Customer Reviews

Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My rating is not a reflection of the greatness of Cream, rather a forewarning to prospective buyers of this compilation. Before purchasing this compilation, consider that there is a vastly better one available for near the same price! "The Very Best of Cream" features all of the tracks presented "Strange Brew", an additional 8 tracks, and more extensive liner notes. Also "The Very Best of Cream", released in 1995, was the first Cream best of to be released exclusively on CD, and is mastered using Apogee's UV22 encoding that vastly improves the sound quality of the original songs, and the songs on this album. Save your money and get it instead!

The one-disc, twenty-track Best of Cream has officially rendered all other Cream collections obselete. And this is no exception. Though this is a good bunch of tracks, the one-disc collection is so much better. This reminds me of a Jimi Hendrix compilation entitled Smash Hits: probably worked in its day, but is now just about useless. Nice cover photo, though.

The british psychedelic's rock bands studio and live track versions from their recordings is much like the anticipated "The Very Best of Cream" anthology compilation disc. With favorite song tunes including "Anyone For Tennis?" (The Savage Seven Theme), "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Badge". Are highlighted masterpieces with Jack Bruce's acoustic guitar sound effects performances right here!

Though out of print, "Strange Brew" is still the best single-disc Cream sampler. All the essentials are here. "20th Century Masters" is also a good sampler, but it doesn't include the driving "Born Under a Bad Sign." Try to find "Strange Brew" if you can.

STRANGE BREW-THE VERY BEST OF CREAM: Like Eric Clapton's previous group the Yardbirds, power trio Cream helped introduce millions of rock fans to the blues, in this instance via the most contorted interpretations of Robert Johnson and Albert King ever channeled through a psychedelic wah-wah pedal. This "jam band" predecessor boasted Jack Bruce's triple threat bass/harp/vocals, Ginger Baker's jazz-tinged drum work, and Clapton's aggressive "Guitar God" pyrotechnics. Cream's originals, including WHITE ROOM, SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE, and BADGE were on a par with their mentors' compositions CROSSROADS and SPOONFUL, which became sprawling, improvisational workouts in their capable mitts. Not surprisingly, it was far too much talent to contain under one roof and they imploded after two short years. What's left behind is this stunning, albeit criminally brief, account of a band that actually lived up to all the "supergroup" hype...and how often does THAT happen?

RATING: FIVE SPOONFULS

I hate to say I just returned a copy of The Very Best of Cream _ the CD's case was cracked, but the 20-song disc was filled with old Cream classics that sounded so dated _ and whose sound quality seemed so poor.

Too often, best-hit albums cram enough excess cargo to screw up the whole package.

I grew up on 1970s rock, so I was looking for the big hits that transcended into 70s radio.

I used to have the Strange Brew LP _ it had the Cream of the Cream, as it were _ White Room, Sunshine of Your Love, Crossroads and the rest of the radio hits.

Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream holds the hits that passed the test of time.

Get a copy while you can.


Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream

I received just what I was looking for. Did this ever take me back to my youth!

This band had a unique sound.I originaly got into this band because Kiss always mentioned this band as one of their favorite bands.As i am a huge Kiss fan,i am curious at time to listen to their musical origins.
I knew Sunshine of your love and White Room.But the rest were not known at all to me.So i decided to get a copy of their best.
Man i was not disappointed.Got right into it and couldnt stop playing it.Some songs seem to be addictive,probably recorded them on tapes made out of hippy weed.
This collection is a must for fans of Clapton, Bruce, and Baker and the great rock of the late 60s. .Great stuff this,and i reccommend this band.

Although short lived, Cream had a trio with the energy of Jimi Hendrix's Experience. Clapton got with these guys(Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce) and just layed down some of the most influential lines in Rock n Roll history. From the White Room with black curtains to the ever popular and often covered Sunshine Of Your Love, the band had some of those air guitars players playing until they couldn't play no mo'. Although the music varied a lot(anyone for tenis) the album is great! Even if the harder stuff is wanted for your collection from the earlier days, you can not count your collection complete without the first four/five songs from this great compilation. The music I refer to most of the album,I like to call it the hardest blues you hear. C'mon, Clapton left the Yardbirds for it, you should buy them at their best!

In regards to Eric Clapton's recording, many of his songs after Cream, though extraordinary, lack the incredible guitar solos that are on this CD (I can't speak for his stuff before because I haven't heard very much of it). I never knew that rock could be done this well before I heard this CD. "Sunshine Of Your Love", "White Room", and "Crossroads" are definately my favorites. I think "Crossroads" is among the best performances Clapton has ever done. Buy this CD, its the best.