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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"First Impressions of Cream" |
07.20.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
It’s that time again. About once a month I’ll dig into my brain and see what’s not there. By that I mean I look for information gaps about bands. I figure out bands that I’ve seen the name of a million times or know has a big fan base or that is held in high regards. No one can listen to everything and we all miss out on something. This is my chance to go back and fix that. I try to find bands with four to six albums in their complete studio discography that I’m not familiar with. Then I sit down with headphones on and take it all in with an open mind. Sometimes it sucks listen to every song recorded by bands like Kings of Leon, Portishead, and Rise Against. But there are always those instances when I expose myself to Simon and Garfunkel, The Smiths, The Stooges, and others. It’s a crap shoot, really. I am always optimistic going in, but depending on how I take to certain albums it can get messy or turn into a fluff piece. No matter what I am honest.
Why CREAM?
Why NOT Cream? I’ve listened to a lot of music in my life. I’ve been open minded to pretty much everything. Still, I’ve come to the conclusion that I like my rock and roll with a stronger blues and jazz fusion than not. It gives the bangings of the drum, plucks of the guitar, and tone of the voice a much needed soul. This said, I’m a long time Eric Clapton fan. Obviously I’m not a real “die hard” or I’d have known my Cream discography by now. Still, I’ve always enjoyed his work. I’m a big fan of “Layla”, “Cocaine”, the MTV Unplugged set he did, and pretty much anything I’ve heard or seen of his. I know there’s a good chunk of his work on the radio in constant rotation, but I’m willing to bet there are some great tunes hidden in his back catalogue. I know I’ve heard some Cream songs before. I just probably didn’t know they were Cream songs. That’s the confusing thing about Clapton. He was a part of so many projects that his greatest hits are scattered. Today I’ll at least be able to know which of his songs were by Cream. I know this is going to rock, so let’s just get into it…
Fresh Cream
(1966 – 41 minutes) - Holy shit. The open track is one I know. I’ve heard “I Feel Free” plenty of times in my life, but had no idea it was Cream. That opening bounce is sorta universal. "N.S.U.", a song about an STD, is a nice one. The vocals are weird though. Too gaspy. That’s really hard to say anyway. It’s a cool song, but I had to find something. I’m a big fan of the bluesy thing going on in "Sleepy Time Time". It’s not a stand out track, but it’s not one I’m rushing to be over. "Dreaming" comes and goes. It’s not bad by any stretch, it just didn’t hook me. I think I’ve heard "Sweet Wine" before. It’s a solid track and the guitar work in it is greatness. You can tell that "Spoonful" is a single quality tune just by the opening riff. It’s a Willie Dixon cover so you can expect as much. Next up is a jammed out instrumental track, "Cat's Squirrel". Good jam session track. I don’t know what the hell is going on with "Four Until Late". It’s weird. First, I instantly notice its Clapton vocals. It turns out this is an old school Robert Johnson cover. By the time I start enjoying it, it’s over at 2:10. No fair. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" blasts offs. It doesn’t start or fade in, this tune just blasts right the hell off. It’s a Muddy Waters cover. It’s amazing, but doesn’t quite grab me enough to want to run the streets screaming its praise. Jack Bruce tears it up on the harmonica. I think I’ve heard "I'm So Glad", a cover of a Skip James tune. It’s solid. The album wraps up with "Toad", an instrumental. This is all about Ginger Baker. He puts on a drumming clinic that’s left me pretty awe struck. Wow. If you have any appreciation for drums listen to this track right now. Overall, this album was really damn good. It’s not the best album I’ve ever heard or anything, but a solid as hell debut. My only gripe is the amount of covers. I like covers, but a large percentage of this album was rendition work. They have great taste in what to cover, but these guys are insanely talented and I’d have liked to have gotten some more of themselves out there. It’s weird saying that thirty five years after the fact…
Disraeli Gears
(1967 – 34 minutes) - I have ears so of course I have heard "Strange Brew". It’s hard not to nod your head along to this song. It’s one of those classic rock songs that surpass any “old people music” stigmas. The same exact thing can be said for "Sunshine of Your Love". It’s a song that anyone who has actively listened to rock and roll in their life time should know. That riff is still insanely cool. I wanted to make fun of the repetitive talk of a tree at the beginning, but I ended up really enjoying "World of Pain". There is a certain throb to the distortion and settle funkiness to this song. It’s obviously hard to explain, but I like it. "Dance the Night Away" keeps the awesomeness coming. The groove is cool, the droney vocals are trippy, and the layers of music in this song are impressive. I am lost with "Blue Condition". I can see the fun in its weird swaying novelty, but it feels like filler after the four solid tracks that came before it. I have heard "Tales of Brave Ulysses", but I consider this my first real listen. The song is pretty epic, no pun intended for those who get the reference. It’s a cool song, but it’s not something that hooks me in. I’m still in awe of the first few songs on this one. The song seems a little silly, but the guitars on "SWLABR" are great. The weird haunting drums that start off "We're Going Wrong" were cool. The song eventually builds up nothing. It’s more silly than trippy. A cover, "Outside Woman Blues", is a solid tune. You can hear each instrumental clearly. I know that’s what most songs sound like, but on this it’s way more prominent. It’s one of those “you have to hear this on headphones to get it” things, I suppose. However you want to describe it, it definitely sticks with you. "Take It Back" turns out to be a good and gritty blues rock track. The album closes out with "Mother's Lament". The three band members sing a song together. They sound like they’re drunk and having a great time. It’s not my cup of tea. I really dug the first four tracks, “Outside Woman Blues”, and “Take It Back” most on this album. It’s a great work though. It’s better than the first and I can see myself listening to it again in the future.
Wheels of Fire
(1968 – 81 minutes) - This unique third album starts off with a song I think we all know. I’m sure this has to be the band’s biggest hit. Yep, I’m talking about "White Room". I jokingly try to convince people that the opening lyrics are about me being “in a white room… with black curtains… in LAKE STATION(hometown)”. Yeah, I’m a nerd. This song is wonderful. I like the fun riff at the start of "Sitting on Top of the World". It quickly turns into a brooding soul jam. The opening of "Passing the Time" is interesting. It sorta drones with an up tempo. It changes up and goes into what sounds like a lullaby. It then changes into a weird as hell psychedelic rock out before fading back into calmness. Strange song. "As You Said" is nothing like I’ve heard before. The musical arrangement and vocal delivery is almost too much to handle, yet beautiful at the same time. I’m going to have to listen to this song a few more times. Really before it’s time awesomeness. "Pressed Rat and Warthog" is too lame for me. It’s “spoken word” beatnik type of poetry rock. It’s “folk music” for sure, but it feels like a bad kids song to me. The swanky swagger is brought back instantly with the groove that is "Politician". Awesome blues rock tune. I think it might be my favorite non-single so far. When I saw the title for "Those Were the Days" I instantly thought about “All In The Family” and got excited. It’s NOT the same song. Sorry. Instead it’s a bouncy tune about something mythical or something. Not that good. A cover, "Born Under a Bad Sign", is a great song. The first portion of this album closes out with "Deserted Cities of the Heart". I think the best way to describe it is that it’s a frantic folk song. It’s not from their blues muses for sure. Here is where I’m kind of impressed. They do something here that you just don’t see. The album is in two parts. The first part was all studio stuff and then the second portion is four live tracks recorded over a couple shows in California. First up is "Crossroads", a Robert Johnson cover. It’s a standard blues rock tune. It’s well done. Then we get another Willie Dixon cover with “Spoonful". It starts off with such a swagger that you can tell it’s going to kick your ass. It’s OVER SIXTEEN MINUTES LONG! Needless to say, these fine musicals jam the hell out. "Traintime" is fun. It starts off with harmonica playing that sorta mocks a train noise. It then goes into a full on soul tune. Basically I think this song is here specifically to showcase Jack Bruce’s harmonica playing. He’s awesome, but a 7 minute harmonica solo is a bit excessive. The album closes out with "Toad". Everything I said about Jack Bruce’s excessive harmonica solo can sort of be said here about Ginger Baker and his drumming. He is for sure a great great drummer, but this tune is OVER SIXTEEN MINUTES LONG too. Most of it was a drum solo. Was it epic? Yes. Would it have been any less epic at 7 minutes? Not at all. This album is weird. I enjoyed some songs on it a lot, but others went right past me. The whole studio and live mix was different. More bands should do that but man up enough to call it an LP instead of an EP.
Goodbye
(1969 – 34 minutes) - The last album by Cream was actually released a few months after the band broke up. They used the same formula as the last album on this one. The first three tracks are live recordings and the rest are studio drops. It starts with "I'm So Glad", the Skip James cover. It’s a really solid rendition. The band is obviously on their A-game here. One of my favorites from the last album was "Politician", and here it appears again. It’s looser than the original, which I’m not sure works in the same impact. The bluesy sway of "Sitting on Top of the World" is solid. "Badge" is next. This song was written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison, the dude from The Beatles. I can’t get into it. It sounds like elevator pop blues. The guitar work in the middle redeems it a few points with me. Things get a little cheesy with "Doing That Scrapyard Thing". It’s not good. Avoid this song at all costs. "What a Bringdown" is better, but not by much. Yikes. These past couple songs were weak sauce. I assumed that I’d hate "Anyone For Tennis" based on the title, but it’s a solid down tempo closer. I don’t know what happened here. The live tracks are good, but the rest is pretty much the worst of their worst.
THE VERDICT
(1966 – 1969) - Wow. What I liked I loved and what I didn’t like I hated. The bluesier rock stuff was almost always great, but then once they got a little too tongue-in-cheek and cheesy for my liking. They were definitely ahead of their time with some of the tunes they put out. All of the members carried their own weight. Clapton is the most famous of the bunch, but Jack Bruce is a strong singer and a great harmonica player. Ginger Baker IS one of the best drummers of all time. This band was never meant to last. The egos and personalities just seemed too strong to be able to live on for too long. I appreciate the few albums we managed to get out of them. I’ll definitely listen to more of them in the future but most of all it was a bit of a history lesson for me.
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