Customer Reviews

Jack Bruce Composing Himself

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

319 pages total,11 pages of photos from throughout Bruce's life and career,Foreword by Eric Clapton,9 page introduction,3 extensive appendices,including discography,live performances,short overview of Bruce's choice of bass guitars,and an index.

This book sets the bar very high for anyone else who might want to write about Jack Bruce and his music/personal life. This book covers areas such as Bruce's innovative use of the bass guitar,a composer (40 years and counting) of both vocal and instrumental pieces of music in several areas (rock,jazz,classical etc.) for his own distinctive voice and others,many of which will stand the test of time,an (relatively unknown) accomplished classical player (cello,piano) of some depth,and a man with many of the problems that his chosen life,and life in general,exposed him to.

The author has interviewed Jack Bruce,starting in 1978 (for a Graham Bond piece) and,for this book,has interviewed many people,including Bruce's family,friends,and fellow musicians,which brings Bruce's life in to clear perspective. Starting with Bruce's birth and upbringing,and on through his early years,the first couple of chapters looks at how his upbringing gave foundation to the man who came to be known as quick-tempered,and sometimes a bit sour. At an early age Bruce learned to look after himself and become fairly self-sufficient-traits that he would display all through his life. As a teen he discovered music,something which he found he was gifted at,and attended various music schools,sometimes only long enough to learn what he thought was pertinent.

The book continues with Bruce's formative gigs playing with various musicians and styles of music. At an early age (late teens) he learned to fend for himself while on the road with other musicians,many of them older than he. That,together with his broadening life experiences,and his upbringing,made Jack Bruce into the man and musician the public came to know. Of course much is written about his early years in London,with Graham Bond,Manfred Mann and other groups,and his meeting up and forming a group called CREAM,with Clapton and Baker. An interesting thing is that Bruce was invited to join CROSBY,STILLS,and NASH-but only as a bass player,not as another vocalist also. It was during this time that Bruce recorded his jazz/rock album, "Things We Like",which to this day is still a great sounding recording,and "Songs For A Tailor",probably his best known album,by critical standards and popularity.

Bruce's tenure with Tony Williams' LIFETIME band is looked at in depth,which is important because of the (for the times) innovative music the group played. The personalities of the group come into focus and how the members of the group affected Bruce's life and his playing. Bruce's many solo releases are also given their due,as are the different players used on each album. Many people have varying feelings about this period of Bruce's career,and like/dislike this period of album releases fervently-and it's all discussed here. The period with WEST,BRUCE,and LAING,and how that group came into being is very informative-how Felix Pappalardi was sick from heroin,and quit the group MOUNTAIN,with drummer Laing and guitarist Leslie West wanting to carry on with Paul Rodgers (of FREE) and bassist Overend Watts (MOTT THE HOOPLE),in a new configuration of their group,but wound up using Jack Bruce instead.

This book pulls no punches with Bruce's drug usage. It goes into some detail about Bruce's usage and it's affects on both him and his music. Bruce's admission that something was missing from his life,and he found it through heroin is both riveting and harrowing when he talks about this period of his life. Likewise Bruce's dealings with the record business and how he was shafted by mangers and the industry itself is brought into sharp focus,and how this affected him personally. The remainder of the book goes into his life,and his solo albums and bands,starting in the 80's,his liver transplant (due to a condition known as "anaethesia awareness",he was awake for the operation),and up through his reunion with Clapton and Baker in the CREAM concerts in 2005.

For Jack Bruce fans,or anyone wishing to read an accurate,in-depth look at a true musician's musician-this is the book to read. Not only is it about Jack Bruce,but it's also about an era-the musicians,the music,the times themselves-that will never be repeated. This book can sit on the shelf alongside other biographies of musicians (Thelonius Monk for example)whose life and music were bound together for better or worse.

I read this in 2 sittings. I couldn't put it down. The other reviews are excellent, but for me, a Jack Bruce fan since 1967, the best parts of the book are the stories behind the albums he played on. He was so much more than a "rock" musician, and this book makes mention of the various projects and people he worked with like Kip Hanrahan,Charlie Mariano,Rocket 88, and other projects outside of the rock bands he is always linked with. I love the stories behind these collaborations. And the discography at the end is an excellent way to expand your collection of Bruce music, as it goes all the way back to his beginnings. And the gig list is fun too. Now I am kicking myself for the times he came to my town and I missed him! A great read.

This book is congruent to Jack's musical career - well written and a focus on quality. Factual and fair in describing Jack's ups and downs along with wonderful anecdotal quotes. This book is just detailed enough without being too tedious. The research is thorough. Most interesting are the years from Cream through the West, Bruce and Laing fiasco. The music industry insider quotes from the likes of Robert Stigwood and Clive Davis reveal the corporate side of the music business which was complex and sometimes unfair to musicians. Those who followed Jack's journey may have wondered why he chose the path he did. This biography answered so many questions about Jack's career in a clear and coherent style. Overall, one of the best musician biographies.

It isn't all about fame. "Jack Bruce: Composing Himself" tells the tale of one of the less commercially successful members of Cream, but artistically successful none the less, Jack Bruce. His career has remained strong as he has continued to push the envelope, living for the music and not the fame. The hits and misses of his life lead to a truly unique rock and roll, and Harry Shapiro does well in telling his tale. "Jack Bruce" is a treasure trove of rock and roll legend, highly recommended.

The cover pic has the keyboard reflected in Jack's sun glasses, very clever and also is an illustration of the book. More background information on the "music composition" aspect would have been great: influences, what trying to achieve, etc.
Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent read - well written, informative (except for above). I did notice some minor glitches but they date from a long time ago so not surprising.
I've been listening to Jack since the Graham Bond days, a trully top composer/performer/singer, and this book does do justice to him.
Strongly recommended.

This is a thoroughly researched and well constructed overview of a master musician's life. All the facts are there, all the known history and all the overview you would expect...but... where's the passion and fire that we associate with Mr. Bruce? Mr. Shapiro has done a great job of providing a linear overview of a life and a career and I enjoyed reading it. It is written in an easy and flowing style that keeps you journeying through the life under examination with ease...but...

I have to agree with other reviewers here in wishing that it wasn't so clinical and detached. Perhaps with the example and success of the recent autobiography by Keith Richards Mr. Bruce can be persuaded to give us this story in his own words, from his own perspective and with no punches pulled. That'd be a great read. In the case of this book under review, it seems that the linear movement of the story couldn't be interrupted for meaty issues raised. For example, at one point Jack is quoted in reference to his liver damage, saying it was "no surprise really, after all the drinking, but I never went for medical check-ups. I always thought I was dying, so why bother?" This last sentence is left to hang, unexamined, surely a rich seam to be mined by a biographer? This is indicative of the 'purely facts' approach of the book and in that, it succeeds very well. A great read nonetheless for those of us interested in the man in question and I learnt things I never knew but a bit more juice would have made it an unmissable read for a wider audience.

I'm a BIG Cream fan and a BIG jack Bruce fan.. it was a great read, thorough and written with passion, some of it was hard to read, cause i didn't want to know the facts, Jack wasting time through drugs, but that's part of the story... fantastic..

JEFF

I feel pretty guilty giving this only three stars. Had it been written by Jack himself, I'd probably up it one, but this has all of the pitfalls of an 'official' biography without any of the benefits an autobiography might present. The book seems to focus primarily on musical impressions and opinions of Jack's work for the moderately serious fan. While this is probably fine, it pulls away the book a big distance away from the facts, events and motivations that made Jack Bruce brilliant. For all of the gushing compliments paid by collaboraters and side men during Jack's career, I walked away not feeling I knew Jack Bruce any better than when I picked the book up. No doubt some of the meatier discussions, shocking experiences, close calls and unpleasantness of Jack's life were excised to protect the innocent. The only way to compensate for this would be to have Jack's perspective on events, which when they are here, are buried with a few exceptions (his recent near death experience being one). Until Jack writes his own book, or someone can write a good book without the leash this one appears to have, this will have to do.

The man who truly drove Cream musician Jack Bruce is often overlooked by most music listeners. Bruce wrote the bulk of the material, played bass, cello, piano, sang most of the lead vocals and wrote most of the band's original material. While Clapton's guitar was a key element of that band, according to Clapton himself, "Jack's band" (even though Ginger Baker founded the band).

Bruce was one of the seminal bass players of the 60's (perhaps only matched by John Entwistle in terms of his approach to the instrument and Paul McCartney for sheer melodic invention)and if he had done nothing else he would be remembered for his ability to swing between jazz and rock effortlessly while creating a whole new vocabulary for the instrument.

Bruce's career has had its ups (Graham Bond Organisation,Cream, West, Bruce and Laing, BLT) and downs (a lot of his later solo career)and throughout it all he has cut a blazing, brilliant career that many record labels didn't know what to do with in terms of marketing.

"Jack Bruce Composing Himself" gives us insight into Bruce's talent, his ego as well as his flaws as a person. Bruce struggled with drug addiction, fidelity (a problem a lot of touring musicians face). The author Harry Shapiro had access to Bruce and his collaborators allowing him a unique insight into the musician and both the difficulties he faced as well as Bruce's ability to overcome many of those difficulties.

One of the few books out there that highlights this remarkable and talented musician "Jack Bruce Composing Himself" provides plenty of behind-the-scenes stories behind the recording of his classic albums and tours as well as providing us unique insight into Bruce himself.

Recommended.

If you want to read a very well organized story of a great musician, than this book is for you. From childhood to now, the behind the scene stories of events in Jack's life kept me reading.
For someone like myself that does not make the time to read, I was upset when I realized I had finished the book. This is a must for Jack Bruce fans.