BBM
Around The Next Dream

BBM stands for (Gary) Moore + (Jack) Bruce + (Ginger) Baker, which means two-thirds of Cream, plus Moore instead of Clapton, resulting in a more "muscular" and powerful sound. However, given that this project is dated 1994, three decades after the other, it is far less psychedelic and disheveled.

Another noticeable difference in the one-off experience of these veterans, compared to the seminal and competitive era of Cream, is the contribution of the drummer: this fifty-year-old Baker is much more composed and anonymous than he was twenty-five years prior. His ambitions as a songwriter and singer have been shelved (during his collaboration with Clapton and Bruce, he demanded a third of the compositions and possibly also the role of lead singer...), and he restricts himself to accompanying the two colleagues with a dry and linear rhythm, without the percussive oddities of his youth. The only spontaneous moment he's granted is on the cover: his gaunt face like a true devil, enjoying yet another cigarette, stands out between two incredibly unlikely cherub wings!

The album is decent, dignified. Nothing historical, but three or four tracks are worth purchasing. The two roosters, Moore and Bruce (Baker, I repeat, stays in the background) respect each other and collaborate effectively, alternating at the mic even within the same song. Particularly, the late Moore (who passed away last year at just fifty-eight), an invaluable guitarist whose expressive power will never be celebrated enough, here seems particularly influenced in his singing by the usual powerful and declamatory style of the bassist. Their two vocal approaches ultimately become quite similar, making it not immediately recognizable who is behind the microphone.

The pinnacle of the album, in my opinion, is the semi-ballad "Where In The World," due to the beautiful atmosphere surrounding the verses, supported by acoustic guitars and sung by Moore. Unfortunately, the chorus, in which Bruce's stentorian tone takes over while the arrangement becomes more electric and rhythmic, doesn't live up to its potential, being not very melodically incisive. The piece recovers in the bridge, sung in harmony by the two vocalists over a remarkable bed of arpeggios.

Bruce's vocal performance in "Why Does Love Have To Go Wrong?" is noteworthy, with the Scottish bassist extending his vocal cord vibrato to the point of intertwining it with the waning sound of Gary's warm Gibson, in a spectacular execution. Three minutes of such singing, then the Northern Irish guitarist switches to the high notes pickup and delivers a long, wild, and earth-shattering closing solo that leaves you in awe!

Another success is the atmospheric blues ballad "Naked Flame," very orthodox and composed, performed with meticulous conviction by the guitarist who gives his all to modulate his vocal output sweetly before exploding into another of his renowned solos, this time on a Stratocaster, in a pure class crescendo that starts insidiously and ends angrily and laceratingly.

The last mention goes to the opening track "Waiting In The Wings," a charming homage or, if preferred, a significant nod to the old hit by Cream, "White Room." All the beautiful ideas of that ancient gem are recycled here with barely disguised diligence: the overwhelming presence of the guitar modulated by the wah-wah pedal, the staccato instruments in the verses, the solo style that can't get more Clapton-like, and so on.

The rest is more routine with rock, blues, and moderate doses of pop accessibility mixed together in various grades from one track to another: a more than respectable album from three old pros of British blues, captured in good form on this occasion.