Cream
Fresh Cream

THE REVIEW

The most ambitious name was chosen by them. Yes, because they weren't the "creme" yet, they weren't yet what they would become within a couple of years, but it was as if they already knew it. Or at least, Robert Stigwood knew it.

Just as it was known that they wouldn't last long, because bringing and keeping together three great personalities like Clapton, Bruce, and Baker was no simple task. Each of the three had the credentials to be able to "lead" any group. The three were already known in the London blues circuits: Eric Clapton had been a guitarist in the Yardbirds and had collaborated on the production of the self-titled album by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Jack Bruce, bassist/singer, had played with the Graham Bond Organization and with Manfred Mann. Ginger Baker, a drummer fond of Jazz and tribal sounds, had also played with the Graham Bond Organization.

The three were endowed with great technique and inventiveness, and in three years managed to bend the structural rigidity of the blues by incorporating jazz components, psychedelia and laying the foundations for what would eventually become Hard Rock in the following years, thanks to contributions from bands like Led Zeppelin.

The adventure began in 1966. After the release of the singles "Wrapping Paper" and "I Feel Free", "Fresh Cream" was released in December of that same year.

The album is fresh and mostly features highly personalized covers of historical blues tracks ("Rollin' And Tumblin'", "I'm So Glad", "Spoonful", "Four Until Late"), combined with new works of rare greatness such as "N.S.U." (very early psychedelic traces in this track) and "Toad", Baker's percussive masterpiece, showcasing all his skill.
Clapton's solos travel among the frantic bass lines of Bruce, who contributes more than once with keyboards and harmonica, and of course with his strong and vigorous voice, while Baker masterfully orchestrates everything from behind the skins. After the Yardbirds, they were one of the first supergroups of British rock, and it is still surprising today how just three instruments could create such incredible atmospheres.

To be listened to in one breath, without interruptions. The creme is all here.