Cream Live Royal Albert Hall 2005

[Rosham Rosebure]

Cream

Hard Rock And Psychedelia - Not Strange Bedfellows AfterAll.

• Introduction
• Fresh Cream
• Disraeli Gears
• Wheels Of Fire
• Goodbye Cream
• Live Cream
• Live Cream Volume 2
• BBC Sessions
• Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005Cream was a really strange group, seemingly living andbreathing contradictions and defying common sense. I mean, think about it- here was a group with the greatest guitarist in the world (at the time), Eric Clapton,whose pedigree to that point was deeply seeped in the blues. Meanwhile, wehad two extremely talented and fairly well-known musicians filling out thegroup, bassist/singer Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, who had been ina jazzy R&B group called the Graham Bond Organization together. Regardlessof their jazz roots, though, everybody expected them to work with Claptonin his forte, and become a hardcore blues group. So what happens? Firstthey put out a pop (at least mostly) album, and then they spend thenext two albums fusing blues and pop with, of all things,psychedelia. There's also the fact that, as famousas their lengthy live jams were, these almost never made their way intothe studio - most Cream tracks are relatively brief and to the point.Still, this bizarre mix mostly turned out well. First of all, Jack Brucewas an absolutely incredible riff-maker during the band's short tenure(though, alas, he mostly dropped off of the face of the earth afterwards),so the songs are almost always interesting. This might seem somewhatobvious, but I feel it extremely necessary to point that out. Yousee, many a critic only focuses on the influential nature of thegroup without really talking about the music itself (and yes, I fallinto that trap a bit in this intro). But really, the riffs andmelodies that this band kept churning out were usually impeccable,and are truly a benchmark by which all bands should be judged. But back to the 'influence' spiel. As I implied before, these guys wererelentless experimenters - along with Hendrix, they formalized a largenumber of the tricks that are commonplace today but were amazing backthen. And along those lines, and most important, they not only virtuallyinvented hard rock, but they were among the first to fully demonstrate theadvantages of combining genres rather than trying to keep blues and popand psychedelia and jazz as far from each other as possible. And for a'mixture' lover like myself, this alone gives them my undying respect.So why only a rating of three? Well, their career was absurdly short, producing only three studio albums. Plus, while all three of their studio records are wonderful, none of them absolutely blow me away from start to finish (though DG has come close over the years). And while I do like a good deal of theirposthumous live material, this material isn't good enough to affect the rating.But still, they way I look at it, a three is an extremely high rating fora group that was only around for two years. Their work is extremelyrecommendable, and I'd take Disraeli Gears over any Zeppelin album(except possibly the debut).What do you think of Cream?bsitting.mail.math.ucsb.edu (9/03/02)One of my favorite rock bands of all time, perhaps the best psychedelic bandever (sorry Jimi; The Doors are in a category all their own). Notcoincidentally, "The Best of Cream" (btw, an excellent intro to the band,covering all their 'essential' songs, minus "Dance the Night Away") was thefirst CD I ever bought.This may have been the first band with all band members being accomplishedplayers. From this point on, professsionalism would come become more and moreimportant, peaking with progressive rock, and taking a nosedive somewherearound disco and punk (In fact, one may argue Cream was a huge influence onprog (musicianship, experimentation, lyrics...), but we'll save that foranother time.) Also, they were among the first to make jams (for better orworse) fashionable. For me, this is where Eric Clapton's guitar 'worship' isfirmly grounded; it would be a trickier case to argue this on solely his post-Cream work, though he has definitely had his moments.Unfortunately, they only released three albums (excluding "Goodbye"), all ofwhich were solid. I'm kind of torn if this was a good thing or not. Perhaps, itwas, seeing that they could have severely tarnished their legacy by releasingtons of music...slbrown (slbrown.hevanet.com) (11/27/02)The music of "Cream"came out when I was in college. Their big Americanhitwas, of course, "Sunshine of your Love". The bizzare bend in theriff was cool, but I was really put off by the name of the group."Cream". What an ostentatious name! Irefused to be interested in themand never bought their records. That was my loss. Twenty-five yearslater I started playing the blues myself and discovered what I hadmissed. Beat lyrics and blues guitar. What a combination! "Tiny purplefishes run laughing through your fingers, and you want to take her withyou to the hindland of the winter"..."Yellow tigers crouched in junglesin her dark eyes", all sung to the pentatonic scale.Alan Ginsberg meetsRobert Johnson. And the greatest Cream tune, "Outside Woman Blues".What a loss to the world when they broke up.Pedro Andino (pedroandino.msn.com) (12/01/04)okay you know cream. these guys are numer1 in my book and futhermore I amcertenly greatful for the good folks at universal for remastering anddoubling up the disreali greas lp on 2 cds! that's rite! more bang foryour buck! and this was a supergroup before that term was coined creamrules! deliciuos!Mitchell Torres-Shaw (mlnvb1995.gmail.com) (08/13/15)For me everything cream ever wrote is masterpiece quality even pressed rat, doing that scrapyard thing, wrapping paper and even demos and outtakes are far superior in quality to that of which most bands possess. Even the silly tracks have an amazing musical blueprint behind it and the silliness is quirky and British. I love this band so much that i try and find influenced bands and even the members solo works especially Jack Bruce; Blind Faith is also amazing. My top 5 cream songs are: Tales of Brave Ulysses, What a Bringdown, Deserted Cities of the Heart, Dance the Night Away & As You Said. Being born in the 90s is also great in the sense that Sunshine & White Room are not overplayed to me as most on the internet say it is for them. I really wish Cream had released more studio work it wouldve been interesting to see where they wouldve went based on the studio tracks off of Goodbye. Erics inspiration with the Bands roots rock was bit apparent on Badge with its more Organic sound. Scrapyard tho i love very much seemed like abit of a one off track for Jack stylistically. It seemed kind of Beatles-ish and was really great when the Leslie speaker comes in which shows Claptons influence from Harrison still present. What a Bringdown which has so much beauty in different parts was another classic like Those were the Days by Ginger and shows his African influences. This band is one of the few heavy bands where it feels like its never loud enough because they layered their music so well and had complex melodies which gave each song such a cinematic lively feel.
  Fresh Cream - 1966 Atco
  B
  (Very Good)Best song: SpoonfulWhat a fun album to listen to! It's not exactly a songwritingmasterpiece, but I get so caught up in enjoying the whole experiencethat I'm able to ignore that weakness. This album is mostly pop at itscore, but don't think that Eric's guitar prowess is at all minimized. Hisenergetic and bluesy licks are all enjoyable, even if they don't alwaysexactly fit in with the actual songs. Of course, that's probably thebiggest problem of all here - the poppy aspects and the 'jamming' aspectsof the numbers, while not totally incompatible, aren't exactly seamlesslyintertwined. Still, I must confess that these seams make the experience that much more gripping, at least for me.But these are just minor complaints. Side one is great, with lots of decently catchy melodies filled withpowerhouse drumming, pulsating bass and Eric's ever-present guitar. "I FeelFree" is one of the great pop classics of the mid-60's, and who can resistthat 'ba ba ba buh buh ba' vocal groove in the opening? "N.S.U." is slightlyprimitive lyrically, but the solo makes it all worthwhile. "Sleepy Time Time" is asolid example of vintage blues-pop, "Dreaming" recreates the idea of, well,dreaming, and "Sweet Wine" has yet another fairly interesting melody with afantastic jam in the middle (I just love the initial sound Eric gets from his guitar when the jamming begins).Now, side two doesn't quite match up, but it's still quite good. The maincomplaint I have is with the stupid cover of the instrumental "Cat'sSquirrel;" the main riff is dull, and the jam that accompanies isn't muchbetter. Fortunately, they only made it three minutes long, as opposed towhen Jethro Tull did theirs for well over five-and-a-half minutes on theirdebut. The other gripe I have is with the closing instrumental, thedrum-solo "Toad." I will be the first to admit that the riff for it issolid, and also that Ginger makes the solo as interesting as he possiblycan. But, alas, I will always have a bias against drum solos - I feel thatthey are one of the most mind-numbing ideas to come out of the epoch.Other than that, though, things are fine. "Four Until Late" is a decentblues number, while "Rolling' and Tumblin'" is a bitchin' harmonica-drivencover of an old Muddy Waters tune. There's also the hilariouslyentertaining pop song "I'm So Glad," with yet another interesting Claptonsolo and lyrics that basically sum up the whole vibe of thealbum. Which you should definitely get.Oh, but wait, I haven't yet mentioned the best part. You see, the versionI have is the US release, which only contains ten tracks as opposed to theeleven of the British. However, it also contains three bonus tracks -thank goodness, since while two of them are relative throwaways ("WrappingPaper" and "The Coffee Song"), one of them is the best song on the wholething. As a special present for all of the blues lovers out there, theband did a terrific cover of a classic blues number, "Spoonful." Jack'svocals occasionally get slightly annoying, but the playing is stellar, asEric rips out some of the most ferocious licks of his career here. This iswhat most people were expecting out of Cream, and while they should beapplauded for their bravery in exploring other areas, it was very kind ofthem to reward the more 'down-to-earth' people.You need this album in your collection, though not quite as badly as youneed the next one.Send me your thoughtsbsitting.mail.math.ucsb.edu (9/03/02)A rather deceptive debut, especially if you know them mostly for theirprime "Disraeli Gears"/"Wheels of Fire" material. (Well, Eric Clapton's guitartones and maybe "I Feel Free" pave the way to the future!) They more or lessstick to standard pop/blues for mat through most of the songs. One thing thatisn't mentioned too much is the group's harmonies; they actually work togetherquite well, especially on "I Feel Free" (also a great lead-in to the rest ofthe record). Sometimes, the songwriting can be a bit iffy, but the band'smasterful playing saves the day (see "I'm So Glad" for proof of this; theydon't say much more than the title!) "N.S.U." is my other favorite from thisalbum (anyone, what is the title short for?). 8(12), as none of the songs arebad at all; better things were to follow.
  *Disraeli Gears - 1967 Atco*
  D
  (Great / Very Good)Best song: Dance the Night AwayI must confess that this, my introduction to Cream, bored me todeath the first time I ever listened to it, and for months onward. I keptlistening, however, and the quality of the album made itself known tome. I still don't consider it the complete masterpiece that some make itout as, but it's still a great record, and a solid addition to anycollection.It's not that any of the album is bad, mind you. It takes the sameenjoyable formula of the debut and successfully manages to seamlesslyintegrate the jamming aspects with the great Bruce melodies and riffs. Theproblem, for me at least, is that this improved quality actually takesaway from my enjoyment a bit, as strange as that might seem. The'seams' between the melodies and solos on Fresh Cream might havebeen extremely patchy, but dagnabbit, that patchiness was a huge part ofthe album's charm. Whereas here, everything sounds ... I dunno, toopolished. Not that I mind much anymore, but I still listen to Freshmore than any other of their work.Plus, some of the songs, while not bad to my ears, are a bit on the dull side. "We'reGoing Wrong," for instance, still kinda bores me - not as much as before, and ithas an interesting, dark mournful vibe throughout, but that doesn't completely boost it up in my ears. "Take it Back" sounds likean outtake from the first album (and not great, though good), and "OutsideWoman Blues," while a solid 'traditional' blues number, is still just a(mostly) generic blues track. Of course, it has a wonderful guitar tone, one of the best generic blues tones I've heard, so that's at least something. And hey, there's also a fairly humorousgroove at the end, entitled "Mother's Lament," about a thin child slippingdown the bath-tub drain. One the one hand, it's absolutely 100% filler; on the other hand, it's one of the best drunken vocal performances I've ever heard, and I'll be damned if I don't like singing that sucker in the shower with an exaggerated Cockney accent.Fortunately, the other seven tracks absolutely rule - if you want, thinkof this as an EP (and one of the greatest chunks of music of the late60's). The opening 'psycho-blues' "Strange Brew" is a fantastic kickoff,with acid-drenched vocal harmonies (trippy lyrics too) led by a delightful Bruce falsetto, a neat guitartone, and a wonderful melody. "Sunshine of Your Love" was (and is) the bighit, with one of the greatest riffs of all time accompanying the wonderfulvibe that permeates the whole album. Then there's the wonderful "World ofPain," a softer but equally impressive expression of that vibe. Just like much of the rest here, the melody is bloody fantasticThe tastiest moment of all, however, and the highlight of the band's shortcareer (in my opinion, of course), comes next in "Dance the Night Away." Themelody, chorus and lyrics combine with the AWESOME guitar work of Claptonto create almost the perfect psychedelic listening experience. That trippyguitar part (especially in terms of the dreamy tone) before each run of the chorus is breathtaking, and elevatesthe song to unbelievable heights.The next three songs don't quite meet the standard, but they're greatnonetheless. The Baker-sung "Blue Condition" gives an aura of boredom, andthis is well-demonstrated in the way Ginger sounds as if he's singing withhis chin pressed against his chest. It's ok, though I can certainly see where somebody would consider it to largely bring the album down. Next, there's "Tales of Brave Ulysses," which isprobably the second or third best number here. It has an eerie, descendingriff, and combined with wonderful wah-wahs and the trippy lyrics thatdon't mean jack but sound oh so cool, it is a truly amazing song. Andfinally, there is "SWLABR" (She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow), which has goodsinging, full-out jamming power (there is absolutely no dead space in the mix), and yetanother awesome riff.So, overall, this is a very, very good album. If anything, I'd say that the most stand-out feature of this album, in retrospect, is that it's an album that (in my opinion) doesn't really dig into the listener's skin until/unless the listener takes a step back and thinks about what it is Cream are actually doing on this album and what an accomplishment it is. It's easy (and, as I now feel, a lazy copout) to just say, "Pffft, ok, it's basically a generic classic rock album that is a combination of blues, pop and psychedelia." It takes more effort (and more academic honesty, imho) to say, "Wait a second, I can't think of anybody else who had even remote success combining these three genres, much less anybody who did so with a bunch of really enjoyable melodies." Even more than being an enjoyable album, it's a fascinating album, and that's something which deserves a tip of the cap. I don't put it in the absolute highest tier of 60's rock like some do, but it comes close, and I actually find it more enjoyable than any Led Zeppelin album (though it's basically a tossup between this and their debut). No decent 1967 collection should lack this. Send me your thoughtsCANFIELD Kerry S (kerry.s.canfield.co.multnomah.or.us)1. I, too, always loved "Dance the Night Away," especially since it was sodifferent from "standard" Cream (i.e., blues-based guitar-bass duels).2. I always wondered if "SWLABR" was--since co-written by Pete Brown--stoodfor SWeet LAdy BRown, and was therefore a somewhat ironic title consideringthe lyrics.3. "Take It Back" probably sounds a bit of a throwaway these days, but whatgave it a historical resonance for me (and perhaps other of my peers,whereas possibly not for many others besides us) is that--since the albumcame out during the days when the Vietnam War was intensifying--the songseemed "obviously" to be about a draft notice. The draft lottery had justbegun; I was 19 and subject to the first lottery drawn, although I was luckyenough to draw a high number and was consequently never called, but not afew of my peers were frantically seeking alternatives to being sent "towhere streams are red." I suppose that the "thing that the singer has gotto keep sharp" is probably merely a sexual reference, but it's stillmeaningful in context--i.e., he doesn't want to waste his manhood ("where itwon't shine in the dark"). Now, it could well be that a draft notice wasnever what the song was about, but the entire lyrics fit such an assumptionso perfectly that hearing that song even today still gives me mixed feelingsof jitters and relief.bsitting.mail.math.ucsb.edu (9/03/02)What a jump form the debut! This is how I know and love Cream. Eric Clapton'sguitar tones have become even more intersting, and he has discovered the wah-wah (!). Not to emphasize that this album screams psychedelic; from the albumcover to the guitars themselves to even decipherable lyrics ("Sylabr").This is all fine and dandy, but what about the songs themselves? Only twotracks, really don't do it for me one bit; "Blue Condition" due to GingerBaker's singing, and "Mother's Lament" primarily since it's mainly a throwaway(though a bit amusing). Everything else more or less rules, having one killerriff after another! "Strange Brew" is fundamentally blues, but with crazylyrics and a cool guitar tone. "Sunshine of Your Love" features one of the mostwell-known riffs in rock (esp. for guitar players; even I learned to play thisone!). "Dance the Night Away" is a rather forgotten gem, your assessment on itis right on; probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite here. "Tales of Brave Ulysses"features the first brandishing of the wah-wah. Finally, I like the sorrowfulatmosphere to "We're Going Wrong". Ginger Baker really propels this song along.An EASY 10(14)!!Mark (slipperman.bigfoot.com) (7/13/04)The title (an anagram) stands for: She Was Like A Bearded Rainbow (cf. PeteBrown's lyrics to the song).Mike Gannon (mikeg888.optonline.net) (1/17/05)'Dance The Night Away' is a masterpiece when you think of the music ofthe time. The album was terrific, a classic by all standards, but that song alwaysstood out for me. Great Clapton on the 12 string and harmonies between Bruce and Eric."Tom Walsh" (bxbluesman01.verizon.net) (07/13/09)A minor thing, but that's Clapton's singing lead on Strange Brew.
  Wheels of Fire - 1968 Atco
  C
  (Very Good / Great)Best song: White Room or SpoonfulAlthough it sold better, becoming the first platinum album ever(correct me if I'm wrong), history has not treated this album nearly aswell as its predecessor. While I do agree with this general assessment, Ialso feel that the dip in quality from Gears is far less than it isoften made out to be, and that while the live portion may meander a bittoo much at times, the album still stands as a worthwhile inclusion intoany record collection.First of all, the studio album is fantastic. I know that some may arguewith me on this point, but at times I even prefer it toDisraeli. The biggest reason for this, I think, is the change indemeanor from before - it is far murkier and more depressing, and as suchprovides an interesting contrast to the numbers which continue the vibe ofbefore. The most famous of these, of course, is the amazing classic "WhiteRoom." The first few times I listened to it, I thought that the menacingchords in the beginning and that reprise themselves throughout were theproduct of orchestral arrangements - imagine my shock and glee when Irealized that it was merely Clapton's guitar and Baker's bass drums thatwere producing such a great effect. It also has a fantastic vocal melody,occasionally breaking into a solid falsetto from Bruce, and contains somefantastic wah-wahs from Eric.The rest is no slouch, though. There are a couple of fantastic bluescovers here - "Sitting On Top of the World" has a terrific guitar tonecourtesy of Eric's experimentation, while "Born Under a Bad Sign" contains asolid riff and more great guitar work (and the bass is fantastic - aregular thing on this album). If you want hard-rockers, they're here aswell - "Politician" contains yet another amazing riff and amusing lyrics,"Those Were the Days" has some more Sinfield-esque lyrics to go with a goodmelody, great guitar solos and chimes, and the urgency of "DesertedCities of the Heart" is breath-taking. It choogles along with guitars,bass, drums and violin combining in a wonderful way that cannot beadequately described in this review. Great lyrics, too.Now, the other three tracks are what bother some people (it probablydoesn't help that they're all in a row, either). First, there's "Passingthe Time," with its strange alternation between soft glockenspiel and'normal' hard-rock jamming. For me, though, both parts are equallyimpressive, even if they don't gel together very well. The soft part has apretty vocal melody, while the riffs in the faster part are certainlywell-constructed. In any case, next up is "As You Said," with its distortedcellos (not violins like once thought) mixing with acoustic guitars to produce a somewhat awkwardeffect. Strangely, though, I enjoy the heck out of it - it'smenacing. It's also beautiful in its own, somewhat ugly way. Ofcourse, you need not share this opinion, but that's why I want people tosend me comments ...The third 'culprit' is the strange, strange Baker composition "Pressed Ratand Warthog." Now, I'm not saying that it's a masterpiece, but it'seasily as interesting as its predecessor, "Blue Condition." The musicin the background is good, while the bizarre lyrics are so strange thatthey can't help but entertain me. I understand why someone would hate it,but really ...Oh, yes, there's also a live album attached, and this is where most turnaway from the album. Now, I'm not in love with everything here - thesecond side, I freely admit, is mind-numbing beyond words. It consists oftwo tracks - a seven-minute harmonica improv entitled "Traintime," and*horrors* a 16-minute "Toad." Given my feelings towards drum solos, I'll letyou guess how I feel about the latter.The first side, however, is absolutely fantastic. Everybody has heard theopener at some point - a live version of an old reworked blues numbercalled "Crossroads," which has become a standard for Clapton's liveshows. With good reason, too - besides the great drumming and bass work,Eric throws in some FANTASTIC solos and solid riffing. But, to meat least, this is nothing compared to the 17-minute rendition of "Spoonful"as done here. Jack's singing can be somewhat annoying here, butthe band is tighter than ever, and the long, long guitar solo in themiddle is absolutely wonderful, one of my favorite Eric passages ever. You can't even try to memorize any of it,but that's not what it's there for. I just sit there and allow myself tobe kept completely adrenalized the whole time, and I don't even have totry. I know that most would strongly disagree here, but I will never growtired of it.So, anyways, this was Cream's last "true" album before they broke up. Theyhad a number of posthumous releases which will be covered here, but thisis still considered their swan-song. And a terrific swan-song it is. Buyit, even though it's expensive.Send me your thoughtsPaul d'Entremont (pdentremont.schwartz-pr.com)Felix Pappalardi played cello on this record. I don't think there are anyviolins. He also played calliope on Passing the Time - trippy, no? This isone of my favorite records ever. I was obsessed with it in high schoolwhile I was still playing guitar - but I'm a bassist now.(author's note): Ack! This reader is SO right - those aren't violins, those are definitely cellos in As You Said. My sincerest apologies.bsitting.mail.math.ucsb.edu (9/03/02)They still have that psychedelic vibe going (another interesting album cover!).This time, Cream is further experimenting in the studios: easterninfluences/rising falling climaxes ("Passing the Time"- yeh!), violins andacoustic guitar ("As You Said"- yikes!, "Deserted Cities of the Heart"-yeh!),and trumpets (the bizarre yet somewhat amusing "Pressed Rat and Warthog"), andfunk ("Politican", good riff!). As for the rest, "White Room" is a well-deserved wah-wah masterpiece, "Those Were the Days" is a very catchy 'pop' song(another good riff), and "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Sitting on Top of theWorld" are more blues-based songs, with more great solos from Clapton. (Boy, amI starting to sound redundant!)As for the live stuff, "Crossroads" is easily the best out of the bunch, withClapton really shredding. The others are goos enough, if not a bit wearisome,ESPECIALLY "Toad". All and all, a 9(12) [(9.5 + 8)/2] overall.Anna Falik (lucky17.optonline.net) (10/23/03)At least you appreciated their music but to describe spoonful as a longClapton solo is an insult. Hendrix was a soloist. Clapton with anyoneelse could be a soloist but with Jack and Ginger it's a three man effort.Without the backup spoonful wouldn't have gotten off the ground let aloneshoot into orbit. Your appreciation doesn't go far enough. Listen againand again. I can play the song in my mind almost note for note but thenagain I have listened to it or edited parts of it for 30 years. Alsolisten to other live stuff. The best work Clapton ever did was on theextended live cream songs. Like mining for diamonds you have to digthrough tons of rock to obtain mere nuggets. There's diamonds here, startdigging. I dug and have the polished jewels edited and standing alonethey shine bright.Robert Kinkle (RKINKLE.dallaslibrary.org) (02/12/05)I love this song, its one of my favs...i just love it..It sounds like Zep111. Its beyond any other tune Cream has done or any one else...I'll beflying to London (from Dallas TX) to catch Creams last show at the alberthall....IM in rock n roll heaven!!I cant wait.....mark taylor (deeprun1.frontiernet.net) (11/02/05)POLITICIAN,this is one of the meta-riffs ofall time.If you went out into the riff forest this would be a bigtree to chop down.And Erics multi tracked solo set the stage for twoguitar attack bands.I think this is a great song."Tom Walsh" (bxbluesman01.verizon.net) (07/13/09)I'm thoroughly enjoying your reviews. Thanks. Clapton got that sound on the intro toWhite Room by recording each string feeding back one at a time. I've been playingguitar since 1965, and I studied the Cream (and the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton)very studiously. My own guitar style still is based on Clapton's from this era.
  Goodbye Cream - 1969 Atco
  7
  (Mediocre / Good)Best song: BadgeA cash-in by the record company. And not a very good one. Thegeneral idea is the same as on Wheels (half-live, half-studio), butsince there wasn't that much left studio-wise (and what was there wasn'texactly stunning), they released a single lp.The main problem with the studio chunk is that, by this time, everybody inthe band hated everybody else, and the effect is that the greatbrainstorming of the past has disappeared. The result is three trackswhere the players are off by their own and not coming up with many goodideas at all. One of them, "Badge," is a great song, but you know as well asI do that the co-author, one George Harrison, was the one who actuallywrote that great melody, NOT Eric Clapton. Meanwhile, Jack contributes areally stupid electric piano-driven ditty entitled "Doing That Scrapyard"Thing. It's somewhat humorous, and somewhat catchy, but you willnot be glad to have it stuck in your head. And finally, Baker's"What a Bringdown" pretty much matches with its name. I can tolerate itwhile it's on, but put me at gunpoint and I'll never be able to tell youanything about it.So the main appeal of the album would have to be the three live cuts thatkick off the set. They're good for typical Cream jams, but there is onemajor problem - it's horrendously difficult to hear Eric in the mix. Bruceis incredibly high, and while I certainly appreciate his talent, when Ihear a Cream jam, I want to hear Eric! Still, once you make a serious tryat listening, you discover that Clapton is mostly in top form here. Hisspeedy solos in "I'm So Glad," in particular, are stunning, and definitelyworth the extra effort. Plus, there's a solid rendition of "Politician,"hurt only by Jack'