Ever since Cream effectively minted the supergroup concept, Jack Bruce’s subsequent career has been characterised by interludes wherein he’s been surrounded by a phalanx of star players, whether by happenstance or design. Some of these were a considerably better fit than others, it has to be said: not least the sneeze-and-you’ll-miss- them 70s ensemble put together by Bruce for a mid-decade nanosecond.
That band, captured here in concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall on 1 June 1975, boasted the star power of former Stone Mick Taylor and the deservedly weighty jazz-rock rep of Escalator Over The Hill escalatrix Carla Bley; but it is comparatively unsung drummer Bruce Gary and keyboardist Ronnie Leahy who most impress from this remove with their sensitively-judged contributions. The former, en route to The Knack, and the latter, migrating from Stone The Crows, bring exuberance and gravitas respectively to a set predominantly drawn from Bruce’s unimpeachable solo albums Harmony Row and Songs For A Tailor.
Bruce himself is in gruff and lusty Caledonian soul voice throughout; and if the concluding Sunshine Of Your Love feels a bit like an if-we-must sop to the mewling, Cream-starved masses, the incendiary 24-minute Smiles And Grins that precedes it has already redressed the balance.
