Year:
1968 (CD 2001)Label:
C R M Records (Japan), CRM 801/2Style:
Rock, Blues Rock, Hard RockCountry:
London, EnglandTime:
65:45, 60:24Format:
Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHzSize:
299, 285 MbRecording quality is poor.
Cream,
British rock trio that was the first “supergroup” (made up of musicians
who had achieved fame independently before coming together as a band).
Cream blended rock, blues, psychedelic rock, and a hint of jazz to
create a unique sound. It was known for dexterous live improvisations
that often turned into extended jam sessions. The members were Eric
Clapton (b. March 30, 1945, Ripley, Surrey, England), Jack Bruce (b. May
14, 1943, Lanarkshire, Scotland—d. October 25, 2014, Suffolk, England),
and Ginger Baker (b. August 19, 1939, London, England—d. October 6,
2019).
Cream was formed in 1966 while Clapton was still the lead
guitarist of the prominent British blues band John Mayall’s
Bluesbreakers. Before that he had been the lead guitarist of the
Yardbirds (Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page [later of Led Zeppelin] would follow
him in that position). Clapton was approached by drummer Baker to form a
group focused on expanding the blues-jazz sound. Clapton accepted the
invitation with the caveat that Bruce play bass guitar. Despite the
long-standing hostility between Bruce and himself, Baker reluctantly
agreed, and the three musicians formed Cream. The band’s beginning
marked the end of Clapton’s Bluesbreakers’ stint. Before forming Cream,
Baker and Bruce had already gained fame as members of British blues
musician Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated and later as members of the
popular Graham Bond Organisation, a jazz and rhythm-and-blues outfit.
Bruce and Pete Brown, a poet who was sometimes called Cream’s fourth
member, wrote most of band’s lyrics.
Clapton’s style as a guitarist
had long been influenced by Chicago and Delta bluesmen such as B.B.
King, Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Elmore
James. Bruce (who was also the group’s lead vocalist) and Baker veered
more toward jazz, with influences that included Art Blakey, Max Roach,
Phil Seamen, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Bruce
was especially enamoured of bassist James Jamerson (who played in
Motown’s house band, the Funk Brothers), and Baker was also inspired by
world music, specifically African popular music.
Many of the tracks
on the band’s first album, Fresh Cream (1966), still retained the bluesy
sound that its members were accustomed to producing. Although widely
considered mediocre by rock critics, it appeared on the top 100 album
charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Cream’s
second album, Disraeli Gears (1967), veered farther away from the band’s
blues comfort zone by incorporating Brown’s and Bruce’s mystical lyrics
and guitar techniques that alternated between droning distortion and
wailing effects-pedal-assisted riffs. Bruce sometimes played his bass as
something of a lead instrument, and Baker’s drumming incorporated jazz
tempos—approaches that had not been heard much in rock music at the
time. The album broke into the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. Its
second track, “Sunshine of Your Love,” highlighted the smooth
transition from blues to a more psychedelic sound and was touted by
critics as the perfect hybrid of hard rock, blues, and psychedelia. It
was by far the most popular single from Disraeli Gears and the only
Cream single to reach gold status (over 500,000 units sold) in the
United States. Cream followed Disraeli Gears with its third and
best-selling album, Wheels of Fire (1968), a mixture of studio and live
recordings densely packed into two records that became the first
platinum-selling (over 1,000,000 units sold) double album. It showcased
“White Room,” arguably the group’s most popular song, which layered
haunting vocals on top of shimmering guitars. The album also included a
live rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” that featured an
oft-imitated solo by Clapton that is considered by many to be one of the
greatest guitar solos ever.
In late 1968 Cream decided to disband—a
decision that was largely a consequence of the animosity between Bruce
and Baker. The band’s six-track farewell album, Goodbye (1969), featured
“Badge,” which Clapton cowrote with George Harrison of the Beatles. The
group’s lifespan was just under three years. At the tail end of the
1960s into the ’70s, the former members of Cream went on to establish
other supergroups such as Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos, and
Cream’s style greatly influenced progressive rock acts such as Rush and
the live “jam band” performances of groups such as the Allman Brothers
Band.
Cream was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993,
and the group performed for the first time in 25 years at the induction
ceremony. In 2006 the band received a Grammy Award for lifetime
achievement.
(britannica.com/topic/Cream-British-rock-group) Review by Shirese Franklin. Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024
01. Tales Of Brave Ulysses (04:02)
02. Sunshine Of Your Love (05:28)
03. Nsu (09:49)
04. Lawdy Mama (04:55)
05. Sweet Wine (11:00)
06. Spoonful (12:04)
07. Sleepy Time Time (07:07)
08. Stepping Out (11:15)
01. Nsu (16:49)
02. Politician (05:52)
03. Sunshine Of Your Love (09:05)
04. I'm So Glad (14:08)
05. Stepping Out (14:28)
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