Beware of Mr. Baker

Mister Baker here is Ginger Baker, the rock drummer, most famous for his days, from 1966-1968 with Cream. Eric Clapton was on guitar and Jack Bruce on bass. They were technically the most perfect musicians ever to play rock and roll. Clapton and Bruce are interviewed, as are others, such as Steve Winwood from his days with Baker with Traffic. The music is terrific and Baker's life is certainly interesting, separate from the music. We get a wife #1, followed up by #2, #3, and #4. The man is a disaster as a human being and father, but he is also quite possibly the greatest rock drummer ever. At an hour and a half, the film moves quickly, and the clips of Baker drumming are breathtaking. If you are a serious rock fan, this documentary is for you.

I knew quite little about Ginger Baker so the doc was both informing and entertaining. A very interesting character and life indeed. An impressive array of musicians are interviewed about him and all profess genuine admiration for his drumming abilities.

It doesn't go over the top with long solos which was a good call by the director. People can just listen to his records for that. It whets the appetite nicely to go and listen to his work.

Ginger's family come across very well, especially his son, whose love for his father was severely tested on occasion. Like the man himself they are refreshingly unpretentious and down to earth.

It's quite an honest film which makes it all the better and suits the subject matter to a t. Baker is quite enigmatic which makes for all the more interest trying to figure him out.

It took a brave man to make this documentary and Jay Bulger was the right man to do it. I would not have been thick-skinned enough to take Mr. Baker. A great watch. Thank you sir!

Beware of Mr. Baker (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Highly entertaining documentary taking a look at the troubled career of Ginger Baker, a drummer who is considered by many to be the greatest to ever live. The documentary shows why he helped make groups like Cream so memorable yet the film also shows why he ended up broke, unable to find a job and being rejected by many who admired him. BEWARE OF MR. BAKER is an exceptional documentary because it doesn't try to cover up Ginger Baker's rather problematic life but it's also not exploitation by only showing how "crazy" he is. Instead I thought filmmaker Jay Bulger did a wonderful job at really giving you a honest and complete look at this man who is probably his own worse enemy. We get interviews with Baker, his three ex-wives, his son and daughter, Eric Clapton as well as countless other drummers including those in The Police, Pink Flloyd, Black Sabbath and The Rolling Stones. The film has plenty of archival clips of the young Baker coming into his own and it also ventures into his career in South Africa where he was pretty much working for nothing. His love of animals is also on full display as well as him mocking himself for his attempted acting career. If you're a fan of classic rock then this here is certainly a must-see. There's no denying that Baker managed to influence pretty much every drummer who came after him yet very few know who he is.

Well executed film. While the physical history of Mr Baker is presented, in the end it is his artistic history we learn. The film highlights Baker's many desertions in life. And indeed, eyewitness accounts describe the pain this man has engendered to family, and fellow musicians. Some of the major musicians of our time have one or two line observations, edited around a long, many day, interview with Ginger Baker at his ranch in South Africa. And of course the music. Seven years his junior, I witnessed much of his rock music as it happened. However, had I read that this review must have a minimum of ten lines, l would not have started it. One of the "insights" is Baker's life-long, always changing, relationship to rhythm and drums. Insightful too, is the volatile relationships in many of his bands.

Ginger Baker is not only one of the greatest drummers ever but also a character who waits for a movie to be made about him. One day maybe a fiction movie will be made, until them we have 'Beware of Mr. Baker' - the documentary made by Jay Bulger. Rock documentaries are now quite 'en vogue' and there is a good reason for this. The big rock stars of the 60s and 70s, well, the ones who survived are now at the age of writing or telling on screen their memories. The younger generations may have heard little about 'Cream' or 'Blind Faith' but they do have an opportunity not only to watch part of their concerts (luckily filmed concerts technology developed just in time to catch much of their sounds, moves and the atmosphere of their live shows) but also to hear fist hand their version of the history of rock. And fans like me are definitely delighted.

'Beware of Mr. Baker' is centered around the interview reluctantly given by Baker at his ranch in South-Africa. He is one of those anti-social partners of discussion that you sometimes pity the interviewers about. He certainly loves to complain about his family, other musicians, life and fate in general - one of these guys who seem to love themselves much less than the world lives and admires them. We learn much more about his life from interviews with members of his family (his first wife seems still to have a crush on him, his son's best memory is having made music with his father) and with other musicians. It's the story of a life damaged by drugs abuse and a pattern of behavior that preempted Baker from establishing good working relations with any of his colleague musicians and eventually led to the early breaking of all bands he played in. Yet, it is also doubtful if in the absence of this temper and even of the use of drugs his music would have been the same. And music is what is left at the end from such personalities. Great music in the case of Mr. Baker.