The British rock supergroup Cream was formed in 1966, and consisted of bassist/singer Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and guitarist/singer Eric Clapton. Their sound was characterized by a hybrid of blues rock, hard rock and bourgeoning psychedelic rock, combining imaginative lyrics, often written by poet Pete Brown, Eric Clapton's innovative blues guitar playing, Jack Bruce's operatic voice and fluid bass playing and Ginger Baker's jazz-influenced drumming.
Before the end of 1967, Cream released their second album, Disraeli Gears, its distinctive Day-Glo psychedelic cover designed by underground illustrator Martin Sharp. Recorded in May in New York during their first American tour, it includes landmark songs such as ‘Strange Brew’, the melodic but heavy-riffing ‘Sunshine of your Love’ and more surrealistic, wah-wah drenched ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’; in all a brilliant, textured, multi-dubbed sound that went beyond blues.
- 180gm heavyweight vinyl and includes MP3 download voucher
Review
“Cream teamed up with producer Felix Pappalardi for their second album,
Disraeli Gears, a move that helped push the power trio toward psychedelia and
also helped give the album a thematic coherence missing from the debut. This, of
course, means that Cream get further away from the pure blues improvisatory
troupe they were intended to be, but it does get them to be who they truly are:
a massive, innovative power trio. The blues still courses throughout Disraeli
Gears – the swirling kaleidoscopic "Strange Brew” is built upon a riff
lifted from Albert King – but it's filtered into saturated colors, as it is
on “Sunshine of Your Love,” or it's slowed down and blurred out, as it is
on the ominous murk of “Tales of Brave Ulysses.” It's a pure psychedelic
move that's spurred along by Jack Bruce's flourishing collaboration with Pete
Brown. Together, this pair steers the album away from recycled blues-rock and
toward its eccentric British core, for with the fuzzy freakout “Swlabr,” the
music hall flourishes of “Dance the Night Away,” the swinging “Take It
Back,” and of course, the old music hall song “Mother's Lament,” this is
a very British record. Even so, this crossed the ocean and also became a major
hit in America, because regardless of how whimsical certain segments are, Cream
are still a heavy rock trio and Disraeli Gears is a quintessential heavy rock
album of the '60s. Yes, its psychedelic trappings tie it forever to 1967, but
the imagination of the arrangements, the strength of the compositions, and
especially the force of the musicianship make this album transcend its time as
well." S T Erlewine – Allmusic.com