Cream 2005 reunion

Let it be known: I am a big fan of Cream, the legendary 60s power trio of Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and of course, the legendary Eric Clapton. I am halfway through the double CD set of the Royal Albert Hall reunion concerts and I must say that for a bunch of 60+ year olds, they sound really great! It does not quite approximate the incredible improvisational fury of their heyday, but they sound better than just going through the motions. Bruce's bass playing and Baker's drumming are still phenomenal, and Clapton is, well, Clapton. The man really can't play the guitar badly (though he has made some real stinker albums and I would consider him a sell out if not for the fact that few, if any, have made the electric guitar sing like him) and his playing is solid throughout. My only complaint is that Clapton stuck with the Strat rather than return to the old Gibson SG/Marshall stack combo that he helped pioneer in his days with Cream. The guitar sound is good on the reunion CD, but not that heavy Gibson sound that would help bolster these tunes. It is sure nice to hear these guys playing together again as I only have their box set Those Were the Days (which is everything they ever laid down on tape plus an old Falstaff beer commercial jingle that they did way back when) to keep me company.