MP3some: Theme from an Imaginary Western

The first version of "Theme from and Imaginary Western" I heard was Mountain's live rendition from Woodstock. Leslie West introduced the song by mentioning it was written by Cream's Jack Bruce, then promptly launched into a spirited version. I was initially somewhat confused by the track - it did not sound like Cream at all. I chalked that up to the fact that it was Mountain (a poor man's Cream) playing the song.

Later, When my roommate and I semi-jokingly (well, I don't think it was a joke for him) got into Mountain's record, Climbing! (1970 - and love the title), I heard their album version of the song. "Theme from an Imaginary Western" was a highlight of the record for me - a well-written song with a nice Hammond organ in the background. It was not a favorite of my roommate, however, who preferred the band's riff-driven material. It still didn't sound like Cream, and I was still confused.

I eventually found a copy of Bruce's 1969 solo effort, Songs for a Tailor, and everything suddenly made sense. Far from the psychedelic blues of Cream, Songs for a Tailor is a nice amalgam of pop, folk, jazz, and even hints of country. It appears that Jack Bruce was something of a renaissance man. While fellow Cream member Eric Clapton was a guitar-slinging blues savant, Bruce's interests and abilities (he played bass, piano, organ, cello, and guitar on the record) were rather diverse. Songs for a Tailor reflects such diversity. In some ways, it reminds me of Blind Faith - sans the heavy blues guitar, of course. In other ways, it reminds me of No Other era Gene Clark - sans the spectacular production. The comparisons are by no means perfect, though. Jack Bruce is a unique artist with a sound all his own, and "Theme from an Imaginary Western" may well be his finest post-Cream piece of songwriting. It is the gem of his first solo record.