Song Of The Day No.40

Ministry Of Bag

by Jack Bruce (Songs For A Tailor, 1969)

Jack Bruce's curriculum vitae reads quite like no other; from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Blues Incorporated and the Graham Bond Organisation to John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, Cream, free jazz and Frank Zappa. Perhaps most famous for writing the bass riff that defines the Cream song 'Sunshine Of Your Love'. Songs For A Tailor, recorded after but released before the double-bass dominated jazz album Things We Like, sold well but had a mixed reception in the music press. The album, is now however, regarded as his best solo release.

All the lyrics on the album were written by long time collaborator Peter Brown and the music by Bruce himself. Ministry Of Bag is the most overtly blues song on an album that inventively mixes rock, jazz and blues over ten tracks. The brass section parps and the bass bounds high in the mix while unfussy licks roll of the guitar with ease. The drum kit is also prominent providing an upbeat jazz/rock/soul mixture that also nods towards funk. The lyrics make for a strange nonsense passage describing life in an office with various references to food, but the way they fit the song means you don't often realise the absurdity of the subject matter.

AR