''Things We Like'' is an instrumental

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

album by Scottish musician

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of Rock music, rock band Cream (band), Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a ...

. The album was Bruce's second solo album to be released (in late 1970 in the U.K.; early 1971 in the U.S.) but first to be recorded, in August 1968, while he was still a member of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

. ''Things We Like'' is Bruce's only instrumental album, mostly containing tunes that Bruce claims to have composed in 1955, when he was twelve years of age. The album also prominently features Bruce's technique on the

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, an instrument he rarely otherwise recorded with. Whereas most of Bruce's prior recorded work was in the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

music genres, ''Things We Like'' is a jazz album, in particular drawing from 1950s

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

and 1960s

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

influences. The album did not chart upon its release. Bruce had previously worked with two of his backing musicians on ''Things We Like'' – guitarist John McLaughlin and saxophonist

Dick Heckstall-Smith Richard Malden Heckstall-Smith (26 September 1934 – 17 December 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s. He is known for pr ...

– during his tenures with the

Graham Bond Organisation The Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) were a British blues/blues rock group of the mid-1960s consisting of Graham Bond (vocals, keyboards, alto-saxophone), Jack Bruce (bass), Ginger Baker (drums), Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor/soprano saxophone) a ...

and

Graham Bond Quartet Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, und ...

prior to joining Cream. (In particular, the Graham Bond Quartet, including Bruce and McLaughlin, produced a live recording of ''Things We Likes "HCKHH Blues", under the title "Ho Ho Country Kickin' Blues", in 1963; this track appears on the 1970 Graham Bond compilation album ''Solid Bond''.) Bond's band was also Bruce's connection to drummer

Jon Hiseman Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, audio engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, wi ...

, who joined that band after Bruce's departure. Bruce would subsequently work again with McLaughlin in

The Tony Williams Lifetime The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz fusion group led by drummer Tony Williams. The band was pivotal in the development of fusion and featured various noteworthy jazz and rock musicians throughout its history, including guitarists John McLau ...

, and completed his last tour with Lifetime in the UK in late 1970, at about the time ''Things We Like'' was released there.Liner notes to the 2003 CD reissue of Bruce's album '' Harmony Row'',

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, catalog no. 065 605-2. The track "Ageing Jack Bruce, Three, From Scotland, England" was recorded during the album's sessions but omitted from the album due to the length restrictions of the LP. The original album featured a stereo mix with the drums in the right channel only. Both mono and stereo versions were issued as promotional albums to US radio stations in 1971, however, the mono version has not been commercially issued. The 1988 US Polydor CD release was a stereo remix version with the drums centered, and bass and sax in the left and right channels. The 2003 CD re-issue features the original stereo mix.

Track listing

All compositions by

, unless otherwise noted. ;Side one :1. "Over the Cliff" – 2:56 :2. "Statues" – 7:35 :3. "Sam Enchanted Dick" – 7:28 ::a. "Sam Sack" (

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

) ::b. "Rill's Thrills" (

) :4. "Born to be Blue" (

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

, Robert Wells) – 4:26 ;Side two :5. "HCKHH Blues" – 8:59 :6. "Ballad for Arthur" – 7:42 :7. "Things We Like" – 3:38 ;Bonus track on 2003 CD reissue (Polydor) :8. "Ageing Jack Bruce, Three, From Scotland, England" (Heckstall-Smith) – 5:20

Personnel

–

, session leader *

–

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

* John McLaughlin – guitar (tracks 3–8) *

– drums

Production

Arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...

and produced by Jack Bruce. Recorded at I.B.C. Studios, London, August 1968.

References

{{Authority control Jack Bruce albums 1970 albums Albums produced by Jack Bruce Atco Records albums Polydor Records albums Albums recorded at IBC Studios