Album : Jack Bruce – Songs For a Tailor

CB was already a big fan of the man with two first names.  This was the first solo album by one of the members of Cream that CB acquired.  He was expecting to get some of the same music.  He got that and a whole lot more.  He was not disappointed.

Album opens up with “Never Tell Your Mother She’s Out of Tune’  funky horns and saxes,  Jack’s heavy bass, then in with the familiar voice.  Right away I was into the music.  Even though it was different from what I was used to there still was lots of familiar Jack Bruce things.  The sax really got my attention.  A jazzy/funky tune Jack style.  Great opening cut.  ‘Imaginary Western’ is just a great tune.  Lyrics, singing, playing.  Beautiful song.  Solidifying why I like this guy’s music.  ‘Tickets to Waterfalls’ is another very cool tune.  Pete Brown’s lyrics (poetry) fit with Jack’s voice and his style of singing.  This song is a good example.  They were a good team.  So many of the songs off this album got into CB,  ‘Weird of Hermiston’ was one of them.  The opening lyrics especially.  ‘Rope Ladder to the Moon’ became a CB fave pretty fast.   Loved this music.  So many good sounds and good playing.  Reminded me of the Cream tune ‘As You Said’.  Mainly Jack’s cello.  Great piece.

Side two opens with ‘The Ministry of Bag’.  What a  cool title for a song.  Bluesy/jazz.  Like Jack’s singing on this one and Brown’s lyrics.  ‘He the Richmond’  just kept the albums vibe going.  ‘Boston Ball Game’ has a jazzy big band sound.  Certainly some new music for CB to chew on.   I love Jack’s vocals on ‘To Isengard’.   Starts out acoustic then changes into a funky jazz/rock piece at the end.  Jack certainly liked to change things up.  One of the reasons I liked his music.  ‘The Clearout’ is a great way to end the album.  Starts out with military style drumming, then bass and Bam!  Heavy rock.  Absolutely love this cut.  Jack lays down some great bass.  The whole band cooks on this one.  Again some great lyrics, ‘You’re leaving my head all chewed”.

Like they say, leave them wanting more.  Well CB wanted more Jack Bruce music, there was no question about that.  Even though this is a JB solo record he gets some great help.  CB was introduced to some new musicians that he would get to know on his musical journey, Chris Spedding, Felix Pappalardi and Dick Heckstall-Smith to name a few.

After hearing this album, CB realized what a big part of Cream’s sound Jack was.   But it also introduced his musical leanings towards jazz.  It said on the album “Words and Music by Jack Bruce/Pete Brown”.  I really liked the creativity between these two.  ‘Song For a Tailor’ is a CB fave.  It was new music for him to enjoy.  This music appealed to CB and would open up more doors down the road.  Jack Bruce was going to become a mainstay in the future.