Cream - "Goodbye" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1969 (ATCO Records)

Cream at its most magnificent and at its worse.  To get to the bad part of Cream, for me, it's their live recordings.  All on side one, "I'm So Glad" "Sitting on Top of The World" and "Politician."  Three fantastic songs, but overplayed and way too long.  When I hear recordings of Cream playing live, it seems like it's a miracle that they know when or how to end the song.  On the flip side, their studio recordings are tight, well-arranged, and always a trace of exotic touches, such as Jack Bruce's cello playing - and then there is his magnificent voice.  "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" is a brilliant Bruce and Peter Brown song.  A magnificent pop record.  The other surprise is Ginger Baker's song contributions.  "What A Bringdown" is also a snappy and great pop tune.  Clapton with the assistance of the mysterious George Harrison comes up with "Badge," of the better Eric songs. Still, it doesn't compare to the Bruce and Ginger contribution.  Eric is a technically great guitarist, but I always felt he was the one that could leave the band, and they can find someone better.  If they had Chris Spedding - now that would make the Cream engine go-go.   The studio sides also had the talent of  Felix Pappalardi, who had the light touch, but with the arrangements that were usually fantastic. 

Cream - "Wheels of Fire - In the Studio" Vinyl, LP, Album, UK, 1968 (Polydor)

I recently purchased this copy of Cream's "Wheels of Fire" because it's my dream version of the album.  No live album came with it, this edition is just the studio recordings.   I loathe Cream live.  On the other hand, I adore their adventuresome studio sides.  For one, the magnificent "White Room" which is one of the great songs to come out of 1968.   I'm a huge fan of Jack Bruce's voice and songwriting talents at this time of his career, and his work with lyricist Pete Brown, as well as the tension between him and Ginger Baker, made Cream a fascinating band.  The only weak link is Eric Clapton, who greatly contribute his guitar work in the mix, but I never felt he was up there with Ginger and Jack.  

Of the three main Cream albums, Clapton is almost an invisible presence on the studio side of the double package.  He didn't write any of the songs, and if memory serves me correctly, nor did he sing lead on any of these songs.  Guitar yes, but what comes to mind when listening to the record is Baker's drum patterns, which to me is always like the waves hitting the coastline, but there is a natural rhythm, but always with a twist.   He also contributes three songs as a songwriter, co-written with Mike Taylor, who was a Soho London Jazzier, who tragically drowned in the River Thames in 1969.  The rest is Jack Bruce/Pete Brown, with two covers. 

The original songs on "Wheels of Fire" are superb. Bruce and Brown couldn't go wrong with respect to their material.  They are almost chamber pieces with Bruce doing a lot of overdubs or with the assistance of the producer Felix Pappalardi, who added Violas, for instance on "White Room."  The surprising aspect is the strength of the Baker/Taylor material, which is a tragedy that they didn't produce more songs.  Cream only lasted for two years.  They were the first super-groups, to become even more super, with the formation of Blind Faith.  Still, I marvel at their sense of adventure, mostly due to the Bruce/Baker team-up. 

Cream - "Fresh Cream" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1966/2008 (Vinyl Lovers)

The greatest contribution Eric Clapton made to Cream, is not his guitar work, but vocally backing up the magnificent Jack Bruce.  Clapton's voice comes almost as an inner-thought to Bruce's narration or words.   in an odd way, Cream was a band that had two separate identities or approaches.  One is live on stage, and number 2, is the studio.  Ginger Baker, Bruce, and Clapton made magnificent music in the studio, their live performances is another matter altogether.  There is confusion instead of clarity in Cream.  For one they are for sure a blues-based band, but what makes their work interesting is the experimental side or their occasional approach to pop.  Their blues material is OK, but it's the pop side that I find interesting and that's mostly due to Bruce's (and Pete Brown the lyricist) approach to the song.   "Fresh Cream" is their first album, which has many charms, but for me, it's all Jack Bruce. 

The other star in the trio is Ginger Baker.  He plays drums with character and personality.  In no fashion is his work session-like.   Heavy on the cymbals, but with a jazz feeling, him and Bruce are unique rhythm section that sounds different, but in theory close to the Entwistle and Moon combo in The Who.   The outstanding song here is Bruce's "Dreaming" which is a beautiful ballad, with Clapton's voice following Bruce, like chasing a faint dream.  It's the song that made me re-buy this album.  That song, plus "The Coffee Song," "I Feel Free," and the magnificent "Wrapping Paper" are almost forgotten works of songwriting craft and vision. 

Cream is important, I think due to their approach of being a trio power band, but again, it's the soft moments that I think are their strength.  As Cream went on (not that long, I think the band lasted just a bit over two years), it's Bruce being the multi-instrumentalist, with Clapton backing him in a conservative manner musically speaking.   Also, another trio was making the rounds around the same time as Cream, which was The Jimi Hendrix Experience, where I think making comparisons between the guitarists, made Clapton re-think his career.   Still, Clapton served Cream well.  Jack Bruce/Ginger Baker was the entrance and Clapton closed doors. 

Jack Bruce - Songs for a Tailor" CD, Album, Reissue, 2003/1969 (Polydor)

Jack Bruce was my guy in Cream.  I never was a fan of Eric Clapton, even though as a teenager I fell for his "importance" due to my friends at the time.   Except for "Badge" and a few others, the Jack-Cream songs were it.  And as much as possible I tried to stay as far away from the Cream live recordings.  I hated them in 1968, and I still dislike them.  But Jack Bruce/Cream/Peter Brown part of Cream, almost perfect.   In 1969, I did buy the Jack Bruce song because I knew it had to be good.  And good it is, if not fantastic.  

Since Bruce is a bass player, the bass is way up high or part of the overall mix on this album, and I love that.  His playing embraces and holds the song as a frame, with the melody and the other stuff inside the frame.  An underrated songwriter, and the fact that he had an open mind with respect to different types of music - such as jazz and the experimental side of pop music making or unique collaborations.  Clapton never went there, and Ginger Baker, God bless him, also was an adventurer at heart.  Another artist that comes to mind is Mick Karn, who was the bass player for the band Japan. There is that jazzy, strong bass holding the material together.  Karn's first solo album is emotionally direct as well as his bass playing.  Perhaps a strange connection, but listening to the Bruce album, it brings memories of Karn as well. 

"Songs for a Tailor" is for me the next step after the studio side of Cream's "Wheels of Fire."  "Rope Ladder to the Moon" could have been part of the "Wheels of Fire" album.  It's cello/bass, and dynamic acoustic guitar playing (by Bruce) is dreamy but rhythmic.  One has to give notice to the poetic lyrics by Peter Brown, and it's interesting that Bruce worked with such a literary bent, then say "I love you do you love me" rhyme/sentiment.   Still, there is an emotional pull in their songs.  Brown's lyrics are baroque and visual, and Bruce treats them not only as a personal statement but also 'performs' these songs though his singing.   I can imagine Bruce being in a musical. 

The beauty of "Songs for a Tailor" is Bruce expanding his canvas or landscape and filling it with a strong essence of wonderful songs, but again, his voice and bass playing is essential here.  It's obvious to me that he needed to get out of the Cream framework because I think it became too confining.   It's a great album to revisit time-to-time.  "Songs For a Tailor" still sounds strong and mighty.