Well, it was called the Jimi Hendrix Experience for a reason. As Jack Bruce said, Eric was a guitar player, Hendrix was a force of nature. Jimi's band was built around him, and Cream was much more of an ensemble. If you put Jimi Hendrix up against anyone from that time with your same criteria, they are going to come in second place.Singlebladepickup wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:09 pmI'm not even talking about straight skills, EC never had a song near as good as If 6 Was 9, Manic Depression, Crosstown Traffic, Castles Made of Sand. It's more than just playing with feedback and noise (although machine gun is waaaay better than anything EC made in his career, even if we're talking about just vocal melody and leaving guitars out of the conversation). I'm talking about songwriting and attitude.
Anyway, it's ultimately apples and oranges. It's like back in the day when the press seemed determined to set up rivalry between the Beatles and the Stones. I hear Cream for the most part as very much a straight ahead blues rock band, and the Experience often has more of an r&b, swing, jazzy sound. Hard to imagine either guitarist in the other's band.
