Beware of Mr. Baker (2012)
My knowledge of Ginger Baker was practically zilch before watching this documentary. In fact, I didn't even know Eric Clapton was in Cream. Besides hearing their music on records and tape decks growing up by my parents, I knew nothing about this band. I only recently heard about this documentary from a podcast where they talked about how he was run out of Africa being shot at in a Landrover and how he made $2 million on one re-union concert and blew it all on polo horses. I was intrigued by his lifestyle and story and gave this movie a view.
Aside from making some great music with Cream and being questionably one of the all-time best drummers amongst his peers, he seems like a real POS to his children, family, friends, and is the definition of self-absorbed. It was clear that he only did this documentary for a much needed paycheck. Even the documentarian took abuse filming this.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of concert footage in the documentary. It had a lot of drum battle footage but by no means showcased the band Cream. It had a lot of famous musicians featured (Johnny Rotten, Carlos Santanna, etc.), including Eric Clapton who was heavily interviewed. A drummer or fan of Cream might find this documentary more appealing.
6/10
Bookmarks