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Cities Of The Heart

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This nicely packaged two-CD box set presents legendary rock bassist/vocalist/composer Jack Bruce and his very reputable musical associates performing live in Cologne, Germany. Originally touted as a limited-edition double CD upon its release in 1993, the CMP label subsequently witnessed production/distribution problems, yet in 2001 it seemed as though the German fusion/rock record label might commence reissuing some CDs from its impressive back catalog. These two discs intimate an intriguing insight into Bruce's career, other than his well-known affiliation with '60s rock power trio Cream. Here, the artist renders a few soulful ballads, ventures into free jazz territory with saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker, and also utilizes a brass section for a sprightly R&B rendition of "Born Under a Bad Sign." An added treat here is the teaming of British guitar hero Gary Moore with Bruce and Baker for a series of hard rock-blues pieces culled from the Cream songbook.&mdash; Glenn Astarita<h6>Tracks</h6><h5>1. Can You Follow </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce; vocals, pianoThe concert starts with just Jack on his piano, and singing of course.<hr/><h5>2. Running Thro' Our Hands </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, pianoGary Husband: keyboardsStill a beautiful song.<hr/><h5>3. Over The Cliff </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bassDick Heckstall-Smith: saxophoneGinger Baker: drumsThese guys immediately got the atmosphere of that good jazz from "Things we like". Really great bass playing by Jack, with that rhytmic power of Ginger Baker backing him up. The quality of Dick Heckstall-Smith needs no further explanation.<hr/><h5>4. Statues </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bassDick Heckstall-Smith: saxophone Ginger Baker: drumsDick Heckstall-Smith shows that he is still a great saxophone player.<hr/><h5>5. First Time I Met The Blues </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bass, vocalsClem Clempson: guitarDick-Heckstall-Smith: saxophone Ginger Baker: drumsYes, here's the blues. You can sense that these four musicians really enjoy playing together. Some great guitar solos by Clem Clempson. But don't forget they're used to playing together (Clem and Dick in Colosseum and Jack and Ginger in the Cream, and of course Clem and Dick have played together with Jack on several recordings).<hr/><h5>6. Smiles And Grins </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bass, vocals, piano Clem Clempson: guitar ;Dick-Heckstall-Smith: saxophone Art Themen: saxophone ;Bernie Worrell: hammond organ Malcolm Bruce: synthesizer ;Gary Husband: drumsThis version is even better than the original one on the Harmony Row album. Partly because it is such a perfect song to perform live, and partly because of the addition of the saxophones. Besides that, Clem Clempson plays a different style of guitar playing than Chris Spedding. And last but not least, it's Bernie Worrell on the hammond organ!<hr/><h5>7. Bird Alone </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bass, vocals Clem Clempson: guitarBernie Worrell: hammond organ, piano Gary Husband: drumsGreat up-tempo song, with these driving bass and guitar lines. Jack singing this one real fast. He can hardly keep up with himself. The second part of the song is much slower, but has still so much power.<hr/><h5>8. Neighbor, Neighbor </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bass, vocalsClem Clempson: guitarDick Heckstall-Smith: saxophoneArt Themen: saxophoneHenry Lowther: trumpetJohn Mumford: tromboneBernie Worrell: hammond organ Simon Phillips: drumsAs you can see on the line-up, this is a more jazzy song, with a blues feeling to it. I love that saxophone solo in the middle of the song. Lovely guitar solo by Clem Clempson.<hr/><h5>9. Born Under A Bad Sign </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: bass, vocalsClem Clempson: guitarDick Heckstall-Smith: saxophone Art Themen: saxophoneHenry Lowther: trumpetJohn Mumford: tromboneBernie Worrell: hammond organ Jason Bruce: pianoSimon Phillips: drumsA classical one, that we all know from the Cream. These horns give this song that little extra that makes it different from other performances. Good guitar playing by Clem Clempson (I've always liked the Jack Bruce recordings on which he participates).<hr/><h5>10. Ships In The Night </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocalsMaggie Reilly: vocalsClem Clempson: acoustic and electric guitarMalcolm Bruce: acoustic guitarBernie Worrell: hammond organGary Husband; pianoFrançois Garny: bassSimon Phillips; drumsAs I stated on the "Willpower" review, this is a great song. I do like the studio recording better. An exception i want to make for that beautiful guitar solo by Clem Clempson.<hr/><h5>11. Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocalsClem Clempson: guitarDick Heckstall-Smith: saxophoneArt Themen: saxophoneHenry Lowther: trumpetJohn Mumford: tromboneFrançois Garny: bassSimon Phillips: drumsOne of my all time favorites. They could have played this one a bit faster. it's losing a bit of it's power, that was so typical for this song<hr/><h5>12. Theme For An Imaginary Western</h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, pianoClem Clempson: guitarBernie Worrell: hammond organFrançois Garny: bassSimon Phillips; drumsClassical Jack Bruce song, performed also by several other bands / performers, such as Colosseum and Leslie West. i repeat myself, but Clem Clempson is doing a real great job in this concert. I love the contrast with the Gary Moore performances in this concert (Clem playing melodious, laid back and Gary playing more heavy).<hr/><h5>13. Golden Days </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, piano ;Gary "Mudbone" Cooper: vocalsClem Clempson: acoustic guitarBernie Worrell: hammond organFrançois Garny: bass ;Simon Phillips; drumsJack and "Mudbone" complementing each other perfectly.<hr/><h5>14. Life On Earth </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, bassGary Moore: guitarSimon Phillips: drumsFrom here the concert changes. Only guitar, bass and drums left, together of course with the vocals. I can be wrong, but I had the impression, looking at the concert, that Jack especially liked this part. Until this moment, the concert was good, but from here on it got more powerful, with plenty of room for improvising.<hr/><h5>15. NSU </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, bassGary Moore: guitar, vocalsGinger Baker; drumsGinger Baker joined here. He still knows how to play the drums, and his playing, as always, forms a perfect basis for improvisation. Gary Moore proves an excellent choice for an alternative to Eric Clapton. He feels perfectly how these songs have to be played. great guitar solos combined with bass playing as in the Cream days. The improvisations are extremely good, considering the fact that this is the first time Moore and Bruce play together (except for the fact that Jack has sung one song on the Moore album "Corridors of Power".<hr/><h5>16. Sitting On Top Of The World </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, bassGary Moore: guitarGinger Baker; drumsAnother blues classic. I always liked this song on live Cream recordings, but I think this performance is even better.<hr/><h5>17. Politician </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, bassPeter Brown: vocalsGary Moore: guitarGinger Baker: drumsThis song has been performed by Jack on several recordings, although this is the first time I hear Pete Brown, the writer of the lyrics, sing it. This performance of the song does not reach the quality / atmosphere as performed by West, Bruce &amp; Laing on their live album.<hr/><h5>18. Spoonful </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, bassGary Moore: guitarGinger Baker; drumsAnother classic. Magnificent performance. It's played more "staccato" than Cream used to play it, but somehow this song needs that.<hr/><h5>19. Sunshine of your love </h5>&nbsp;Jack Bruce: vocals, bassGary "Mudbone" CooperClem Clempson: guitarMalcolm Bruce; acoustic guitarDick Heckstall-Smith: saxophoneArt Themen: saxophoneHenry Lowther: trumpetJohn Mumford: tromboneBernie Worrell: hammond organGary Husband: pianoJonas Bruce: synthesizerFrançois Garny: bassGinger Baker: drumsSimon Phillips: drumsPete Brown: percussionThe "grand finale" with this all time Cream classic. Special attention for Clem Clempson on guitar and Bernie Worrell on the hammond organ.

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