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Hellraiser: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Drummer
by
Ginger Baker
Peter "Ginger" Baker is a legend. A pioneering drummer who has transcended genres, he did much to popularize world music with his fierce passion for the rhythms of Africa. He is that rare thing, a critically acclaimed musician who has enjoyed global success with not one but several supergroups to his name, including Cream and Blind Faith. Here, Ginger tells his story for t
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Community Reviews
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Easily the coolest member of Cream, Ginger Baker's autobiography makes for interesting and entertaining reading. I mean, Baker made horrible decision after horrible decision in his life so
Hellraiser
is kind of a tragedy, in a sense. Wives, poor business decisions and polo were Ginger Baker's kryptonite. I don't feel like he spends enough time on his Graham Bond and Cream days, but that's likely just because I'm most interested in that period of Baker's life.
I particularly like the bit on page 6 ...more
I particularly like the bit on page 6 ...more
Unsurprisingly, Ginger Baker's take on the events he's lived through is extremely one-sided.
No matter the situation, not matter how far he fell, nothing was ever Ginger's fault.
Few people are spared his scathing criticism, with Jack Bruce repeatedly the target.
A good, if one-sided, tale that would have benefited from a more in-depth look at his life in music and less on his polo-playing days.
But a harrowing tale at times - a cautionary tale of how someone can go from headlining the Albert Hall t ...more
No matter the situation, not matter how far he fell, nothing was ever Ginger's fault.
Few people are spared his scathing criticism, with Jack Bruce repeatedly the target.
A good, if one-sided, tale that would have benefited from a more in-depth look at his life in music and less on his polo-playing days.
But a harrowing tale at times - a cautionary tale of how someone can go from headlining the Albert Hall t ...more
As a HUGE fan of Ginger Baker's music I was a little disappointed by the relative lack of stories about that part of his life. I was hoping for the story of his drumming career, whereas this is really the story of his life generally, including lots of stuff about his other passions such as horses and polo and cross-Nigerian-off-road-racing and drugs and sex. Big fans know there's a lot more to Ginger Baker than Cream. He recorded with Public Image Ltd, Andy Summers, Hawkwind, Masters of Reality
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This was only an "okay" read for me. I have always been a big fan of Cream and whilst I have not followed Ginger Baker's career I thought this would be a good read where I would learn more about the bands he had been part of and some of the creative thoughts that went into the music. Instead this is all about his drug taking, womanising, and hobbies, and the music really takes second place. If anything, his music is only there to fund his other activities. Nothing wrong with that I guess - but i
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My full and detailed review is on my website at
http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2014/0...
Ginger is one of the greatest drummers of all-time, but his life story is no less wild and strange! I do wish he'd have gone into more detail about the years with Cream and Blind Faith, and he has a tendency to jump about a bit when it comes to his narrative, but overall this is a really interesting and enjoyable book.
Ginger is one of the greatest drummers of all-time, but his life story is no less wild and strange! I do wish he'd have gone into more detail about the years with Cream and Blind Faith, and he has a tendency to jump about a bit when it comes to his narrative, but overall this is a really interesting and enjoyable book.
Golly he's a curmudgeon and the lack of self-awareness began to get to me after a while but I did enjoy this, even the very long segments about polo. It overlaps nicely with the documentary Beware of Mr Baker. He is a remarkable musician and luckily, that comes through much of the time. I also like knowing that he was a visual art and poet as well.
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Well, now I've read all the Cream bios, and I think this one's the best. Ginger Baker is irascible and plain-spoken, as everyone knows, and he tells his stories without prettying up his own image, so one trusts his version. Ginger definitely does not like Jack, which I suppose we all already know.
The book is full of colorful tales of music, sex, drugs, polo, road-racing in Africa, and shady dealings with dangerous characters, none of whom seem to intimidate Ginger at all.
Ginger's daughter Ginett ...more
The book is full of colorful tales of music, sex, drugs, polo, road-racing in Africa, and shady dealings with dangerous characters, none of whom seem to intimidate Ginger at all.
Ginger's daughter Ginett ...more
I have always said, much to the amusement of some of my musically inclined friends, that Ginger Baker is the greatest rock drummer ever. Now Baker says it himself-over and over and over. His memoir is as much about his polo experiences as his musical ones. He has quite a knack for being in the midst of chaos, much of it self-caused. Baker is rather open about his well-known difficulties working with Jack Bruce, which continued far beyond Cream days. He is also open about his decades-long struggl
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I'm a big fan of Ginger Baker ( He's an amazing drummer for sure); however, I was largely disappointed with this biography.
I read this over several hours, then had to go back and read it again because I'd missed out huge tracts, such was my initial excitement. It's the story of a legend of jazz and rock that is made so normal by all the references to places that I know very well (I live near where Ginger spent his formative years!). If this were a fictitious thriller, people would find it hard to believe. Great read.
Awesome autobiography. The man had serious issues but what a life story. And what a drummer.
as a drummer myself I found this book about one of my favourite drummers very enjoyable,it's an easy read with lots of tales about the many exploits that Ginger has experienced in his,let's say,unusual life.This man does not tolerate fools and this comes across very strongly in this book.
Great read if you've watched the documentary. Ginger Baker is one of the most misunderstood musicians: A jazz guy at heart in a world of amplified guitars. His stories of playing with Hendrix and Fela Kuti are fascinating. One of the greatest minds in music.
Some of the stories he told were great, the way he told them left a lot to be desired. It was interesting to learn details of the death of Jimi Hendrix that I had never heard before.
Shite, potentially could've been such a good read because of the era/subject matter, but it's so badly written/narrated & the guy comes across as a total knobhead.
I was disappointed in this book. Filled with the usual rock and roll tales of excess, which has become very predictable and very boring.
Poorly written and pettily delivered. Randomly placed bad poetry. I love the man's music but I couldn't get through the book.
I gave up before the end - but this is a miserable tale of a selfish man, told with no insight and little warmth.
I ended this entertaining biography full of admiration for Baker's talent, honesty and fortitude.
A fair book. I wished for fewer polo stories, and more about his drum influences and experiences
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