FRESH CREAM (Cream, 1966)

Artist: Cream (B)
Dates of Recording:  Jul - Oct 1966
Release Date: December 9th, 1966. UK
Record Label: Reaction Records
Producer: Robert Stigwood
Rating: 8

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Era: Psychedelia (1966-1969)

Subgenre: Guitar Heros 

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Best Song: Spoonful or I Feel Free

Tracklist: 1) I Feel Free; 2) N. S. U.; 3) Sleepy Time Time; 4) Dreaming; 5) Sweet Wine; 6) Spoonful; 7) Cat's Squirrel; 8) Four Until Late; 9) Rollin' And Tumblin'; 10) I'm So Glad; 11) Toad; 12) The Coffee Song; 13) Wrapping Paper.

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Bop-bop-bop Borop- bom / Bop-bop-bop borom . What a cool start . This album is a great debut from a great and ephemeral band, which despite its short existence influenced many others by laying the foundations of Hard Rock and the great supergroups.

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, this debut is somewhat disconcerting and surprising. When Clapton managed to convince Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to forget their differences and mutual death threats in pursuit of a grand musical goal, everyone expected a tremendous rock-blues album full of solos and mammoth rhythms, à la The Who. However, despite being full of good songs, Fresh Cream is more pop-rock oriented, with well-crafted vocal harmonies (though perhaps not as well-performed) and good instrumental displays, but nothing immensely powerful as expected.

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Fresh Cream is summed up in its title. The cream of rock, blues, and jazz, bringing together some of the best instrumentalists in the first supergroup in history. And Fresh, full of melodies without too much commitment, but without the innocence of the early 60s. In other words, this album fits perfectly into the atmosphere developed throughout '66; it's a pre-psychedelic transition , seeking to take a step forward but not yet fully committing to total experimentation.

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Cream's best work would come on their next two studio albums, although this album also features some tremendous tracks that achieved classic status , such as "I Feel Free," "NSU," " Spoonful, " and " I'm So Glad." Interestingly, no band so perfectly captures the spirit of that Summer of Love in the second half of the 1960s. With Fresh Cream, you hear a band trying to experiment but without venturing beyond catchy pop melodies, somewhat reining in the virtuosity of its three members. This is the pre-psychedelic period of '66, and despite its shortcomings, Fresh Cream easily ranks among the top 10 albums of that year. Then, in '67, they immersed themselves in bright, psychedelic atmospheres, tremendously expressive and full of effects, more daring and experimental. That was the climax of the psychedelic era, and one of the most representative albums would be Disraeli Gears. Then, in '68, music attempted a return to its roots, but in a more mature way, striving for a rawer and more aggressive sound, leaning towards hard rock and instrumental quality, but without the innocence that characterized the early 60s. Wheels of Fire from '68 represents this post-psychedelic stage . Thus, Cream is a perfect example of the musical evolution during these three years, which would ultimately change the way rock music was made worldwide.

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We're getting way off track with the album in question. Fresh Cream kicks off with a guitar riff that sets the tone for that Bop-bop-bop. The characteristic bob-boom that opens "I Feel Free" is followed by Ginger's drumming , mimicking the opening notes, which then allows the main melody to unfold. But the intro is simply fantastic and majestic. I find it quite curious that this hook that makes the song shine is vocal, perhaps the band's weakest point. Of course, Clapton's guitar work is present throughout the song, but frankly, I think the real crowd-pleaser is the perfect vocal harmony, which loosely follows the intro 's rhythm . No, vocals aren't Cream's strongest suit, but they deliver a tremendously professional performance. Bruce manages to sound powerful while Eric provides backing vocals that sometimes sound slightly off-key, but which ultimately come together in a third, resulting in a brilliant sound. In other words, they know how to turn their weaknesses into an opportunity to experiment and make the most of what they have. From 1:35 onwards, Bruce starts playing some fast scales on his bass while Eric fills this song, which is still pop, fun and tremendously fresh, but still sounds intelligent, with a bluesy feel.

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It continues with "NSU", which stands for Non- Specific Urethritis ; let's just stick with the initials, as we know it. The song literally starts with a pounding drumbeat, with a very Apache rhythm. Bruce begins singing in a whisper, and Eric joins in, doing that third voice thing that sounds so peculiar, and then they immediately go together with that "ahhhhhhhh" Ahhhhhhhhhh AhhahhhAHH ! The drums are playing at a frenetic pace, something we'd only seen glimpses of from Keith Moon until then. Yep , Ginger Baker is starting to show why he became a legend and one of the greatest drummers in history, putting on a display of excellent fills and arrangements. At 1:30, Clapton's solo begins, which doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the song. Up until then, it was some of the most powerful drumming we'd heard from Slowhand , but now that we're used to his true potential, it sounds like he's only playing at half speed. Even so, the song is excellent and one that has made its way into the band's classic repertoire.

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"Sleepy Time-Time" continues . This is a very generic blues song composed by Jack. The rhythm is slow, and more repetitive than rhythmic— almost sleepy , if we consider its name. Fortunately, the blues is Clapton's favorite genre, and here he manages to create a delightful guitar piece, rescuing a song that didn't have much harmonically. Ginger, meanwhile, manages to add arrangements that sound closer to jazz than blues, although he doesn't do anything as dazzling as in the previous song.

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Next up is "Dreaming", where they once again showcase their vocal synchronization, employing those typical Cream third harmonies. The song is weak, despite its attempts to play with tonal scales. Clapton focuses on strumming and accompanying on his guitar without even a hint of a solo, and Ginger sounds like he has advanced arthritis. A bit more intensity wouldn't hurt. The thing is, paired with " Sleepy Time- Time," these two tracks can lull us into a dream and make the band sound very repressed.

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"Sweet Wine" is a significant improvement. Here we see a much more creative Ginger. He's not really keeping the beat, but instead dedicates himself to playing mini-solos and drum arrangements during the main part of the song—yes, that "Papa Padubapa " part. “Padubapa PA PADUBAAAAA…” Around 1:10 comes Eric’s solo, and again it seems like he shoehorned it into the song. It sounds like he’d been working on solos on his own, and when Jack arrived with a bunch of his own compositions, he said, “Okay, we’ll put this thing I did a year ago in this one, and this other thing in that one.” However, the solo is good and demonstrates Eric’s great skill with the six strings.

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Next up is "Spoonful", a Willie Dixon cover and one of the highlights of this debut album. Here, the three unleash their full potential, delivering a slow, rhythmic, yet powerful song. Bruce definitely doesn't have the best voice in the world, and this is especially noticeable when Eric leaves him without backing vocals, as in this track. At least he's in tune and puts some feeling into it. Here, the voice isn't what matters, but rather the connection created by the steady bass line and the drums that move slowly and relentlessly, like an old mammoth. Jack also adds harmonica arrangements during Eric's solo, which not only sounds disjointed but even out of sync with the rest of the song. Again, it's not that it's bad, but it sounds very peculiar within the overall effect of the track. Finally, the song builds in intensity around the 3:30 mark without necessarily increasing the tempo, before descending again, leaving only the harmonica and bass. The vocal work improves considerably in this second half, where Jack practically shouts the lyrics. The song is six minutes long, and without the quality of the instrumental work by this trio, it could have been the most repetitive song in the world. It isn't; quite the opposite.

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"Cat Squirrel" is the weakest point of the album. If it weren't an old S. Splurge arrangement , I'd say it was a bad jam session thrown together so Jack could show off his harmonica skills. The problem is, Jack isn't a virtuoso harmonica player ( is that the right word? ), his forte is the bass, which he neglects quite a bit here. Clapton sounds distracted, and the main riff doesn't give him much of a chance to shine. In short, the only thing worth following is the drums, but with all the cymbal crashes, it's hard to keep track of the toms and bass drums.

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Next comes "Four" Until Late", one of the lesser-known works of the legendary Robert Johnson. Unlike "Crossroads", which is also a Johnson song, Clapton's arrangement here is far from interesting. The song is rather lackluster, even losing its blues essence and transforming it into a slow, boring, and mediocre pop melody. As a side note, Eric takes the lead vocals here, while Jack is glued to his harmonica. Eric hadn't fully developed his vocal style yet, but he doesn't do too badly here.

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Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'", on the other hand, is a much better cover . The rhythm is frenetic, the guitar sounds impressive with that non-stop slide , while Ginger manages to add embellishments here and there while maintaining that demonic and frenetic rhythm until everyone stops for a snare drum hit at 1:50. Jack gives his best harmonica performance, at least on this album, and although there's some disorganization at the end, giving the impression of a jam , they do manage to inject some power and make the song their own.

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"I'm So Glad" is excellent from the arpeggiated intro , which gives the false impression that it's going to be another slow song. Ginger launches into a drum roll to fully embrace the rhythm and create a virtuoso three-instrument showcase. The drum rolls are fantastic and executed flawlessly. The solo is magnificent, this time fitting the overall feel of the song a bit better, and Jack handles the bass well, adding power and driving the song with impressive speed, though without yet showcasing his signature bass solos. The backing vocals also deserve a mention, given the limited lyrics beyond the title.

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"Toad" is credited to Ginger Baker. More than a song, it's an opening riff that all the instruments start with and then fade away, leaving only the drums, in what is arguably the first extended drum solo in history. Okay, now we have someone to blame for these kinds of "songs." Well, at least Ginger has the talent to try things like this, but the formula would later be repeated ad nauseam, starting with Rat Salad and Moby Dick. The good thing is that Ginger doesn't go overboard in this 5-minute version, and towards the end it gets interesting with some tempo changes, jazzy arrangements, and a return to the initial riff before it forces us to take cyanide to avoid any more of these solos. Okay, I exaggerated. It's not really that bad , and the length isn't excessive either, but this song, and only THIS SONG, is to blame for so many drummers trying to pass themselves off as talented who bombard us with crazy drum rolls for up to 20 minutes. If this song hadn't existed, they would have done humanity a favor.

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"The Coffee Song" is another blues-based song, but it leans more towards pop. The drumming is also majestic, again sounding like an Apache drum ensemble in the midst of a ritual. The vocal harmonies aren't bad, and there are some guitar embellishments, but I think it lacks intensity. Perhaps a higher key and a guitar that adds more power...

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"Wrapping Paper" was the band's first single before the album's release. It's nothing more than a pleasant jazz number with some slide guitar from Clapton. The real star is the rather curious little piano solo by Jack Bruce. The drums lay down a simple jazz rhythm without getting too complicated. It's quite a departure from what Cream usually delivers, but the song isn't bad, just different.

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In conclusion, this isn't the best album ever made. I even think it's an exaggeration that Rolling Stone ranked it 101st on their list of all rock albums. Cream was just finding its footing, and they sound cold and timid. I don't even want to imagine what it would have been like if they'd appeared in '66 with all their power and virtuosity. It seems to me they played it safe, and once they saw it worked and the world demanded more power, they finally unleashed everything they had stored in those six virtuoso hands. But that's another story called Disraeli Gears. The debut album itself is good, I insist, with elements quite advanced for the year it was released, and innovative for its blend of blues pop, for Ginger's drumming, for the first song written entirely to showcase the drummer, for the hype surrounding this supergroup, and because almost anything Slowhand does is outstanding (with exceptions like Pilgrim). Despite being one of Cream's weakest and most out of context, this is a classic that shouldn't be missed…

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By Corvan 

Oct/08/2008

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