Back in 1967, the formation of Cream was big news. Three of
\nBritain’s best-known musicians, including two former members of
\nJohn Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, had assembled to form what was
\nconsidered the ultimate power trio. Guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist
\nJack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker were one of the top stories in
\nthe world of rock.<\/p>\n
Now, 31 years later, their debut
\nFresh Cream<\/i> sounds incredibly dated, and I find myself
\nwondering as I listen to it in the halls of the Pierce Archives
\nwhat the big deal was really about. What was supposed to be a
\nshowpiece for all three musicians is more of a half-baked
\nmish-mash.<\/p>\n
For a group that was so rooted in the blues, thre isn’t that
\nmuch of it here. But two of the blues numbers, Robert Johnson’s
\n“Four Until Late” and Muddy Waters’s “Rollin’ And Tumblin'” are the
\nstandout pieces on this album. The other number, “Sleepy Time
\nTime,” pales in comparison. But I wonder what would have happened
\nhad Cream made this album more blues-oriented rather than drifting
\ntowards some of the psychedelia that they performed elsewhere.<\/p>\n
And even a few of the more rock-oriented numbers aren’t
\nhalf-bad, like Bruce’s “N.S.U.” The cover of “Cat’s Squirrel,” a
\nsong which apparently all British bands in the ’60s had to cover,
\nhas some interesting moments on it as well, though I admit I prefer
\nJethro Tull’s version.<\/p>\n
But for the most part, these numbers fall a bit flat – this was
\nstill a band looking for its direction and voice. Clapton still did
\nnot have the confidence in his singing that he needed (and would
\neventually gain, as heard on songs like “Badge” off
\nGoodbye<\/i>). One other problem is there seemed to be
\nuncertainty in the musicianship as well. One critic, whose name
\nescapes me, claimed that Cream was nothing more than a showpiece
\nfor three virtuoso musicians. There was no band, just three lead
\ninstruments. In the case of the music on
\nFresh Cream<\/i>, even the leads were weak. Baker’s drum solo
\npiece “Toad”, well… let’s just say the princesses looking for a
\nprince should move to the next lily pad.<\/p>\n
Even some of the song selection is questionable. I admit I’ve
\nnever been a fan of Skip James’s “I’m So Glad,” but one wonders why
\nCream chose a song so damned simplistic in structure and lyrical
\ncontent. C’mon, these guys were better than the material they chose
\n– even originals like Bruce’s “Dreaming” suck.<\/p>\n
Blasphemy! – I can hear the call going out now. No, just truth.
\nFresh Cream<\/i> might have been innovative and exciting in 1967,
\nbut in 1998, it’s sour and curdled. These three proved at many
\nother times in their career together just how talented they really
\nwere; this debut album just isn’t the right vehicle for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5995],"rating":[11204],"class_list":["post-38753","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-cream","rating-rating-c-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38753"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38753"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}