Description
Jack Bruce – Things We Like (with John McLaughlin, Jon Hiseman & Dick Heckstall-Smith) CD
UPC: 044006560427
MPN: 065 604-2
Brand Name: Polydor / Universal Music
Label: Polydor Ltd. (UK), a Universal Music Company
Original Release: 1970
Reissue Compilation: 2003
Genre: Jazz Rock / Fusion / Progressive Jazz
Style: Instrumental Jazz-Rock, Avant-Garde Fusion
Format: Compact Disc (Digital Audio)
Overview
Things We Like is a landmark jazz-rock fusion album by Jack Bruce, best known as the bassist and vocalist of Cream. Originally recorded in 1968 and released in 1970, it reveals a very different side of Bruce—his deep roots in modern jazz and improvisation.
Here, Bruce performs exclusively on double bass, accompanied by three major talents of the British jazz and rock scenes: John McLaughlin (guitar), Jon Hiseman (drums), and Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophones). Together, they deliver a fiery, virtuosic set that fuses the freedom of jazz with the intensity of rock.
The 2003 Polydor CD reissue (catalogue no. 065 604-2) restores the full original album and adds a previously unreleased bonus track, Ageing Jack Bruce, Three, From Scotland, England.
Product Features
- Format: CD (Remastered Digital Reissue, 2003)
- Label: Polydor Ltd. (UK) / Universal Music Company
- Genre: Jazz Rock / Fusion
- Recording Year: 1968
- Original Release: 1970 (Polydor)
- Reissue Date: 2003
- Total Length: Approx. 47 minutes
- Sound: Stereo (Digitally Remastered)
- Original Sleeve Design: Hamish & Gustav
- CD Package Design: Phil Smee (Waldo’s Design & Dream Emporium)
- Photography: Roger Brown
- Additional Credits: “Jack Bruce’s sausages & mosh” courtesy of Bob Adcock
Track Listing
- Over the Cliff – 2:49
- Statues – 7:21
- Sam Enchanted Dick (Medley: Sam’s Sack / Rill’s Thrills) – 7:17
- Born to Be Blue – 4:13
- HCKHH Blues – 8:54
- Ballad for Arthur – 7:28
- Things We Like – 3:28 Bonus Track (Previously Unreleased):
- Ageing Jack Bruce, Three, From Scotland, England – 5:19
Interesting Facts
- A Pre-Fusion Masterpiece: Recorded before Bruce’s fame with Cream fully took off, this album captures the exploratory spirit that would later define 1970s fusion.
- Early Collaboration with McLaughlin: Guitarist John McLaughlin would soon go on to form the Mahavishnu Orchestra and work with Miles Davis on Bitches Brew; this session foreshadows that era’s energy.
- Free Jazz Spirit: The music is fully instrumental, largely improvised, and closer to Ornette Coleman or Charles Mingus than to Cream’s blues-rock.
- The Title’s Meaning: “Things We Like” reflects the musicians’ shared joy in spontaneous creation—unbound by commercial expectations.
- Album Artwork: The original sleeve, by Hamish & Gustav, mirrors the album’s abstract musical character.
Personnel
- Jack Bruce – Double Bass
- John McLaughlin – Guitar
- Jon Hiseman – Drums
- Dick Heckstall-Smith – Saxophones
Publishers
© 2003 Polydor Ltd. (UK), a division of Universal Music Operations Ltd. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying, reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance, and broadcasting prohibited. Made in the EU. BIEM / MCPS | LC 00309
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