Badge by Cream

[(coolhandjjl)]

Well actually, Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

Sure, it's a pentatonic, but with lots of little nuances. I nailed Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' last month to develop rapid tempo, but this one took some time. I use Garage Band to slow the tempo down until I've got a handle on it, and then speed it back up. It does it without altering the pitch.

I put in about half a day on Tues, again on both Wed, and today. I have my lesson late this afternoon when my 18 year old teacher gets home from high school. We'll see what he thinks. I've only been at this for a little over a year, but it's a blast!

[(woodyng)]

my band's lead singer decided he wanted to do this song,so we have been working on it the last few practices,and it is coming together pretty well. (considering our lineup is drums/EB/acoustic guitar!) I have mostly simplified the bass riffing during the GH arpeggiated part of the tune-Jack Bruce was doing some really cool stuff under there,but i lack his jazz chops. i want to try this on the fretless,when we get comfortable with it as a group.

[(coolhandjjl)]

....I have mostly simplified the bass riffing during the GH arpeggiated part of the tune-Jack Bruce was doing some really cool stuff under there....

That's the best part of the song. I've had to do some improv there as well. Man, with a good guitar, and some good vocals, you could run that part forever. I read about that part where GH used a Leslie rotating organ speaker for that, a precursor to the dopler horn perhaps?

[(woodyng)]

yeah,back then they didn't have chorus pedals.....you had to monkey with the tape recorders to get flanging sounds...the leslie trick was a pretty cool idea!

[(coolhandjjl)]

My teacher told me I'm about 80% there on this song. There are some 16th note pentatonics here and there (106 bpm). At first, I tried to cheat and slide my way through them, but then I figured, what's the point in taking lessons if I don't push myself. Plus, the sliding sounded like sh*t in those parts anyway.

Getting a pretty good workout today, but time for a rest. My neck gets stiffer than when I am at my computer workstation for hours on end.

[(coolhandjjl)]

Woody- stick with it. I finally nailed the part during the guitar solo. Took a long time, but I feel like I really accomplished something matching Jack Bruce lick for lick. Looking at some of the measures in the entire song, I've got to hit 4 notes in about 1/7 sec. I'm a bit sloppy in those parts, got to keep practicing to hit them with precision.

[(woodyng)]

you definitely accomplished something! with our band being what it is, we usually just go for an interpretation,rather than trying to copy licks note for note. we have 4 part vocals to substitute for the lack of an electric guitar solo,and i am finding i have to simplify my playing a lot whenever i attempt to do a simultaneous vocal. (i really never have attempted this before,and am really enjoying myself,and the results aren't even too bad!) i've always been awed by jack bruce's abilities,and i hope to acquit myself fairly well.

[(coolhandjjl)]

you definitely accomplished something! with our band being what it is, we usually just go for an interpretation,rather than trying to copy licks note for note. we have 4 part vocals to substitute for the lack of an electric guitar solo,and i am finding i have to simplify my playing a lot whenever i attempt to do a simultaneous vocal. (i really never have attempted this before,and am really enjoying myself,and the results aren't even too bad!) i've always been awed by jack bruce's abilities,and i hope to acquit myself fairly well.

Nothing wrong with going with 3 to 2 on the A, down to 3 on the E, then up to 5 back on the A. If I loose my place, that's where I catch up. Since I'm a beginner, I'm going way overboard on some of my assignments, as my 18 year old extraordinarily talented and patient teacher leaves for college in the fall. Just trying to make the best of a good situation.

[(winston)]

The story behind the song Badge. Courtesy of Songfacts:

"This (song) was written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Harrison, who is listed on the album as "L'Angelo Misterioso," also played rhythm guitar on this, since Cream had only one guitarist: Clapton.

The title has nothing to do with the song. Clapton saw Harrison's notes for this, and misread "Bridge" as "Badge." He thought this is what Harrison named the song, so they used it for the title.

The lyrics are not intended to make sense. Many of them were taken from drunken conversations Harrison had with Ringo Starr.
Cream recorded this a week after they played their last shows: 2 sold out performances at Royal Albert Hall in England. It was one of 3 studio recordings on their last album. The rest of it was filled with live cuts.

Cream had broken up by the time this was released. Clapton was already working with his new group, Blind Faith.

This is one of the shortest Cream songs. They were known for their long, improvised jams. The Wheels Of Fire live album, for example, contains only 4 songs.

This is one of the few Cream songs that Eric Clapton sang lead on, as Jack Bruce usually handled vocals. Also, this is the only Cream song to include 5 people: in addition to Clapton, Bruce, Baker and Harrison, Felix Pappalardi played the piano and Mellotron. Pappalardi was the producer of 3 of Cream's 4 albums (Disreali Gears, Wheels Of Fire, and Goodbye) and contributed by playing a wide variety of instruments on those albums. (thanks, Geoff - Lake Arrowhead, CA)
Clapton ran his guitar through a Leslie speaker cabinet to create a swirling sound. The Leslie Cabinet contained a rotating paddle and was designed for organs, but many musicians tried it with guitars. Jimmy Page used the technique on "Good Times, Bad Times."

The song titles were written on tombstones inside the album, leaving little doubt that it was their last.

Clapton had played on Harrison's album Wonderwall the previous year, and on The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which was released the same month as this."

[(coolhandjjl)]

Thanks for that Brian. Many myths surround Cream's break up. One of them was that when Eric Clapton heard current stuff from The Band, he threw in the towel in some sort of artist's defeat.

[(winston)]

You are welcome John. I have discovered over the years that most cool songs have an interesting backstory.

[(rictified)]

my band's lead singer decided he wanted to do this song,so we have been working on it the last few practices,and it is coming together pretty well. (considering our lineup is drums/EB/acoustic guitar!) I have mostly simplified the bass riffing during the GH arpeggiated part of the tune-Jack Bruce was doing some really cool stuff under there,but i lack his jazz chops. i want to try this on the fretless,when we get comfortable with it as a group.

His playing on this tune (and most others of course) was great.