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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Cream's BBC Sessions is as taut and focused a primer on the oft-overblown world of 1960s blues rock as one is likely to find. Betwixt journeyman stints with the Yardbirds and John Mayall and decades of laurel-resting, guitar god Eric Clapton was but one competitive third of what remains rock's most compelling power trio. Cream's penchant for incendiary live excess was legendary, a fact that makes the release of these 22 live-in-studio recordings for the BBC (which span just over a year of the band's early, brief career) all the more interesting.
Powered by Ginger Baker's complex rhythms and the kinetic bass lines and burnished vocals of Jack Bruce, Clapton's playing is focused and intense, with the trio bringing a pop-smart economy to its slate of over-amped blues ("Rollin' and Tumblin'", "Cat's Squirrel") and originals that veered from nascent pop-psychedelia ("Strange Brew", "Sunshine of Your Love") to music-hall kitsch ("Wrapping Paper", "Take It Back"). The tracks here--fully 20 of them previously unreleased--offer extensive contemporary live previews of Disraeli Gears and even more compelling early workouts of material that would appear on Wheels of Fire. Though the collection's four Clapton interview excerpts come at the expense of Baker and Bruce, their musical accomplishments here can't be denied. Cream, indeed. --Jerry McCulley
Product Description
1-Sweet Wine 2-Wrapping Paper 3-Rollin' And Tumblin' 4-Steppin' Out 5-Crossroads 6-Cat's Squirrel 7-Traintime 8-I'm So Glad 9-Lawdy Mama 10-I Feel Free 11-N.S.U. 12-Four Until Late 13-Strange Brew 14-Tales Of Brave Ulysses 15-We're Going Wrong 16-Born Under A Bad Sign 17-Outside Woman Blues 18-Take It Back 19-Sunshine Of Your Love 20-Politician 21-Swlabr 22-Steppin' Out (1966-68 'BBC')(68:43/26) Monoaufnahmen, bis auf zwei zuvor unveröffentlicht, die 'live' für's britische Radio aufgenommen wurden. Viele dieser Fassungen entstanden vor den späteren Studioversionen. Die Qualität ist größtenteils okay doch man kann merken, welche Probleme Toningenieure damals mit der schieren Kraft dieses Power-Trios hatten / Mono recordings - all but two previously unreleased -- made for BBC Radio in the UK. Some of these live versions pre-date later studio recordings. The quality is mostly okay, although you can imagine that recording engineers in those days didn't really know how to capture the trio's immense power on tape.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Beware rave reviews of this L.P. It's got some great tracks but will only really appeal to those with a specialist interest. The recordings are in mono necessitated by their age. As a result the quality is a bit thin - Jack Bruce's bass playing is often inaudible - background hiss interferes on some tracks - e.g. crossroads. The vocal introductions to all the tracks detract from the enjoyment and the constant references to " The Cream " are as irritating now as at the time. The same goes for the efforts to slot this excellent take on the blues into the then current pop parlance with words such as groovy and other patronising phrases.
Cream never were part of the mainstream pop scene and it these embarrassing attempts to fit them into it by the woefully unaware BBC should have been left out. Also, does anyone really want to listen to interviews in the middle of such good music?
This is an attempt to cash in by the BBC. It's an album I will listen to again and again as it has a number of gems such as from four until late and politician but appreciate it for what it is - great music and rare recordings of one of the best British blues bands ever. It's for the already converted not the mass-market appeal it seems to court. If you're looking for an introduction to this brilliant band just go out and buy Disreali Gears - you won't be disappointed.
Cream never were part of the mainstream pop scene and it these embarrassing attempts to fit them into it by the woefully unaware BBC should have been left out. Also, does anyone really want to listen to interviews in the middle of such good music?
This is an attempt to cash in by the BBC. It's an album I will listen to again and again as it has a number of gems such as from four until late and politician but appreciate it for what it is - great music and rare recordings of one of the best British blues bands ever. It's for the already converted not the mass-market appeal it seems to court. If you're looking for an introduction to this brilliant band just go out and buy Disreali Gears - you won't be disappointed.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By "jas_sl"
Format:Audio CD
Baker, Bruce and Clapton - these sessions have long been available on bootleg, but these have been cleared up somewhat and presented in an official release after a very long wait. Wonderful to have them surface together again.
Concise (by Cream's standard) performances of some of their classics allow different takes of their studio versions whilst not stretching into long improvised jams they employed on tour. I love to see both the short and extended versions of such songs but for some these renditions may be more digestable than some of their live marathon epics!
Concise (by Cream's standard) performances of some of their classics allow different takes of their studio versions whilst not stretching into long improvised jams they employed on tour. I love to see both the short and extended versions of such songs but for some these renditions may be more digestable than some of their live marathon epics!
The tracks are from either the BBC tapes or from off-air recordings with digital enhancement. A newly discovered "Crossroads" is included, but 2 or 3 off-air tracks that could be found on bootlegs aren't included here perhaps for lack of quality (Toad and Sleepy Time Time).
Interview segments only include Clapton as he was pressed forward as the front man by management even if he was very much part of a trio and mostly sang backing vocals and played behind Jack Bruce's frontmanship. And if you're wondering why BBC sessions always include the announcers over the music, that's because that's how they are on the original tapes!
Coupled with the boxed set "Those Were The Days", the Farewell Concert DVD and the Fresh Live Cream DVD, this is pretty much all that is out there for this mighty pioneer.
Quite simply, if you like Cream, or the blues or simply a Clapton fan, you won't be sorry purchasing this. A slight lack of fidelity mean 4 stars instead of 5, but more than listenable and rewarding.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Fantastic! For a band that released so few albums, this is rare treat for the fans! Anyone who loves music and the blues should own this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy it!
That 3 men could make such wonderful music. Listen to it, but carefully, as you would when listening to Bach to pick up the subtleties. Wonderful.
Published 2 months ago by Thompson Family
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cream Dream !
Had a bit of a problem receiving this item initially but Amazon were great to send a replacement.
Like many other BBC Sesions now available, by various artists, this shows how... Read more
Like many other BBC Sesions now available, by various artists, this shows how... Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2010 by P. Tidy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally gottem!
We would spend hours in our teens sitting beside the radio with a microphone in front of the speaker, with a reel-to-reel tape recorder trying to get a decent copy of these... Read more
Published on 20 May 2006 by Alan Burridge
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tales From Brave Musicians
Cream recorded by the BBC from various sessions in 1966,1967 and 1968. Its rough and ready and in mono. Thats the way they did it in those days. Read more
Published on 23 July 2003 by Mr P
2.0 out of 5 stars
largely historic interest only
Compared with some of the other 'BBC sessions' issues this is disappointing. This is not to say that some of the tracks are not without merit but the recording quality of many does... Read more
Published on 12 May 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Radio Collection
For any Eric Clapton fan, this is an ultimate collection of his early work in Cream.
These sessions are released for the first time and give an insight in Creams early radio... Read more
Published on 10 May 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blistering stuff- hard rock being invented before our ears.
THE power-trio. Blues purists turned Gods of hard rock, Cream defined the vocabulary from which metal and prog was built. Read more
Published on 27 April 2003 by Peter Fenelon
4.0 out of 5 stars
At long last, a wondeful collection of B,B and C at the BBC
Baker, Bruce and Clapton - these sessions have long been available on bootleg, but these have been cleared up somewhat and presented in an official release after a very long wait. Read more
Published on 15 April 2003 by "jas_sl"
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