Similar Albums:
- Artist: Cream
- Rating:
- Release Date: March 25, 2003
- Type: Compilation (best of), Live
- Genre: Rock
Review
This compilation of 22 Cream BBC tracks from 1966-1968 marked a major addition to the group's discography, particularly as they released relatively little product during their actual lifetime. All of but two of these cuts ("Lawdy Mama" and the 1968 version of "Steppin' Out," which had appeared on Eric Clapton's Crossroads box) were previously unreleased, and although many of these had made the round on bootlegs, the sound and presentation here is unsurprisingly preferable. As for actual surprises, there aren't many. It's a good cross section of songs from their studio records, though a couple, "Steppin' Out" and "Traintime," only appeared on live releases, and some of these BBC takes actually predate the release and recording of the album versions, which makes them of historical interest for intense Cream fans. (There are also four brief interviews with Eric Clapton from the original broadcasts.) There's a mild surprise in the absence of a version of "White Room," but otherwise many of the group's better compositions and covers are here, including "I Feel Free," "N.S.U.," "Strange Brew," "Tales of Brave Ulysses," "Sunshine of Your Love," "Born Under a Bad Sign," "Outside Woman Blues," "Crossroads," "We're Going Wrong," "I'm So Glad," "SWLABR," and "Politician." Cream took better advantage of the live-in-the-studio BBC format than some groups of similar stature. There's a lean urgency to most of the performances that, while not necessarily superior to the more fully realized and polished studio renditions, do vary notably in ambience from the more familiar versions. The sound quality is good but not perfect, and variable; sometimes it's excellent, yet at other times there seem to be imperfections in the tapes sourced, with "Sunshine of Your Love" suffering from a (not grievously) hollow, muffled quality. If there's any other slight criticism of this set, it's that a handful of BBC tracks don't appear, including some that don't make it onto this CD in any version, like "Sleepy Time Time," "Toad," and "Sitting on Top of the World." Given Cream's tendency to over-improvise on the band's live concert recordings, however, the concise nature of these BBC tracks (none of which exceed five minutes) makes them preferable listening in some respects. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music GuideTracks
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Sweet Wine [#] | Ginger Baker, |
Cream | (3:27) |
| Eric Clapton Interview, No. 1 [#] | Eric Clapton | Cream | (:54) |
| Wrapping Paper [#] | Pete Brown, Jack Bruce | Cream | (2:30) |
| Rollin' and Tumblin' [#] | Muddy Waters | Cream | (3:03) |
| Steppin' Out [#] | Cream | (1:50) | |
| Crossroads [#] | Robert Johnson | Cream | (1:54) |
| Cat's Squirrel [#] | Mick Abrahams, Traditional | Cream | (3:38) |
| Traintime [#] | Jack Bruce | Cream | (2:50) |
| I'm So Glad [#] | Skip James | Cream | (4:22) |
| Lawdy Mama [#] | Eric Clapton, Traditional | Cream | (1:53) |
| Eric Clapton Interview, No. 2 [#] | Eric Clapton | Cream | (:48) |
| I Feel Free [#] | Pete Brown, Jack Bruce | Cream | (2:54) |
| N.S.U. [#] | Jack Bruce | Cream | (2:55) |
| Four Until Late [#] | Robert Johnson, Traditional | Cream | (1:56) |
| Strange Brew [#] | Cream | (3:00) | |
| Eric Clapton Interview, No. 3 [#] | Eric Clapton | Cream | (:44) |
| Tales of Brave Ulysses [#] | Eric Clapton, |
Cream | (2:55) |
| We're Going Wrong [#] | Jack Bruce | Cream | (3:25) |
| Eric Clapton Interview, No. 4 [#] | Eric Clapton | Cream | (:37) |
| Born Under a Bad Sign [#] | William Bell, Booker T. Jones | Cream | (3:03) |
| Outside Woman Blues [#] | Blind Joe Reynolds, |
Cream | (3:18) |
| Take It Back [#] | Jack Bruce, Pete Brown | Cream | (2:18) |
| Sunshine of Your Love [#] | Jack Bruce, Pete Brown, Eric Clapton, Pete Brown | Cream | (4:09) |
| Politician [#] | Pete Brown, Jack Bruce, Pete Brown | Cream | (3:59) |
| Swlabr [#] | Jack Bruce, Pete Brown | Cream | (2:32) |
| Steppin' Out | Cream | (3:36) |
