krich58 wrote:  Where'd that ever come from?
I don't think he's all that special.

Would love to also hear Deserted Cities of the Heart...

 krich58 wrote: 
Indeed.
Very good.

 unclehud wrote: 
As great as he is, Bruford often slips between the cracks in these discussions, although he is in the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

 keller1 wrote:
Just to stir the pot, how about Bill Bruford?

Clapton is God !!

{Had to throw that in ... }

Whoa, dude.  This is (still) far out.  When I hear highly distorted whiplash guitar thtrough a wa-wa pedal, I'm like a lab rat from some CIA-inspired research project.  (Slack jawed, twitching, and drooling.)

 Papernapkin wrote: 
Yes, it has been getting a little too retro as of late.

Could do without the classic rock on RP.

 crockydile wrote: 
You mean the bridge? Try fist pumping along with it. Oh, and TURN IT UP!

Just good  music!

 Wizzuvv_oz wrote: 
Growing up in the 70's/80's, I got Clapton second-hand. This was always a bit of an odd song, especially the falsetto stuff. The breaks with the cymbals and distant guitar don't hold up well. Oh, well.

"Traintime" is the track of choice on the album.

 choiceimage wrote: 
Agreed on all counts.  I've never been one who thought Clapton was all that... this was probably fresh when it came out, but it doesn't  seem to hold up to me.  

 Wizzuvv_oz wrote: 
I reluctantly agree. It's too bad that over-playing a song makes it mediocre.

 kaybee wrote: 
First of all, I agree 100%.  But, I would like to further point out that Clapton and Baker hired Bruce.  Ginger Baker didn't need anyone to hire him.

Regarding all the comments as to whether or not Ginger Baker is a good drummer, I can't believe gifted artists such as Bruce and Clapton would hire a drummer who was less than excellent.

For myself, I always felt Clapton was a bit overrated and Bruce underrated.

Some songs just get better with age.  Some don't.  For me, this song doesn't do either.  Always liked it pretty well and I always kind of like hearing it even after the 80 bazillionth time. But even in its day it never made me go wild.  Like it's had a lobotomy.  Maybe it's just me.

What was I thinking with a rating of 9 !!!! A true 10 !! Maybe because I forgot the voice of my youth for a minute there! 

From Wikipedia:
After bassist Jack Bruce wrote the guitar pieces, Cream's lyricist, poet Pete Brown, grouped colorful four-syllable phrases, loosely organized around images of waiting in an English railway station influenced by the drugs he was taking. "White Room" is further noted for its unusual time signature of 5/4 in the introduction and bridge, with triplets played on toms by Ginger Baker, his thunderous bass drum part also lacing the verses. Finally, "White Room" is notable for showcasing guitarist Eric Clapton's best known use of the Vox Clyde McCoy Picture Wah (a device used to turn off bass and treble as the pedal is rocked) in the bridge and extended solo.

different strokes....la  la  la  la!!  dont LIKE???  DON'T listen...unless the GEEK factor is soooo high ya can't remove ur headphones!!!!

 stkman wrote: 
Yes. I am a drummer.

If you read any of the drum magazines what you'll discover is that the highest rated rock drummers are usually John Bonham and Mitch Mitchell.  Some more recent guys would be Stewart Copeland and Gavin Harrison.

I take a lesson every week, and it was actually there that I started to hear what drummers thought about other drummers.  Don't get me wrong —- I mean, nobody is ever gonna mistake Ringo Starr for Buddy Rich, and yet he was part of the magic of The Beatles —- it's just that Ginger Baker is not a member of the drum pantheon.

Another test is what you hear covered in bars.  White Room, Sunshine of Your Love, and Crossroads are bar band staples, in some measure because the drum parts aren't that tough,  You hear a lot less Hendrix, Zeppelin, even the Police covered because the drummers in those bands were great players, and if you're gonna cover that stuff you've got to be a pretty serious player yourself.

I don't know about you all, but I've heard this song way too many times on any of the countless "classic rock" stations. Don't need to rehash it again here.

 keller1 wrote: 
Are you  a drummer? I agree that Mitch never got the credit he deserved. Overrated?  If somebody said Ginger was best rock drummer then easy to agree with he wasn't. Don't like the phrase overrated. Want to know who's rating system ya are using even tho this guy is better than that guy usually is a editorial opinion unless its from their peers. Solid 3 means ho-hum, sorry ya are bored by it. Saw them several times and all 3 were damn good and "not" boring

 nate917 wrote: 
right you are! thanks for correcting my goof. or is it gaffe?

  i was living in DC when i posted that. maybe i moved back to the beach because i kept getting lost.

This was a party favourite back in the day.  Still shines.

Shouldn't this be a 9 or 10?  Wow, radioparadise is a tough room.

This was when Clapton and Hendrix were doing stuff with a Crybaby Wah-Wah that no one had even imagined possible...