''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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

album by Scottish musician

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

. 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 Wales ...

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second 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 process ...

. ''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 simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, 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 which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

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, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

and 1960s

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

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 John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

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 pri ...

– during his tenures with the

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

and Graham Bond Quartet 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 its full 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, recording engineer, record producer, and music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and later for ...

, 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 jazz drummer Tony Williams. Original line-up The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 as a power trio with John McLaughlin on electric guitar, and Larry Young on organ. The band ...

, 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 Records Ltd. is a German-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 the United States. ...

, 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, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

) ::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, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

, 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

*Jack Bruce –

, session leader *

–

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

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 (while th ...

– 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 orchest ...

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

References

External links

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