Cream
Those Were The Days

Simply put, the long-awaited Cream box set has everything -- the band's original four albums on 2 CDs; on the other 2 CDs, the "live" stuff, where Cream assured their worthiness and single-handedly transformed the rock concert from a teen fest of mayhem and permissive idolatry to a stomping ground of improvisational jams and celestial worship (remember the "Clapton is God" credo of the 60's).

Cream was everything the super groups of the 70's so desperately tried to be: incredible musicians with incredible songs, and a free-flowing attitude that anything could happen on any given night or in any given situation. Cream wasn't afraid to embellish their own material or some old blues standard -- for the sake of making it their own.

Eric Clapton became known as the best guitarist on the scene while Jack Bruce penned some of the band's biggest hits, and Ginger Baker infused his own strong creative instincts, percussive or otherwise. For whatever internal friction existed, the members of Cream couldn't stand each other, but musically they were like brothers. There is an interesting bit of strife between Baker and Bruce that goes back years before Cream was even conceived. Obviously, Clapton was the glue that kept it together for those two short years.

Regardless, in those two short years, they issued an intoxicating blend of rhythm and blues, traces of jazz, with a psychedelic appeal and top forty sensibility. While they delved into classic blues like Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" and Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," they also exploded with solid-locking riffs of their own like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room." Without a doubt, Cream paved the way for Led Zeppelin and many other hard-drivin' blues-based that would come to rule the early 70's.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS has every Cream song -- many presented "live" -- remastered and packaged, economically with an informative essay and extensive liner notes. Although much of this material has been released in a number of different formats and compilations, it could be fair to say that this collection is about definitive as you can get.

The live stuff, culled from a variety of different shows during 1968, include a run at Winterland and performances from Oakland and Los Angeles (apparently, Cream rose to the occasion when they were in California). A version of "Sunshine of Your Love" from the Glen Campbell show aspires to the notion that Cream was on the edge of mass popularity and mainstream acceptance. Perhaps, more than the members themselves, this is what did Cream in.

Almost thirty years later, it's amazing that Cream is still fresh in the mind of a lot of music lovers. In all likelihood, Clapton's continued success, wavering between reggae to ballads, still stems from his Cream roots. Bruce and Baker, although not on such a grand scale, have also carried on, many times with one another, but they will forever be associated with Cream.

The band re-united once in 1994 at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Afterwards, Clapton, Bruce and Baker enthused that the magic was still there. But they were smart enough to leave Cream well enough alone. They truly meant it when they entitled their final record GOODBYE. Still, their unique sound and classic songs have stood the test of time.

Shawn Perry

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