Watch Jack Bruce Play a Heavy ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ in 1993
When Jack Bruce turned 50, the Cream bassist celebrated with an all-star birthday concert, recruiting musicians like Ginger Baker, P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell and sons Malcolm and Jonas to play a half-century of blues, jazz and rock. Three-quarters of the way into the show, the band turned their attention to “Sunshine of Your Love,” spending seven-and-a-half minutes working through the Cream hit, the elder Bruce hammering the heavy riff while Baker and Simon Phillips bash their kits and a horn section adds some extra energy.
Earlier this year, Bruce spoke to Rolling Stone about his April solo LP, Silver Rails, and how he feels when revisiting his old performances. “I was listening to some live Cream stuff the other day and it was great,” he said. “And we hadn’t played with that kind of passion for quite some time…. I think we got into some problems with the improvising, the jamming. That became a bug bearer really. In the same way that the Who had to trash their equipment every night, we had to have a 20-minute drum solo every night. And those sorts of things, if you feel like playing for 20 minutes, why not? But if you don’t and the audience demands it, it becomes quite difficult.”
Bruce died last month at age 71; Rolling Stone‘s Andy Greene remembers him as one of the architects of modern rock & roll here.
Watch the performance above, and order the full 50th Birthday Concert (available in standard and deluxe editions) here.