The Köln Concert is a concert recording by the pianist Keith Jarrett of solo piano improvisations performed at the Opera House in Cologne (German: Köln) on January 24, 1975. The double-vinyl album was released in 1975 by the ECM Records label to critical acclaim, and went on to become the best-selling solo album in jazz history, and the all-time best-selling piano album, with sales of more than 3.5 million.
A gathering of British classic rock legends took the stage in London on Monday night (Feb. 17) to give Ginger Baker a proper sendoff. The drummer’s two-time bandmate, Eric Clapton, had announced the benefit concert to celebrate the musical life of his “dear friend” who died at 80 on October 6, 2019. The charity event, billed as Eric Clapton & Friends: A Tribute to Ginger Baker, was held at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London, U.K. Some friends! Joining EC were such legends as Steve Winwood (who formed Blind Faith with Baker, Clapton and Ric Grech), Ronnie Wood, Roger Waters and Nile Rodgers.
Following the acclaimed release of Cream’s 10 UK and US 7” singles’ boxed-set package towards the end of last year comes this superb 4 album/5CD set celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cream’s inception in 1966. The Classic Album Selection features the band’s complete studio albums – Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Wheels Of Fire and Goodbye; four incredible albums, which left an indelible mark in rock history. With Cream, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, set the template for a whole new generation of rock music with their innate muscial virtuosity. Although they were only together for just over two years, Cream blazed an indelible trail through the latter half of the 1960s with their challenging and exquisite mélange of blues, pop and psychedelia; their influence at their peak, and in the years following their break-up, was immense.
Cream were a 1960s British rock power trio consisting of drummer Ginger Baker, guitarist/singer Eric Clapton and bassist/singer Jack Bruce. The group's third album, Wheels of Fire (1968), was the world's first platinum-selling double album. Cream is widely regarded as the world's first successful supergroup with sales of more than 15 million copies of their albums worldwide. Their music included songs based on traditional blues such as "Crossroads" and "Spoonful", and modern blues such as "Born Under a Bad Sign", as well as more current material such as "Strange Brew", "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "Toad". This album includes a fantastic live recording made for Swedish radio in March 1967 and previously un-release BBC radio sessions. It provides a unique picture of Cream in-concert and live in the studio in the period leading up to their classic 1967 album Disraeli Gears.
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005. The lists presented were compiled based on votes from selected rock musicians, critics, and industry figures, and predominantly feature British and American music from the 1960s and 1970s. From 2007 onwards, the magazine published similarly titled lists in other countries around the world.