Songs for a Tailor by Jack Bruce

Songs for a Tailor is the 1969 debut solo album by the Scottish musician, composer and singer Jack Bruce, who was already famous at the time of its release for his work with the supergroup Cream. Originally released on the Polydor label in Europe and on Atco Records in the U.S., Songs for a Tailor was the second solo album that Bruce recorded, though he did not release the first, Things We Like, for another year. The album, which was titled in tribute to Cream's recently deceased clothing designer, displayed more of the musician's diverse influences than his compositions for Cream, though it did not chart as highly as his work with that band. Nevertheless, it was successful, reaching No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 55 on the Billboard "Pop Albums" chart. While it has not been universally critically well-received, with a negative review by Rolling Stone on its first release, it is considered by many writers to be among Bruce's best albums. The literary lyrics by poet and songwriter Pete Brown have been particularly divisive, with one critic singling them out for praise while others have been more generally critical. Songs on the album include "Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune", and "Theme for an Imaginary Western", which was covered famously by Leslie West's Mountain, and is featured in 2006's 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them. It was voted number 955 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).