Featuring the premier weirdos of the British jazz scene, Things We Like is Jack Bruce’s first solo album, recorded in 1968 while he was still a member of Cream. All former members of the Graham Bond Organization, the album’s players mingle beautifully with one another through volcanic hard bop and woeful balladry, occasionally dipping their toes into the realm of free-jazz.
Guitarist John McLaughlin joins on several tracks, including the lively “Sam Enchanted Dick Medley,” where he elevates the already electric group into even greater heights of unorthodoxy. With Bruce on double bass and Dick Heckstall-Smith on double sax, (no, really) “HCKHH Blues” showcases the saxophonist’s uncanny ability to harmonize with himself on dual horns.
Bruce would go on to make a number of excellent blues-rock albums, delving into prog and fusion. But Things We Like, in its organic intensity, stands as a special entry in his fascinating career.
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