I'm 69 years old and I know the Mountain version of this song and I'm just beginning to appreciate this stunning masterpiece!

Thank you bass brother Jeff! JACK BRUCE IS THE GOVENOR OF BASS!

One of the greatest songs that the general public doesn't know about...Thank god that I do!!!

Completely agree - Theme is a GLORIOUS composition. Mountain's version - with Pappalardi's beautiful, melodic voice and West's iconic, soaring leads, is a masterpiece.

Nice to Know My favorite song is Jeff"s favorite too. RIP Jack, Felix and Leslie.

@sincerestanley6499

3 жыл бұрын

Pro trick: you can watch movies at flixzone. I've been using them for watching loads of movies during the lockdown.

@prestondavid1530

3 жыл бұрын

@Sincere Stanley Yea, I've been watching on Flixzone} for since december myself =)

That 9th in the melody on the Em/Bm part has been elevating this song to an epic place for decades

I ALWAYS LOVED THIS SONG I RECORDED IT 12 YEARS AG

It was/is a most beautiful tune!

I used to jam at an open mic and they had a bass player there that had a video of him singing and playing this song, I was really impressed. I had never heard the song. It's the first time I think in years that someone played something that I had never heard but I liked it a lot.

Agree. Got Mountain Climbing! when it first came out, was already a Cream fan. Wow, what music. Thanks for breaking it down.

Wonderful exploration of this song. Thank you. The Mountain version was an amazing discovery for me at age 14 in 1971. Now at age 65 I recently returned to this song, playing it, looping a rhythm, singing it, and playing Leslie West's solos over my looped rhythm (key of D, as I'm a baritone). What a thrill for me to try to capture the beauty of this song and some of the beauty of the Mountain version. And how wonderful the Internet is so that those of us who love some of same semi-obscure things can enjoy them together!

Jack was a total original- and he had his own voice - the composition was king!

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

So true :)

I saw Mountain do it at Hofstra on LI, I cried . To this day I still get tears in my eyes when I here it.

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

Their version was incredible. I heard a recording of it and was blown away.

@rjh1226

4 жыл бұрын

Joe Metzler I was there... saw Mountain 73 & 74 New Years at the Felt Forum. Many other shows and worked security out at Bald Hill in Farmingville NY However seeing Creams reunion sent chills through out my body and what we waited 35 years to hear.

My favorite. Jack Bruce. I've deeply admired his music ever since I first heard him, but I only saw him in performance once with the short lived West, Bruce and Laing, circa '72 or '73, at the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Prior to that I'd seen Mountain at the same venue and they headlined at Summerfest even before that. After that I saw Mountain probably 4 more times in N.J. and N.Y., when Felix Pappalardi was still with them. Jack Bruce was such a talented, unique composer and bass player, to say the least. The bass line he played in the West, Bruce and Laing version of his song; "Out Into The Fields" is, in my opinion, as noteworthy as "Theme". So many of his compositions are so incredibly, fantastically noteworthy.

Great video! Always love this song.

That solo album of Jack's was great his composing was as good as his bass playing. I got to see Mountain with the original lineup play and Felix played and sang beautifully. Also even after all these years I still think Mountain was the loudest band I ever heard. great show.

@tastymouse

5 жыл бұрын

Check out Jacks' 12 or so, other solo CDs. They are all brilliant.

It’s a great song.

Jack Bruce was the man baby he know how to write songs you know how to sing and he was great that’s all I have to say just dig it man

Thank you for this Maestro

Hi Jeff - I probably heard the version Mountain recorded (with Felix Pappalardi singing...) initially. A bit later, I heard Songs for a Tailor ("Theme..." is on this one) and Harmony Row. They, and Jack's work post-Cream is desert island stuff for me. His work on Escalator Over The Hill and with Kip Hanrahan is equally wonderful. Harmonically, leading up to the bridge (I guess it can be called a bridge...) - starting from "Fallen faces by the wayside..." it is: || G B- | E- E-/D | C A- | G B-/F# Bridge: || E- | B- | etc... when Jack sings "O the sun was in their eyes..." is just plain beautiful. Melodically, (over B-/F#) he vocally outlines a root position B- triad and lands up on the F# on the downbeat of the E- (the first chord in the bridge). This suspension (9th) is VERY effective (he does it twice). He does resolve it down to the E (tonic of E-). I am absolutely looking forward to when Jack Songs is available. Thank you for your dedication in this. - LS

Absolutely one of my favorite songs in the world. This is one of the songs that saved my life. Music saves my life daily. Thank you so much for your love of music, maestro. Don

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Don for your very sweet thought.

Song For a Taylor, Jack's album that this song is from is my all time desert Island record, it's so, so musical.. thank you Jeff

Good to know Jack's music is still being appreciated. Well done Jeff!

I discovered the tune recently.Now I cover it.A treasure.

Great job! Jack Bruce was one of my music heroes in my young days. Then, it was his bass playing. I modeled my playing style after him. Now, after music degrees and decades of performing and practicing, can I comprehend the enormity of his talent in his song writing, and vocals as well. And yes, as a 15 year old, I could see and appreciate Theme as a masterpiece. The Mountain studio recording did, and still does, bring chills.

I had the great pleasure of hearing mountain play this live. One of my all time favorite anthems.

Thanks for the reading on the tune. I hadn't thought of the F# note as the 5th of the Bm. (I'm not a bassist) I only just discovered this amazing song this past week! One part that you didn't seem to address was more heavily enunciated in the Mountain version, when Felix leans so powerfully on the G note below the A triad, heading to the F, making that unstable b7th inversion (4th inversion?). His bass sounds like a bellowing locomotive. Just Awesome! Lot's of complexity and opportunities for creative dissonance in this song,

thank you for explaining this song, to which I have been listening for the past four decades, in such an original way.

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

Just today, I finished adding one last section to my arrangement of the song that will be going on my Jack Bruce tribute CD.

Thank you for this and for your beautiful outlining of the harmony. This has been a favourite song since I first heard it, a million years ago.

One of the greatest songs ever!!!

Thanks for sharing this Jeff

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

My pleasure Paul.

I love that you are playing Jack's piano on the bass . Jack would be proud . Cheers , stay safe .

Epic as he said epic I was writing it. No other word describes this piece of Art

I've always appreciated this song and liked your demonstration very much.

One of my favourites, thank you Jeff. I look forward to hearing more insights like this.

Jeff The Man Berlin!!!

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

You are very kind, Johnny. I just wish to help people to play better and thought that a video about one of my favorite tunes would be an enjoyable thing.

What a beautiful song! Heard everything from Cream but never checked out Jack's solo stuff. Thanks for enlightening me! Looking forward to more videos like this

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Erik.Jack is still a hero to me. I hope that my little demo and explanation did him justice

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Eirik. Jack has an incredible repertoire of great music to check out. Enjoy!

Have a look at Out into the fields as done by West Bruce and Laing

@plk5520

3 жыл бұрын

I'd like to hear someone with skills cover that song. I'm pretty sure there's only 2 versions in existence. The one you mentioned and the one from his 2001 Shadows in the Air album.

The chords are very simple and was used a million times before jack ever used them BUT i am not saying this to be a wise guy but this video makes it seems like it is very original- For a rock player it is very good nothing great or would make Oscer Peterson or Charlie Parker or Mozart minds blow away- I think what makes the song so great is the words and the way the words are phrased and if you know what the song is about then it makes it so much more errie and beautiful !!!!!!

There was a time when if was unheard of playing a full song using chords on the bass like a guitar or piano. I love using bass chords

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

It is a beautiful thing when done appropriately.

I know Jack wrote this in G , that said I play the mountain version in A.

Mr. Jeff, who sang "Theme" on your wonderful Jack Songs LP?

Jeff - heads’ up that your upload of the Jack Songs album on streaming platforms *does not contain* Theme From An Imaginary Western! “Creamed” has accidentally been uploaded twice!

Is it Theme FROM or FOR ?

Is anyone else unable to hear Jeff speaking? I hear his bass but that's all.

I like your version better Jeff!

@lumpyjazz

6 жыл бұрын

Ah, Jack's is stunning. But, I do have plans for the song when we record it.

@diddymercs

6 жыл бұрын

lumpyjazz Yes please record this tune. Offer it for sale on your page!

I feel it falls short of being epic. The lyrics and melody are pretty weak. Also, there isn't much to the accompaniment besides the interesting chords. There are versions on KZread where Jack Bruce just plays it on a piano with a quarter note pulse on the the chords. Versions with more instrumentation just muddy it up without adding much. Overall, it's a unique and interesting sounding chords, but the rest feels unfinished to me.