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Cream
Cream
Cream was rock's first power trio. its first significant psychedelic blues band, and the first to make a fetish of instrumental virtuosity. Its success catapulted Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker to super-stardom and inspired generations of hard-rock heroes, from Grand Funk Railroad to Van Halen. Even 50+ years since breaking up, Cream remain a staple on any classic rock radio station. Yet for all that, it's easy to overestimate the value of Cream's recorded output. Sure, the group cut some astonishing singles- "Badge," "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room" - but it also made four incredible albums. It all started with Fresh Cream, with enough hints of things to come such as "I Feel Free" and "I'm So Glad." Music so slick and tuneful while being able to show the band's ability to pull from pop and blues, while songs like "Toad" and "Rollin' and Tumblin'" bore witness to the trio's propensity for showboating. Things on the pop side tightened up considerable when producer Felix Pappalardi came aboard: not only did he dress up Disraeli Gears with odd instruments and exotic sounds, but he kept the band's instrumental interplay in check, so that even a song as seemingly heavy as "Sunshine of Your Love" came across as a hit single. Wheels of Fire, a double album, one disc a studio album the second a live album, brought further refinements in Pappalardi's pop eclecticism. It was the first recorded example of Cream's concert approach, from the focuses fury of "White Room" to the 16-minute version of "Toad." Sadly, things went downhill soon after, and Goodbye, recorded in the band's death throes, balanced some of the band's most exquisite work ("Badge" in particular). If you don't know where to start, you can't go wrong with a greatest hits something like Gold; For the more die-hard fans, I would check out this year's recently released 4-CD set Goodbye Tour - Live 1968. Also, check out their epic reunion at Royal Albert Hall in 2005. Not everything is as it seems...
It's...
Cream
Cream
Cream
Cream was rock's first power trio. its first significant psychedelic blues band, and the first to make a fetish of instrumental virtuosity. Its success catapulted Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker to super-stardom and inspired generations of hard-rock heroes, from Grand Funk Railroad to Van Halen. Even 50+ years since breaking up, Cream remain a staple on any classic rock radio station. Yet for all that, it's easy to overestimate the value of Cream's recorded output. Sure, the group cut some astonishing singles- "Badge," "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room" - but it also made four incredible albums. It all started with Fresh Cream, with enough hints of things to come such as "I Feel Free" and "I'm So Glad." Music so slick and tuneful while being able to show the band's ability to pull from pop and blues, while songs like "Toad" and "Rollin' and Tumblin'" bore witness to the trio's propensity for showboating. Things on the pop side tightened up considerable when producer Felix Pappalardi came aboard: not only did he dress up Disraeli Gears with odd instruments and exotic sounds, but he kept the band's instrumental interplay in check, so that even a song as seemingly heavy as "Sunshine of Your Love" came across as a hit single. Wheels of Fire, a double album, one disc a studio album the second a live album, brought further refinements in Pappalardi's pop eclecticism. It was the first recorded example of Cream's concert approach, from the focuses fury of "White Room" to the 16-minute version of "Toad." Sadly, things went downhill soon after, and Goodbye, recorded in the band's death throes, balanced some of the band's most exquisite work ("Badge" in particular). If you don't know where to start, you can't go wrong with a greatest hits something like Gold; For the more die-hard fans, I would check out this year's recently released 4-CD set Goodbye Tour - Live 1968. Also, check out their epic reunion at Royal Albert Hall in 2005. Not everything is as it seems...
It's...
Cream
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