It may have been 10 years since Jack Bruce released his last solo album, More Jack Than God, but Silver Rails is definitely worth the wait.
Bruce is considered to be one of the greatest bassists of all time, well-known as a founding member of the rock power trio, Cream, and for his fretless bass playing. Bruce recorded Silver Rails at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, and on this album he is joined by many rock luminaries such as ex-Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth, ex-Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower, ex-Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, keyboardist John Medeski, and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana.
Silver Rails finds Bruce holding onto his blues rock and jazz roots while freely, and successfully, pushing into the realms of Afro-Caribbean and classical music. The result is an album that is strikingly eclectic, yet cohesive – and one of Bruce’s best in his career.
Horns gracefully ebb in and out of the album’s opener, “Candlelight,” as Bruce’s smooth bass playing sets the rhythm for this Afro-Caribbean inspired song. The song ends with Bruce repeatedly singing “Sunshine” as if he is yearning for the renewal of a broken relationship. Upbeat guitar and piano work set the foundation for Bruce’s rich voice and decorative bass lines in “Fields of Forever,” a song that immediately put me in the mood to pick up my guitar and play along.
“Industrial Child” is the pinnacle of this album. Arpeggiated piano lines embody the somber mood of this song as Bruce sings about a once-flourishing city that turned desolate after the closure of its freight train station. Bruce’s control of his delicate falsetto and stunning vibrato in this song is truly incredible.
I do have a soft spot for the blues, and there are moments in this album that pleasantly bring me back to Bruce’s early days in Cream. “Rusty Lady” is best served loud, and it could easily have found a place on Cream’s 1968 double-album, Wheels of Fire. Similarly, at times, the bass playing in “Keep It Down” is reminiscent of that in Cream’s “Badge” as Bruce sings about burying the heartbreak of losing love.
The last song on Silver Rails is “No Surrender,” a driving rock song in which Bruce sings about sticking to one’s passions that ends with Bruce roaring “No Surrender!” If the album’s closing line is any indication of the future, then it sounds like nothing is going to stop Bruce from continuing to engage into his musical endeavors and setting the bar high for himself.
Silver Rails is a testament to the longevity of Bruce’s musical genius and proves that his long career is not waning anytime soon.