{"id":957015,"date":"2026-05-13T12:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957015\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:26:19","slug":"the-classic-rock-band-all-of-cream-couldnt-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957015\/","title":{"rendered":"The classic rock band all of Cream couldn’t stand"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cream<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ F. van Geelen \/ Omroepvereniging VARA<\/p>\n

Wed 13 May 2026 11:31, UK <\/p>\n

As hard rock evolved into its own unique entity at the end of the 1960s, two of the biggest bands leading the charge were Cream<\/a> and Led Zeppelin. <\/p>\n

The two acts overlapped for the briefest of periods, with Cream breaking up just as Zeppelin was forming in the summer months of 1968. Both bands had insanely talented rhythm sections bolstered by legendary lead guitarists, but if you ask the members of Cream, that\u2019s where the similarities end.<\/p>\n

Even though Eric Clapton remains the only surviving member of the band, you could still probably get a strongly worded opinion out of him if you try to compare Cream with Zeppelin. \u201cWe had a really strong foundation in blues and jazz,\u201d Clapton explained to Nigel Williamson in 2004. \u201cLed Zeppelin took up our legacy. But then they took it somewhere else that I didn\u2019t really have a great deal of admiration for.\u201d<\/p>\n

As per usual, Clapton proved to be the calmest of the three Cream members. Before their respective deaths in 2014 and 2019, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker took plenty of swipes against Zeppelin. Whether it was because Zeppelin was the next in line to the hard rock throne or simply because the two tended to be naturally miserly and combative, Bruce and Baker were none too kind in their opinions toward Led Zeppelin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuck off, Zeppelin, you\u2019re crap,\u201d Bruce claimed. \u201cYou\u2019ve always been crap, and you\u2019ll never be anything else. The worst thing is that people believe the crap that they\u2019re sold. Cream is ten times the band that Led Zeppelin is. You\u2019re gonna compare Eric Clapton with fucking Jimmy Page?\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Jimmy<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n

While being interviewed by director Jay Bulger for the 2012 documentary Beware of Mr. Baker, Baker gleefully took down some of his rock and roll contemporaries. While showing admiration for The Rolling Stones\u2019 longtime stickman Charlie Watts, Baker scoffed at being compared to the like of Keith Moon and John Bonham. Although he was willing to admit that Bonham was talented, Baker wouldn\u2019t give him any other compliments. <\/p>\n

Part of the resentment likely stemmed from how differently the two bands approached the blues. Cream treated the genre almost like a jazz exercise, stretching songs into long improvisational workouts where each musician had space to showcase technical ability. <\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n

Led Zeppelin, meanwhile, were more interested in power and atmosphere, building enormous riffs and darker textures that connected with a wider rock audience. To musicians like Bruce and Baker, that approach may have seemed less sophisticated, even if it proved massively influential.<\/p>\n

Despite the criticism, Zeppelin would eventually eclipse Cream commercially and become the defining hard rock band of the 1970s. Bonham\u2019s thunderous drumming and Page\u2019s layered guitar work laid the groundwork for countless heavy bands that followed. <\/p>\n

Even if Baker dismissed Bonham\u2019s sense of swing, generations of drummers have continued to study both men for entirely different reasons. Cream may have embodied virtuosity, but Zeppelin captured scale in a way few bands ever managed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe general public are so fucking dumb that anyone could think [that] Bonham was anywhere near this kind of drummer I am is just extraordinary,\u201d Baker claimed in Beware of Mr. Baker. \u201cBonham had technique, but he couldn\u2019t swing a sack of shit. Or Mooney, for that manner. I mean, if they were still alive today, ask them!\u201d <\/p>\n

Check out Led Zeppelin taking on classic blues down below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n

All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Far Out \/ F. van Geelen \/ Omroepvereniging VARA Wed 13 May 2026 11:31, UK As hard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[33649,77,21945,269,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-957015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-cream","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-led-zeppelin","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116567265456929845","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=957015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}