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89 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ukulele music to my ears, August 24, 2004
In the summer of 1968 a friend and I were fortunate fourteen-year olds... we scored a brief summer job clearing knee-high weeds from behind a sign manufacturing shop. With our $30 windfall we purchased two of the classic psychedelic albums released the previous year. I walked home with The Beatles 'Sgt. Peppers', while my buddy picked up Cream's 'Disraeli Gears'. Both were wise purchases, but I felt I had made the better choice since I got the cool pop-out Pepper inserts! Given the same choice today, I may well walk home with Cream...
'Disraeli Gears' is, arguably, the finest album recorded by Cream. The only real competition is from 'Wheels Of Fire', and that's a double-lp, so it's difficult to make comparisons. It is one of several albums that made the late-1960's psychedelic era the psychedelic era. It was the second of their four studio releases, and for most people it was the work that brought the band to their attention. Cream had a hit with 'Crossroads' from their first album, but 'Sunshine of Your Love' rose to number five on the national charts, and essentially ushered in the heavy metal feel for bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. The overall strength of 'Disraeli Gears' also easily eclipsed the quality of their first album, 'Fresh Cream'. Eric Clapton indulges heartily in the mainstay of psychedelic rock, the wah-pedal guitar, while Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce add their readily distinguishable style on drums and bass, respectively. All three contribute to the vocals, though Clapton and Bruce share most of the leads.
The origins of psychedelic rock albums and songs often has strange origins, and this album is a case in point. Consider that the title for this album was gleaned from a mispronunciation of "derailleur gears" for racing bicycles as "Disraeli gears". Can you imagine how many hours stoned-out freaks spent contemplating the connection between Benjamin Disraeli and gears? Ukulele Music To My Ears would have rhymed and perhaps made more sense. The psychedelic imagery is ever-present in the lyrics as well. 'SWLABR', for example, is an acronym for She Walks Like a Bearded Rainbow, words that appear nowhere in this rocked-up tune (though we are told that "the picture has a mustache"...).
I love the beginning of 'Disraeli Gears'. 'Strange Brew', which gleaned a lot of playing time on the emerging FM stations of the era, is the opener. It's followed by 'Sunshine of Your Love', 'World of Pain' and 'Dance the Night Away', superb psychedelic rock numbers. You would be hard pressed to find four finer consecutive songs on any disc. 'Blue Condition', like 'We're Going Wrong' are both slow, dismal numbers, which capture their stories well, but seem to stand in the way of rummaging through the other great rock tracks on the disc, 'Tales of Brave Ulysses', an excellent electrified cover of Arthur Reynold's 'Outside Woman Blues', and 'Take It Back'. 'Mother's Lament', a short (1:47), traditional cockney number, is the a capella closer, essentially a throw-away unless you're into traditional cockney numbers.
Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce are the author's of most of the great compositions found on 'Disraeli Gears'. The album is steeped in memorable guitar riffs and clever, thought-provoking lyrics. And few bands, especially bands stripped down to lead guitar, bass and drums, aside from today's White Stripes (who somehow do it with two...), rocked as fluidly as Cream. There won't be a dollar of your entertainment money wasted here.
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44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hands Down, Best Cream Album, January 16, 2002
When you've heard all of Hendrix a thousand times and are desperate for more, but not the same, you must turn to Cream's psychedelic bluesy classic rock! Great tunes, great solos, by the best rock stylists of their time. One great thing about Cream is that whether in the studio or live, they remain fresh and this album is proof. I realize that saying Disraeli Gears is the best Cream album (over Wheels of Fire) is setting myself up for a fight, but there it is. Every song is a major one, with the most immitated rock guitar tracks of all time (the only exception being Stairway to Heaven). Plus, it is most distinctively Cream, whereas the other albums have integrated many licks and styles that can be found on Hendrix and other blues and rock artists' albums. That doesn't stop me from owning and playing the heck out of them, but establishes, for me, that Disraeli Gears is the supreme achievement of the band.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Four and a half stars, February 5, 2003
One of the truly classic rock albums, Disraeli Gears was the album that made superstars of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Recorded in 1967, this was the group's follow-up to the blues-rock masterpiece, Fresh Cream. Disraeli Gears is far less blues-based than its predecessor and goes more towards hard rock. Although it is a great, classic album, I find it to be less solid than Fresh Cream as it contains a few weak spots which that album did not. I'll elaborate on a track-by-track analysis. Strange Brew - Perfect album opener. This is a Cream classic and one of their most well-known songs. Great song and a good groove with Clapton imitating Albert King on the solo. Sunshine Of Your Love - Classic, classic, classic rock song. One of the all-time great guitar riffs. Excellent solo. Absolutely perfect. World Of Pain - A bit slower than most of the songs on the album, and not one of the most memorable either. Clapton's guitar, however, is the high point of this song with nice wah-wah rhythm parts and a cool solo. Great bass playing by Jack too. Dance The Night Away - Another good, but not great one. One of the lesser songs on the album. Blue Condition - Who's idea was it to let Ginger sing? This song really isn't bad, but Ginger Baker is known for being a drummer, not a singer. This song illustrates why. One of the low points. Tales Of Brave Ulysses - Short, but sweet. Great wah-wah guitar from Clapton and weird, poetic lyrics. A real high point. Swlabr - More psychedelia. A pretty hard rocking tune with an unpronounceable title (actually stands for "She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow"). More weird, psychedelic lyrics from Pete Brown. We're Going Wrong - The tempo slows down again on this Jack Bruce song. A very nice vocal from Jack and great drumming from Ginger, but it's kind of dull. Outside Woman Blues - A great bluesy song with vocals by Clapton and a nice riff. One of my personal favorite songs on the album. Great guitar solo. Take It Back - Another blues tune sung by Jack, with some nice harmonica blowing too. I like this one a lot. Mother's Lament - An interesting conclusion to the album. An English pub song sung with thick cockney accents. The only instrument is piano. It's a slight, but enjoyable addition to this fine album. Overall, this a great but uneven album. I find Fresh Cream to be Cream's best overall album. Disraeli Gears, even with its flaws, is still a very strong album with more high points than low. An essential rock album and very necessary for Clapton fans.
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