Cream - Wheels of Fire
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Free Music Notes for Wheels of Fire
Free Music Review: For the Better Moments Worth the Price
Hit: 3 Stars
The studio material veers from the inspired ("White Room," never mind that Jack Bruce and Pete Brown seemed to play a kind of see-and-raise on Eric Clapton's earlier "Tales of Brave Ulysses," though Clapton unfurls one of the finest rounds of controlled wah-wah fills and solos of its time; "Sitting on Top of the World," which sounds first too reverent until Clapton spins a spellbinding solo and Bruce supports him with a neatly climbing bass line; "Born Under a Bad Sign," in which Ginger Baker's Latinesque polyrhythm competes neatly with Clapton's stinging Albert King-like lines; "Those Were The Days," maybe the second-best song Baker wrote for the trio) to the modest ("Deserted Cities of the Heart," "Politician"), to the mundane. ("As You Said," which sounds still as though it were composed and executed on some particularly skittery controlled substances, though the cello lines save it from total disaster.) And, also, to the autobiographical---it was too easy to dismiss Ginger Baker's recitation of "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (it was the flip of their non-LP single, "Anyone for Tennis," by the way) as self-indulgent whimsy until you realise the poem (which Baker originally hoped to have his young daughter recite for the cut), and the explosive finale in which Baker and Bruce ramp up one of their trademark concert-style raveups over a spidery Clapton guitar solo, speak metaphorically about the trio's pending split-up. (The easiest hint: "Captain Madman" was a nickname hung on Eric Clapton by his bandmates.)
The live recordings veer from the transcendent ("Crossroads") to the well-intentioned ("Spoonful," which tends to lag in a few places, in spite of several bursts of what made Cream so formidable as a freewheeling, improvisational concert unit), to the dubious (it's still hard to know whether "Traintime"---a superior take has since emerged on the BBC sessions---is inspired or exhausted, though the idea of chugging Bruce's harmonica to Baker's snare and hi-hat was a welcome relief, and the vocal is probably his most impassioned on the set), and to a combination of the three. ("Toad" was always more impressive for Baker's drumming---as colouristic as you'll find in rock of any era, never mind how many caterwauling inferiors it inadvertently inspired, than for its basic music bookends, the last of which you can barely hear through the mix under the crowd sound, anyway.)
As a whole, "Wheels of Fire" isn't quite the master blend of eclectic blues and pop adventurism "Disraeli Gears" was, and you wouldn't lose a thing if you skipped "Passing the Time" or "As You Said" (both way better as ideas than as executed songs). But in the best moments Cream lives up to the better sides of its reputation. Maybe the sense that they were about to decide on packing it in pervades too greatly, but for the better moments it's still worth the price.
(As an historical note: "Wheels of Fire" was the first double-LP set to be awarded a platinum record, an award presented to Cream before they kicked off the Madison Square Garden appearance that concluded their 1968 farewell tour.)
Free Music Review: A great single CD's worth of material stretched to 2 CDs
Hit: 3 Stars
A double CD, featuring one disc of studio material, and one of tracks recorded live at the Fillmore (East? West?). Together the two discs clock in at just under 80 minutes, so this could have easily been made a single disc for anyone but the Cream completist. (Just snip a couple of minutes out of the 16+ minutes of "Toad" and there ya go!).For the most part the long live tracks here appeal to me only a bit more than those on "Goodbye Cream." The opening live cut, "Crossroads," is a nice, concise version of the Robert Johnson classic. Bruce and Clapton duke it out, seemingly soloing at the same time, and Clapton's vocals are quite strong.
The Bruce composition "Traintime" has some nice blues harp from Bruce backed only by Ginger Baker's shuffling rhythms, and at 7 minutes, doesn't wander off too far in search of ideas. The 16+ minute version of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" features a lot of bass soloing from Bruce that sounds like a fishing expedition. The 16+ minute version of "Toad" is about what you'd expect, with Baker taking a very long drum solo break. Longer than I can usually sit and listen to.
The studio disc features quite a few gems, beginning with the hit single "White Room" (Clapton's cool wah-wah guitar matched with against Baker's pounding drums and Bruce's falsetto vocals). The instrumentation is quite varied, compared to the electric power-trio recordings most people think of (when they think of Cream). "Passing the Time" reminds me a lot of the Yardbirds (with maybe a hint of early Pink Floyd). Tracks like "As You Said" feature acoustic guitars and viola, reminiscent of XTC, or maybe the Dukes of the Stratosphere, while "Pressed Rat and Warthog" works a spoken story against a drums and trumpet background. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" features a very fuzzed Clapton guitar (which reminds me of the guitar sound featured in the band Copperhead, with John Cippolina) together with some nice acoustic strumming and piano. The Cream standard blues workouts turn up in tracks like "Sitting on Top of the World" "Politician" and "Born Under a Bad Sign" (with Clapton's guitar sounding like it did in his stint in "Tommy").
Overall I could live without the 32 minutes of "Spoonful" and "Toad", and thus a single instead of a double CD. As it is, I think the studio disc is strong enough to make this worth having.
Free Music Review: Thunder
Hit: 3 Stars
For all of Clapton's talent--and he is one of the 5 greatest guitar players of his generation, don't let anybody kid you about that--he displayed an amazing lack of ability to judge material. For all the talk of his sticking to his "blues roots" when he jumped the Yardbirds ship, the tune they argued over wasn't much different than what they'd been doing for nearly a year, and every band he landed in for several years followed basically the same recipes.
As anyone wh has seen the film of Cream's live performances or saw the band in person can testify, they were a thundering group, three manic musicians who could really set a place afire, even if they did tend to take the late-60's penchant for endless solos to new lengths. Unfortunately, the power of those performances doesn't really transfer to an audio-format: the live stuff here is ponderous, at best.
The studio stuff is wild; the production is skewed in an effort--generally successful--to bring the bass and drums forward to an even keel with guitars and vocals. It takes a little getting used to , but it's a taste worth aquiring.
I've always loved "Pressed Rat & Warthog," though I wonder how the Clapton who turned up his nose at the Yardbirds allowed himself to appear on it.
Free Music Review: cream,s wheels of fire still burn somewhat!
Hit: 3 Stars
cream,s wheels of fire although great in some spots is kind of a mixed bag.wheels of fire was released in 1968 and once again the cover art was very cool.by the time cream began recording this the band was on the fast track for a break up and by early 1969 they did.the best of it is;white room,desrted cities of the heart,those were the days,sitting on top of the world and crossroads from disc 2of a double album and disc 2 was live recordings.all in all this is very worthwhile double cd as it was cream,s last real effort in the studio and does contain some really fine tunes!! get it!!Free Music Review: Disappointed withthe sound quality.
Hit: 3 Stars
I know that this was recorded may years ago, but couldn't they have equalized the sound and mastered it with a higher sound level to really make it come alive. Of course the performance of Cream is undisputable. Had it not been for the terrible sound quality I would have given it a 4 stars. Sorry Cream fans.