screamin' sounds: CREAM

Thursday, January 5, 2012

CREAM

For only being together a couple years, there's no getting around that these guys were a BFD. They capitalized on the burgeoning era of musician (especially guitarist) worship. They laid out the blueprint for the power trio and (again, especially), what would become heavy metal (Led Zep owe far more to them than to the Yardbirds). They made Clapton a household name (a rock-listening household, anyway). Their rep is now soiled by a connection to pointless jamming and hot pickin' for hot pickin's sake. But their records were mostly damn good.

Formed mid-1966 as a vehicle for more improvisation; the goal was to break away from commercial restrictions (Clapton wanted to avoid "pop" songs) but also to blow past the restrictions of straight blues bands ala Graham Bond and John Mayall, from whence Baker and Bruce came. Cream made its unofficial debut at the Twisted Wheel on 29 July 1966. Its official debut came two nights later at the Sixth Annual Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival. Being new and with few original songs to its credit, Cream performed spirited blues reworkings that thrilled the large crowd and earned it a warm reception.

Allmusic: "At first Cream's focus was electrified and amped-up traditional blues, which dominated their first album, Fresh Cream, which made the British Top Ten in early 1967. Originals like "N.S.U." and "I Feel Free" gave notice that the band were capable of moving beyond the blues, and they truly found their voice on Disraeli Gears in late 1967, which consisted mostly of group-penned songs. Here they fashioned invigorating, sometimes beguiling hard-driving psychedelic pop, which included plenty of memorable melodies and effective harmonies along with the expected crunching riffs. "Strange Brew," "Dance the Night Away," "Tales of Brave Ulysses," and "S.W.L.A.B.R." are all among their best tracks, and the album broke the band big time in the States, reaching the Top Five. It also generated their first big U.S. hit single, "Sunshine of Your Love," which was based around one of the most popular hard rock riffs of the '60s."

Unfortunately, 1968's Wheels Of Fire saw them spinning out of control. Bruce and Baker had hated each other for years. The album threw good tracks of the Disraeli Gears sort crashing against extended acts of self-indulgence.

Wiki: From its creation, Cream were faced with some fundamental problems that would later lead to its dissolution in November 1968. The rivalry between Bruce and Baker created tensions in the band. Clapton also felt that the members of the band did not listen to each other enough. Equipment during these years had also got better; new Marshall amplifier stacks cranked out more power, and Jack Bruce pushed the volume levels higher, creating tension for Baker who would have trouble competing with roaring stacks. Clapton spoke of a concert during which he stopped playing and neither Baker nor Bruce noticed. Clapton has also commented that Cream's later gigs mainly consisted of its members showing off. Cream decided that they would break up in May 1968 during a tour of the US. Later, in July, an official announcement was made that the band would break up after a farewell tour of the United States and after playing two concerts in London. Cream finished their tour of the United States with a 4 November concert in Rhode Island and performed in the UK for the last time in London on 25 and 26 November. Bruce had three Marshall stacks on stage for the farewell shows but one acted only as a spare, and he only used one or two, depending on the song.

That was it. One final tour, another thrown-together collection of studio and live tracks, and a couple posthumous live albums. It was all over. The reunited briefly in 2005, but egos soon tore the band apart once again.

Essential Listening: