Customer Reviews

Live Cream

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Live Cream' was released in June of 1970, more than two years after most of the tracks were recorded at the Fillmore West and Winterland sites in San Francisco, and 3 years after 'Lawdy Mama', the predecessor to 'Strange Brew', was laid down at Atlantic Studio's. All of the live tracks are extended versions of songs found on the band's first studio release, 'Fresh Cream'. There is a 'Live Cream - Volume Two' (released in March of 1972) disc also available, and those tracks are drawn from Cream's second and third studio releases, 'Disraeli Gears' and 'Wheels of Fire', so it appears some forethought and planning went into these live documents. Together with live tracks from 'Wheels of Fire' and 'Goodbye', there is as much live material available from the band as there is studio work.

Since 'Fresh Cream' was primarily a blues-rock album, 'Live Cream' exudes the same feel. On most of the numbers, however, such as the opener, 'N.S.U.' and 'Sweet Wine', the blues are fairly rapidly clicked up a notch as the band jams in rock mode. While 'N.S.U.' only timed out at 2:47 on 'Fresh Cream', it burns for over ten minutes here, while 'Sweet Wine' keeps pouring out for over fifteen minutes. Mercifully, especially given the year was 1968, we are spared any extended drum solo's, although if any drummer was worthy of an extended drum solo, it would be Ginger Baker. 'Sleepy Time Time' and a fine cover of Muddy Water's 'Rollin' and Tumblin' are only broadened by a few minutes over their studio counterparts on this disc. Jack Bruce contributes all of the lead vocals while Eric Clapton supplies occasional background support. The musicianship is exemplary, with Bruce's bass improvisations predominant. Clapton's guitar is certainly exceptional, but by his standards this isn't his most accomplished recordings. I believe the live tracks from 'Wheels of Fire' put on a finer display of his talents, although my own perception may be biased as I favor his playing in the psychedelic, wah-pedal mode.

For my money the real gem in this collection is the shortest, and most out-of-place track on the disc, that being the closer, 'Lawdy Mama'. If you never heard the song that 'Strange Brew' is based upon, here's your chance. The author of this traditional blues number is unknown, but here we get Cream's version, arranged by Clapton. The lyrics to 'Strange Brew' are better, and as you listen to the song the effects of years of conditioning will most likely compel you to 'hear' those lyrics over the verses of 'Lawdy Mama'. It's a great historical piece, even if it is completely out of place on this disc.

'Cream' had already disbanded when 'Live Cream' was released in 1970. In fact, Clapton had already written the next chapter in his career by recording the 'Blind Faith' album with Steve Winwood the year previous. So the two live discs that were released in the early 1970's were an attempt to further document, and profit from, the short-lived phenomenon that was 'Cream'. We're fortunate to have these recordings, even if they were only dusted off and released because there wasn't anything else being produced. The sound is tremendous, but since the disc was remastered there was an opportunity to expand on the track listings and the liner notes. Unfortunately, the producers did nothing to go beyond what was made available on the original vinyl release.

This album was released after Cream broke up. It is an amazing collection of 4 live tunes ranging from 6 to 15 minutes long. This is power trio jamming at its best. It is an excellent fusion of jazz, blues and mostly rock. While there is alot of Eric Clapton and his guitar solos, there is much intriguing interplay with Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass and harmonica. Overall, it is much more complex and energetic than the live material on Wheels of Fire, and far superior to the follow up Live Cream II.

The fifth song, Lawdy Mama is a short, interesting studio artifact It is Cream's version of a traditional blues tune that eventually evolved into Sunshine of Your Love.

If you like Cream, the best bet is to get the box set Those Were the Days. It includes all 6 Cream albums plus other unreleased material.

This is quite simply the greatest live album ever made. Astonishing performances of great songs, wonderfully recorded and mixed. From the opening notes of NSU to the crescendo close of Sweet Wine, the sonic attack never lets up for a second.

Jack, Eric and Ginger were like three racehorses desperate to cut loose from the gate. The nature of their musical relationship has to be unique in music history. All three having huge competitive egos, they were still totally, absolutely in sync at this magical moment in the short life of Cream. The resulting combined firepower is breathtaking; no wonder no other band wanted to be on the same bill. Clapton is simply phenomenal, and he is by far the weakest of the three musically. Bruce and Baker take the creative spirit to another level, completely free of cliche or repetition.

The heart of the matter is Sweet Wine, essentially a throwaway tune from the first album. Here it is the launch pad for the most complex, evolving, intuitive improvisation in the history of electric music. 35 years later, this music continues to shock and awe and astonish. Play it as loud as you can physically stand it.

This recording was one of the first I have heard of Eric Clapton. His performance on this recording is exemplary. Although most of us are probably most familiar with his work on "From the Cradle" and the single "Tears in Heaven", Cream is a point in time of Eric's career that any Clapton fan would most likely find enjoyment from listening with an open ear. The music is much heavier than anything he has done since those times(1966-1968). He teams up with Jack Bruceon vocals, bass, and harmonica and Ginger Baker on drums. These gentlemen were highly regarded jazz musicians on the the London Scene in the mid-sixties. When listening to these recordings, done live at various venues in the States in March of 1968, one will see the high energy and explosive inventiveness in Clapton's playing that has not been heard in any of his other groups. Bruce and Baker push him to experiment with tone, phrasing and volume. His solo on "Sleepy Time Time" is especially juicy and "Sweet Wine" is a nearly 17-minute journey into the then-uncharted territory of jazz-rock. Other recommendations for live Cream include "Wheels of Fire" (Crossroads, Spoonful), "Goodbye" (live versions of Sittin on top of the World, Politician and I'm so Glad), and , if available, Live at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit (Oct 1967) is an example of Cream at their highpoint with Clapton experimenting with feedback techniques ala Hendrix.

There is not a doubt in my mind that every single second of music on this CD is on fire. Cream, in my opinion, the finest jam band that ever existed. I used to be fanatically into the Dead, trading shows of theirs for years. But then I stopped experimenting, if you know what I mean, and stopped listening to them. Forget the Dead, forget String Cheese or any other jam band on the planet. The only jam band I ever listen to now is Cream, simply because they were geniuses.

They were geniuses because the spontaneity, melodicism, and fearlessness in their improvisation has never been equaled in rock, and rarely so in jazz. I mean, listen to the mind-blowing improv in Sweet Wine (15:08) and NSU (10:13) and understand just how truly gifted these guys were. Cream wasn't your typical jam band because they didn't have the typical jam band "everybody get high and let's see what happens" attitude. No. They listened to each other, felt the groove, and just played their hearts out, sometimes even inventing mini-"songs" in their improv. The '60s were notorious for recklessly overlong jams and solos from clueless bands stoked up on hash gas (with the POSSIBLE exception of some Dead and Quicksilver), but Cream's stuff has, for the most part, held up remarkably well. They were truly the "cream of the crop," and anybody who was too far below their level often tried to jam like them often failed miserably. They should have placed signs at their shows that said: "Don't try this at home, hippies."

Was Cream perfect? No. I have heard directionless Cream jams here and there, but those are fairly rare. Yet Cream still gets crapped on by clueless critics who have rarely even picked up instruments, never played in bands, and never been able to understand the genius of this band. They bitch about things like "overlong, directionless jams" and "Clapton's overindulgence." HELLO! You need to be virtually DEAF to not hear the level of musicianship in this stuff.

I believe that I am qualified to review and praise this kind of music because I have been playing guitar for over 15 years and KNOW what playing in a band is like. And let me tell you, from my experience, Cream was and is unbeatable. Even on their absolute worst night, they were still better than most bands can play. Iconic bands like the Who, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and a few others are up there with Cream, but none of those bands, in terms of instrumental virtuosity, have come close (though I will admit that Bruce/Brown never wrote melodies as memorable as Townshend, Lennon/McCartney, and Page/Plant, respectively).

The only thing that docks this album a star is the way the music is presented. This album was obviously released as a "quickie" to make money off of Cream's ample fanbase. If both volumes had been released as a double album, then perhaps it would do justice to this band's talent.

I bet you Clapton only WISHES he could play like this today. The upcoming MSG shows should be good and the RAH shows in May were good, but obviously nowhere close to the level of the original band. Although it is still cool to hear them do "Badge," which the original Cream never did live.

Cream was at its best live - and it's such a pity that live recording was just emerging from its infancy when these tracks were caught. But even through the murk of my cheap stereo speakers back when I first placed this bit of vinyl on my turntable back in '71, I was astonished. If you are a musician or an instrumentalist, it's hard not to let your jaw drop at the effortless way these three men played together. While every music critic likes to prattle on about the live version of "Crossroads" epitomizing Cream, it's easy to make a case that "Sleepy Time Time" surpasses the old Robert Johnson tune in terms of a performance. Clapton's notes sometimes wait until the last possible moment to sound making you sit on the edge of your seat, his Firebird sounding full and crisp. Jack Bruce plays brilliant counterpoint, when he's not actually taking the lead on passages. And there's Ginger Banker, at times restrained and at times a mad man - but always on point. When I heard that this set had been remasterd for digital audio, I knew I had to have a copy.

Bill Evans, one of the all time important jazz pianists, had a trio at the turn of the 60's with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motion. Their specialty was true group improvisation: everybody jamming against what the other players in the trio were doing. Each player was individually excellent. Their ability to play off each other was just as good. The result was a unique experience, even for jazz, of otherworldly great improvisation.

For me, Cream live recordings have the same otherworldly greatness for the same reasons. Each player is individually excellent. Their ability to play off each other was just as good. This is what makes their live work completely different from the work in the studio. The studio stuff is great, but it's all in the standard pop song format with a one chorus guitar solo.

I think any rock musician who's into jam bands like Phish, Blues Traveler or the Allman Bros. might be interested in checking Live Cream out. Someone into Led Zep and/or Jeff Beck who doesn't already have this album would also probably like it. Someone into Them Crooked Vultures or Chicken Foot -- the supergroups of today -- might be interested to check out where that concept all began. This album might also be an interesting buy for someone who likes jazz and rock (jazz fusion?). Finally, drummers and bass players who want to hear a band where drums and bass totally step out of a pure support role.

Here's a little more to back up my recommendation...

Eric Clapton very simply became a different artist after Cream. So if you only know his post-Cream work, you will be amazed at the super-nova heat he generates with his playing. I would say that only Mahavisnu John McLaughlin is in the same class with regard to fantastic, flame throwing live guitar playing. Think Carlos Santana emotional intensity with a far greater ability to compose great licks on-the-fly.

Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker came to Cream as jazz players. They were basically crossing over to where the money was (thanks, guys!) You can bet that they knew about the Bill Evans trio, even if Eric was locked into Delta Blues. I believe they pushed Eric to heights of guitar jamming that he hasn't really ever gotten to again.

Jack's bass jamming would be in a class by itself until Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius come along. In that day, the only rock bass player I can think of who is remotely close would be Jack Cassidy with the Jefferson Airplane. But Jack C didn't have Eric and Ginger as musical mates.

Finally, there is Ginger. Year after year, I am more and more amazed by his playing. He creates really funky, swinging drum parts to anchor the conventional parts of a song. Then he cuts lose with great poly rhythmic, constantly shifting beats while the jam goes on. He makes sure that Eric and Jack don't get lost beat-wise and leaves them lots of space to allow a true three-way musical dialogue. At the same time, he is out front with some very interesting statements of his own.

I can truly say that I still listen to Cream, especially live Cream material 40 years later and it still sounds great. So, if you get this for someone and they like it, they'll be thanking you still many, many years from now.

Cream live is so good. Clapton really shows his great blues, Jack Bruce shows us his great voice range and Ginger Baker's great jazzy rocky drum style is also present. The studio version of N.S.U is almost three minutes, while the live version is over ten minutes. Sleepy Time Time shows how well Cream can do a slow blues song. Rollin' and Tumblin' is really a great song and Bruce's harmonica work is awesome. I highly recommend this CD for a cream fan, a blues fan or a 60' 70's music fan.

N.S.U. ,Sleepy Time Time, Rollin and a Tumblin' and Sweet Wine are all from the debut Fresh Cream. This is what those 4 songs sound like on stage. The Cream's strength is live improvisation and this is their best live document hands down.
Also included is the backing track of Strange Brew with different bluesy lyrics.

N.S.U., which opens the CD, is one of the best openings for any song. The solo drums sets a frantic pace that gets even more frenetic as the song progresses. One of the things I've always loved about Cream is the way they EXPLODE into their jams. Sonically, it is like a dam bursting. There is enough guitar instruction on this CD to keep one occupied for months.