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THE REVIEW
1967. "Disraeli Gears" is released, which with its overwhelming electric blues definitively delivers the Cream to the crowd's ovation. The Cream are three: Eric Clapton on guitar, Ginger Baker on drums, and Jack Bruce on bass. The first rock supergroup.Cream's performances are intense and captivating, with extremely long solos and improvisations at the end, at high volume and energy.
The following year (1968), "Wheels Of Fire" is released, a double album half studio, half live. Repeating success is difficult, yet possible. This time the Cream sound blends its characteristic electric blues with a decidedly pop taste and greater psychedelic influences, with a touch of orchestration, violins, and cellos (studio LP); but live, the Cream maintain their direct and deeply bluesy approach. Lots of energy and unpredictable jams.
Clapton's guitar melts into a slippery wah-wah, it indulges, rages in his virtuosity; Baker shows that jazz technique learned in Blues Incorporated in schizophrenic drum solos; Bruce rides on solid bass lines, writes and interprets the songs.
The masterpiece is "White Room," fluid guitar and choruses, rhythmic drums and never predictable bass; "As You Said" is a psychedelic ballad with voice, guitar, and cello, where the voice is barely a whisper; and the thunderous riff of "Politician"; the energetic "Desert Cities Of The Heart"; the dreamy "Pressed Rat And Warthog."
Live, the performance of "Crossroads" is pulsating and alive, you feel the style of the three instrumentalists; one at a time, Clapton delights in the lengthy "Spoonful," Baker in the baffling "Toad" (17 minutes of drum solo).
If "Disraeli Gears" is a masterpiece, "Wheels Of Fire" is no less. Good ideas, they are there. Perhaps different, but they remain the Cream. In memory.
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Summary by Bot
Cream’s 1968 double album Wheels Of Fire successfully blends electric blues with psychedelic and orchestral elements. Featuring virtuosic performances by Clapton, Baker, and Bruce, the album balances studio polish with intense, energetic live jams. Key tracks like 'White Room' and 'Crossroads' highlight their musical prowess. Wheels Of Fire stands as a worthy follow-up to Disraeli Gears, cementing Cream’s status as a pioneering supergroup.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Cream
Cream were a British rock power trio formed in 1966, known for electrified blues-rock, psychedelic-era experimentation, and extended live improvisations. The classic lineup was Eric Clapton (guitar), Jack Bruce (bass/vocals), and Ginger Baker (drums).12 Reviews
Other reviews
By March Horses
The perfect cover for an album that is the explosion of creativity, the definitive break from the old schemes of music understood as "blues".
This monumental fresco will remain the epitaph of the group, not counting posthumous live (and the negligible "Goodbye").
