music in rock to date!

  • I'd say Entwistle's style is more akin to Michael Anthony's style (the VH bassplayer). Bruce's style is grounded in jazz. Anthony, like Entwistle, comes from a far less complicated, rock background. But, as you said, it is all subjective.

    "To me Jack Bruce's playing reminds me a lot of the guy who played bass for Van Halen, style wise."

  • I don't know that anyone can truly emulate Jack Bruce. I was reading a review of a Chickenfoot concert and they were talking about Michael Anthony's "John Entwistle-like" lead bass lines.

  • Michael Anthony is akin to The Great Entwistle, punk.

  • My dead grandma is better on bass that Michael Anthony.

  • lol

  • ginger baker fu@#$%^ up the beaT IN THE BEGINING,,HA HA HA

  • i bet your not 70 years old wankker, these guys are the guys who set up heavy metal for the rest of us.

    i bet you are not even 30 and reckon you would f--k up all the time you are an idiot fool

  • I prefer Cream's faster version of the song to this one.

  • who thinks jack bruce looks like joe pesci?

  • I'm a dedicated Cream fan, but I'm with Korgri on this one. Think about the most successful live thing they did on record -- Crossroads. Tom Dowd (I think) edited it down from a much longer version, which may be why it holds up so well. Cream was great to promote free-form jamming, but in retrospect a lot of it is just boring and repetitive. Clapton tells how he quit soon after he read a review of his playing pointing this out. I can be clear-eyed and still be a huge fan, right? Viva EC!

  • Guys, there is a reason the superstars are who they are and You are who you are. Enjoy your music, but it's ludicris to compare yourselves to the elite.

  • " it's ludicris to compare yourselves to the elite. "

    Yes, who could imagine such impertinence! Ludicris, most assuredly!! Avert your eyes from the royal personages! Cringe ye and scrape should fortune be so kind to place you in the Holy Presence. Down dogs, down ye go! Worry not, faithful friend; the Blasphemers have been reported to the closest A&R rep.

  • i love that chord where it looks like he is flipping off the crowd :)

  • Ginger Baker sad that he wasn't happy that the royal Albert Hall concert had become the image of what people thought Cream was. For him it was just one of the many jams they did, and it wasn't their best one he thought. He also added that only one in four concerts was good.

    That is what you get with free improvistaion.

    What I like about this is. They don't do the golden oldie sweet memory rock cash in. They get together and just Jam and see where they land, like they always have done.

  • yeah but when you get a group of musicians together who are listening to one another and really having a dialog there is nothing sweeter than free improvisation. You go places that have never been tread and never will be tread again. I'll take one in four any day over playing the same tireless lines night after night.

  • 'That is what you get with free improvisation'

    you also risk getting very bored...

  • when you are an actual musician, you come to respect other musician's real talents and skills.

  • I dont know how good of a musician you were but free form jams in my band were bad ass.

  • So were mine... and we had a great time playing... but the audience got bored after listening to the same 'Cream thing' sound after an hour of just three twenty minute songs. It's intense only for a while. Clapton told once of how he thought they didn't listen to each other, and proved it once by not playing and saw that the other two didn't notice. Too much into themselves, and when you get like that you are just hypnotizing yourself. And Jack Bruce is no John Entwistle by a long shot.

  • I will also stack what the Who does on Live at Leeds' "My Generation" as much more interesting to listen to than any

    extended Cream jam. The Who would do those extended coda things (aka 'jams') and they were a lot more fun to listen to (and watch) than Cream. And as good as Clapton is, I gotta say Townshend is the more interesting guitar player with a much wider variety of styles and creative impulses.

  • Are you nuts!! Bruce was much better than Entwistle.

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  • Didn't say he was better, I said Jack Bruce was no John Entwistle.

  • everybodys putting it softly, i guess i gotta be the one to say it

    as much as i love cream this SUCKS

  • Personally I prefer the faster tempo they played it with in the late 60s.

  • Ginger has a bit of trouble finding the "1" there at the start

  • Actually whenever I try to play the (Clapton's) slow version of Crossroads the drummers always have trouble finding the one.With the fast one they have no problem. I'm no drummer but the slow version doesn't seem to be that easy for them. The first time I heard Clapton play it with that rythm was with Phil Collins maybe hat has something to do with it.

  • typical guitarist bullshit-blame the drummer. neck-chokers make me wanna puke.

  • I blame no one. I just note that it isn't the easiest rif to put a rythm under. Clapton started playing it this way with Collins so he probably had quite a bit to do with that rythm.

    What I'm trying to say is,that this slow version is harder to play than the fast one.

  • Your right the faster version is better i am a drummer and this is a 4/4 beat just slowed down it should not be to much of a problem. at least I think so.

  • I agree This version does NOT have the same feeling as the one from 1968 version from Winterland

  • It's that pussy fuckin' Strat-strap on an SG or a Firebird Eric, and quit this Fender fuckin' around.

  • its all good ma man -all very good! It dosen't matter what hes playin

  • I love Cream and always will, but this version just isn't good. I guess I shouldn't expect them to play like they did in '68.

  • Ginger doesn't look good but plays well.

  • what is the point caller..??? blame john mayall why dont you(plural) its his fault n he loves it....

  • Well by their own admission (Bruce,Baker and Clapton) they were showing of. That's why they called themselves Cream They thought they were the best and weren't shy about it.

    Showing that they were the best was their second goal after being a big success.

    Clapton was into blues, but Baker and Bruce were from the Jazz scene and didn't have that much respect for the Blues at that time.

    Andd come on!They were doing a rock/fusion version of a Blues Classic. Interesting but not Blues.

  • Actually I always thought the wheels of fir eversion of crossroads missed the point completely. It was just fast and showing off like young kids do. No relation to the meaning of the song whatsoever.

    Crossroads has to be layed mid tempo likeit is here, or it makes no sense. That's how it was written.

    This is also what I like about cream, they feel no obligation to play a song the same way twice. They truly just start playing and see if they can find what the other two are up to this time.

  • Man, I bet you've got balls that clink together when you walk.

    About 99% of the electric blues guitar aficionados in the world think that the version of "Crossroads" you're knocking contains one of the finest moments of live recording ever.

    And you're calling Cream (circa '68) "a bunch of kids" showing off?

    Jesus Christ, and all the Disciples! That's rich!

  • Jesus, look at the '68 version, it's like 200% percent more heart.

  • That's the difference between "on fire" 20-somethings and probably jaded pros who hadn't played together in 20 years

  • Ginger fucks up big time. First he turns the beat around on the begining then at 45 sec he finally realizes it!! He is also rushing his fills really bad! Duh!!

  • you're right. that's why clapton walked over to him. and did you see ginger's face--like 'ok man i got it'

  • Ginger Baker is really sloppy on this.

  • yah its slow, but i think they're giving a nod to robet johnson, the man who actually wrote it.

    he played it pretty slow

  • This is really unlike Cream. Where's the passion, fire and energy?

  • about 30 years back.

  • TOOO SLOW NOT ENOUGH SOUL

  • its just really, really bluesy, that's all

  • All 3 were and are masters their

    instruments....

  • Jesus!! Bruce is a mad man on bass.

  • Parece que no pasaron 40 años por ellos, es una pena que no hicieran más discos , los tres juntos eran unos cracks

  • bruce  is god

  • i didnt like solo very much

  • remember hearing this on AFVN Radios in Our helicopters in Vietnam...Gooks had NO clue...lol

  • i dont think it has anything to do with their ability to play, as it is they have all matured in their musical style. Their not show boating around, theyre just jamming. This version is truer to the songs roots.

  • Sheer magic!

    Excellent video!

    thank you

  • folks you have to remember that these guys had not played together in many years so to get up there and try to recreate something with only a couple of rehearsels would have been unwise. They just jammed it out rather nicely I might add and it was good. As far as great drummers go, you don't get any better than Ginger and same goes for Jack on the bass. John Bonham himself said that his idols were Ringo and Ginger. Cream in their prime were untouchable as a power rock trio, also the first.

  • actually his idols were more along the lines of Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and other big band drummers, and later Keith Moon. Maybe Baker had some influence on him but Ringo Starr definitely had very little, if any, influence on Bonham

  • I love Ringo but I have to agree with you regarding this. The drummers you mentioned that influenced John Bonham is totally correct, especially Ginger Baker and Keith Moon. Look on allmusic profile on John Bonham and his influences are Keith Moon and Ginger Baker. Not sure if allmusic updated his influences with the big band drummers you mentioned.