Ginger Baker - Horses and Trees

Horses And Trees is the second solo album by “rock’s first superstar drummer” Ginger Baker of Cream fame. Made in New York in 1985 and released on Celluloid Records in 1986, this 6-track instrumental masterpiece was recorded in collaboration with producer Bill Laswell.

“I went to find Ginger Baker, in Tuscany. I said I have a project for you… He lived in the mountains with olive trees, dogs, and horses, no electricity, it was very rough. I said I want to bring you to New York, we’re gonna record something. I talked about Africa a lot with him because I was just starting my work in Africa. It was interesting… I bought him to New York for PIL, John Lydon, and we had a great connection. While he was here, we said let's do some other stuff… ‘Horses And Trees’ came up, let's do a record on Ginger…” Bill Laswell

The album became a showcase for an impressive line-up of guest musicians which reads like a list of the Laswell all-stars. Even when pared down to an all-rhythm trio on ‘Mountain Time’, Baker, although undeniably effective, remains the big beat behind Daniel Ponce and Aiyb Dieng’s percussive display. ‘Uncut’ finds the likes of Bernie Worrell, Shankar and Laswell in fine form, taking solos like a jazz combo. ‘Dust To Dust’ is the only piece composed solely by Baker, a set with a repeated section that sounds like an alien hoe-down with world music undertones. Laswell alumni and hip-hop pioneer Grandmixer D.ST (of ‘Rock It’ fame) returns, delivering slashes from his turntable to provide the sort of genre-bending texture for which Laswell and Celluloid are known.

Ginger Baker, while never caught stealing the show on any track, looms large. Newly remastered so all the finer details of Baker’s rhythmic expertise can be fully appreciated, this reissue of Horses And Trees is an undoubted highlight in Baker’s expansive discography.