But these are just minor complaints. Side one is great, with lots of decently catchy melodies filled with powerhouse drumming, pulsating bass and Eric's ever-present guitar. "I Feel Free" is one of the great pop classics of the mid-60's, and who can resist that 'ba ba ba buh buh ba' vocal groove in the opening? "N.S.U." is slightly primitive lyrically, but the solo makes it all worthwhile. "Sleepy Time Time" is a solid example of vintage blues-pop, "Dreaming" recreates the idea of, well, dreaming, and "Sweet Wine" has yet another fairly interesting melody with a fantastic jam in the middle (I just love the initial sound Eric gets from his guitar when the jamming begins).

Now, side two doesn't quite match up, but it's still quite good. The main complaint I have is with the stupid cover of the instrumental "Cat's Squirrel;" the main riff is dull, and the jam that accompanies isn't much better. Fortunately, they only made it three minutes long, as opposed to when Jethro Tull did theirs for well over five-and-a-half minutes on their debut. The other gripe I have is with the closing instrumental, the drum-solo "Toad." I will be the first to admit that the riff for it is solid, and also that Ginger makes the solo as interesting as he possibly can. But, alas, I will always have a bias against drum solos - I feel that they are one of the most mind-numbing ideas to come out of the epoch.

Other than that, though, things are fine. "Four Until Late" is a decent blues number, while "Rolling' and Tumblin'" is a bitchin' harmonica-driven cover of an old Muddy Waters tune. There's also the hilariously entertaining pop song "I'm So Glad," with yet another interesting Clapton solo and lyrics that basically sum up the whole vibe of the album. Which you should definitely get.

Oh, but wait, I haven't yet mentioned the best part. You see, the version I have is the US release, which only contains ten tracks as opposed to the eleven of the British. However, it also contains three bonus tracks - thank goodness, since while two of them are relative throwaways ("Wrapping Paper" and "The Coffee Song"), one of them is the best song on the whole thing. As a special present for all of the blues lovers out there, the band did a terrific cover of a classic blues number, "Spoonful." Jack's vocals occasionally get slightly annoying, but the playing is stellar, as Eric rips out some of the most ferocious licks of his career here. This is what most people were expecting out of Cream, and while they should be applauded for their bravery in exploring other areas, it was very kind of them to reward the more 'down-to-earth' people.

You need this album in your collection, though not quite as badly as you need the next one.

It's not that any of the album is bad, mind you. It takes the same enjoyable formula of the debut and successfully manages to seamlessly integrate the jamming aspects with the great Bruce melodies and riffs. The problem, for me at least, is that this improved quality actually takes away from my enjoyment a bit, as strange as that might seem. The 'seams' between the melodies and solos on Fresh Cream might have been extremely patchy, but dagnabbit, that patchiness was a huge part of the album's charm. Whereas here, everything sounds ... I dunno, too polished. Not that I mind much anymore, but I still listen to Fresh more than any other of their work.

Plus, some of the songs, while not bad to my ears, are a bit on the dull side. "We're Going Wrong," for instance, still kinda bores me - not as much as before, and it has an interesting, dark mournful vibe throughout, but that doesn't completely boost it up in my ears. "Take it Back" sounds like an outtake from the first album (and not great, though good), and "Outside Woman Blues," while a solid 'traditional' blues number, is still just a (mostly) generic blues track. Of course, it has a wonderful guitar tone, one of the best generic blues tones I've heard, so that's at least something. And hey, there's also a fairly humorous groove at the end, entitled "Mother's Lament," about a thin child slipping down the bath-tub drain. One the one hand, it's absolutely 100% filler; on the other hand, it's one of the best drunken vocal performances I've ever heard, and I'll be damned if I don't like singing that sucker in the shower with an exaggerated Cockney accent.

Fortunately, the other seven tracks absolutely rule - if you want, think of this as an EP (and one of the greatest chunks of music of the late 60's). The opening 'psycho-blues' "Strange Brew" is a fantastic kickoff, with acid-drenched vocal harmonies (trippy lyrics too) led by a delightful Bruce falsetto, a neat guitar tone, and a wonderful melody. "Sunshine of Your Love" was (and is) the big hit, with one of the greatest riffs of all time accompanying the wonderful vibe that permeates the whole album. Then there's the wonderful "World of Pain," a softer but equally impressive expression of that vibe. Just like much of the rest here, the melody is bloody fantastic

The tastiest moment of all, however, and the highlight of the band's short career (in my opinion, of course), comes next in "Dance the Night Away." The melody, chorus and lyrics combine with the AWESOME guitar work of Clapton to create almost the perfect psychedelic listening experience. That trippy guitar part (especially in terms of the dreamy tone) before each run of the chorus is breathtaking, and elevates the song to unbelievable heights.

The next three songs don't quite meet the standard, but they're great nonetheless. The Baker-sung "Blue Condition" gives an aura of boredom, and this is well-demonstrated in the way Ginger sounds as if he's singing with his chin pressed against his chest. It's ok, though I can certainly see where somebody would consider it to largely bring the album down. Next, there's "Tales of Brave Ulysses," which is probably the second or third best number here. It has an eerie, descending riff, and combined with wonderful wah-wahs and the trippy lyrics that don't mean jack but sound oh so cool, it is a truly amazing song. And finally, there is "SWLABR" (She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow), which has good singing, full-out jamming power (there is absolutely no dead space in the mix), and yet another awesome riff.

So, overall, this is a very, very good album. If anything, I'd say that the most stand-out feature of this album, in retrospect, is that it's an album that (in my opinion) doesn't really dig into the listener's skin until/unless the listener takes a step back and thinks about what it is Cream are actually doing on this album and what an accomplishment it is. It's easy (and, as I now feel, a lazy copout) to just say, "Pffft, ok, it's basically a generic classic rock album that is a combination of blues, pop and psychedelia." It takes more effort (and more academic honesty, imho) to say, "Wait a second, I can't think of anybody else who had even remote success combining these three genres, much less anybody who did so with a bunch of really enjoyable melodies." Even more than being an enjoyable album, it's a fascinating album, and that's something which deserves a tip of the cap. I don't put it in the absolute highest tier of 60's rock like some do, but it comes close, and I actually find it more enjoyable than any Led Zeppelin album (though it's basically a tossup between this and their debut). No decent 1967 collection should lack this.

First of all, the studio album is fantastic. I know that some may argue with me on this point, but at times I even prefer it to Disraeli. The biggest reason for this, I think, is the change in demeanor from before - it is far murkier and more depressing, and as such provides an interesting contrast to the numbers which continue the vibe of before. The most famous of these, of course, is the amazing classic "White Room." The first few times I listened to it, I thought that the menacing chords in the beginning and that reprise themselves throughout were the product of orchestral arrangements - imagine my shock and glee when I realized that it was merely Clapton's guitar and Baker's bass drums that were producing such a great effect. It also has a fantastic vocal melody, occasionally breaking into a solid falsetto from Bruce, and contains some fantastic wah-wahs from Eric.

The rest is no slouch, though. There are a couple of fantastic blues covers here - "Sitting On Top of the World" has a terrific guitar tone courtesy of Eric's experimentation, while "Born Under a Bad Sign" contains a solid riff and more great guitar work (and the bass is fantastic - a regular thing on this album). If you want hard-rockers, they're here as well - "Politician" contains yet another amazing riff and amusing lyrics, "Those Were the Days" has some more Sinfield-esque lyrics to go with a good melody, great guitar solos and chimes, and the urgency of "Deserted Cities of the Heart" is breath-taking. It choogles along with guitars, bass, drums and violin combining in a wonderful way that cannot be adequately described in this review. Great lyrics, too.

Now, the other three tracks are what bother some people (it probably doesn't help that they're all in a row, either). First, there's "Passing the Time," with its strange alternation between soft glockenspiel and 'normal' hard-rock jamming. For me, though, both parts are equally impressive, even if they don't gel together very well. The soft part has a pretty vocal melody, while the riffs in the faster part are certainly well-constructed. In any case, next up is "As You Said," with its distorted cellos (not violins like once thought) mixing with acoustic guitars to produce a somewhat awkward effect. Strangely, though, I enjoy the heck out of it - it's menacing. It's also beautiful in its own, somewhat ugly way. Of course, you need not share this opinion, but that's why I want people to send me comments ...

The third 'culprit' is the strange, strange Baker composition "Pressed Rat and Warthog." Now, I'm not saying that it's a masterpiece, but it's easily as interesting as its predecessor, "Blue Condition." The music in the background is good, while the bizarre lyrics are so strange that they can't help but entertain me. I understand why someone would hate it, but really ...

Oh, yes, there's also a live album attached, and this is where most turn away from the album. Now, I'm not in love with everything here - the second side, I freely admit, is mind-numbing beyond words. It consists of two tracks - a seven-minute harmonica improv entitled "Traintime," and *horrors* a 16-minute "Toad." Given my feelings towards drum solos, I'll let you guess how I feel about the latter.

The first side, however, is absolutely fantastic. Everybody has heard the opener at some point - a live version of an old reworked blues number called "Crossroads," which has become a standard for Clapton's live shows. With good reason, too - besides the great drumming and bass work, Eric throws in some FANTASTIC solos and solid riffing. But, to me at least, this is nothing compared to the 17-minute rendition of "Spoonful" as done here. Jack's singing can be somewhat annoying here, but the band is tighter than ever, and the long, long guitar solo in the middle is absolutely wonderful, one of my favorite Eric passages ever. You can't even try to memorize any of it, but that's not what it's there for. I just sit there and allow myself to be kept completely adrenalized the whole time, and I don't even have to try. I know that most would strongly disagree here, but I will never grow tired of it.

So, anyways, this was Cream's last "true" album before they broke up. They had a number of posthumous releases which will be covered here, but this is still considered their swan-song. And a terrific swan-song it is. Buy it, even though it's expensive.

The main problem with the studio chunk is that, by this time, everybody in the band hated everybody else, and the effect is that the great brainstorming of the past has disappeared. The result is three tracks where the players are off by their own and not coming up with many good ideas at all. One of them, "Badge," is a great song, but you know as well as I do that the co-author, one George Harrison, was the one who actually wrote that great melody, NOT Eric Clapton. Meanwhile, Jack contributes a really stupid electric piano-driven ditty entitled "Doing That Scrapyard" Thing. It's somewhat humorous, and somewhat catchy, but you will not be glad to have it stuck in your head. And finally, Baker's "What a Bringdown" pretty much matches with its name. I can tolerate it while it's on, but put me at gunpoint and I'll never be able to tell you anything about it.

So the main appeal of the album would have to be the three live cuts that kick off the set. They're good for typical Cream jams, but there is one major problem - it's horrendously difficult to hear Eric in the mix. Bruce is incredibly high, and while I certainly appreciate his talent, when I hear a Cream jam, I want to hear Eric! Still, once you make a serious try at listening, you discover that Clapton is mostly in top form here. His speedy solos in "I'm So Glad," in particular, are stunning, and definitely worth the extra effort. Plus, there's a solid rendition of "Politician," hurt only by Jack's bad singing (the man just couldn't sing on stage), and a really terrific version of "Sitting on Top of the World." The playing is even tighter and more ferocious than in the studio, and even Jack's bad singing isn't enough to get in the way of that.

So, anyways, the album is decent, but .... if you're a diehard (ie a fan of live Cream stuff), be sure to pick it up. Otherwise, get "Badge" from one of a million other places.

If one doesn't count a studio bonus track on the CD release, a blues number (that just happens to have the same rhythm track as "Strange Brew") entitled "Lawdy Mama," this album contains a grand total of four tracks. Two of them are relatively short (seven minutes or so), while the other two easily crash through the 10-minute barrier (and in the case of "Sweet Wine," through the 15-minute barrier). Now, granted, the shorter numbers, while not bad, don't exactly improve on the originals. "Sleepytime Time" isn't much longer than it was in its studio version, while "Rollin' and Tumblin'" is nowhere near as effective as before, mainly because Jack can't properly replicate his harmonica parts.

The other two tracks, however, bring a big smile to my face. The opening "NSU" goes off like a bomb, with Eric playing absolutely spectacularly. Sometimes his playing is hard, sometimes it's just really fast, but he is always in command and keeps me going from start to finish. If one has any doubts about the worthwhile-ness of these lengthy jams, look no further than this number. Now, "Sweet Wine" isn't quite as impressive, mainly because it often seems that the band is jamming just for its own sake without really knowing what to do, but I still love it. If "NSU" was Eric's showcase, then the star here is unquestionably Bruce, and you don't know how much good bass playing can warm my heart ...

I can't really describe the songs in much more detail than this, but what else am I supposed to do when only given four songs, all of them mostly improvised? At the very least, get the album as a historical curiousity.

The album opens up strong with a solid rendition of "Deserted Cities of the Heart." The treatment is obviously harder than it was in the studio, and that only helps matters, as it's neat to hear them (among other things) replicate the violin parts with crunchy guitar. Jack's singing is even good on this track, a rare thing in his live performances. Good solo, too.

Up next are two more Wheels cuts, "White Room" and "Politician." The latter doesn't exactly make me jump and down with joy, since we already had a better live version from Goodbye, but "White Room" is terrific. The 'cosmic' aura at the beginning of the song (and reprised later) is created not by guitar, but rather by Eric and Jack singing an "aaaahhhh" part together, and the rest of the song goes off just as well as before. Of course, the ending solo is slightly too repetitive (and not long enough, dang it), but you probably won't even notice that flaw while it's on.

We then get a pair of Disraeli numbers, the first of which is the highlight of the album. The group chooses to do "Tales" at a slightly slower pace than in the original, but this actually proves beneficial - it ups the intensity even further then before, and does a good job of magnifying the original aura of the piece. And once again, there's a terrific solo by Eric to end things. What follows, though is no slouch - after turning the record over, we're greeted with the "Sunshine of Your Love" riff, and the song comes across terrifically. Bruce is sometimes annoying, but this only helps to magnify the goodness of the rest of the number (not to mention the fact that, even at this early stage, Eric had a pretty solid singing voice). The playing is simply superb, with Eric pulling out yet more fascinating solos, and the extended coda turns into yet another wonderful jam, with everybody going nuts as much as possible.

Now, what turns off some people is the closing number, a bluesy jam entitled "Steppin' Out." I dunno, I like it. It's definitely the Eric Clapton show, even more so than on the other tracks here, and if you dislike really long guitar solos, you'll be bored. Personally, though, I think Eric can't really go wrong when he's in endless guitar-wank mode; it's when he's gotten *away* from that mode that all of the big problems in his solo career have made themselves apparent, and I love listening to this passage.. If you don't, though, feel free to lower the rating of the album a point or two.

All in all, this is a fitting epigraph to this amusing 'power-trio', and probably the best introduction to the band's live sound. Get it if you suspect that you might be a Cream fan.

I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm happy that there isn't any sign of "Toad" on here, and I'm glad that when they do the mediocre "Traintime" it's only 2:50 instead of whatever irritating length it was on Wheels of Fire. But Cream as a live band was all about the spark of inspiration that would send them off into all manner of jamming sequences, with the ever-present threat that the song might not end for another ten minutes. Here, though, all the songs are kept around the same length as their studio counterparts, which means that there's not a lot of room for the instrumental breaks to go anywhere they didn't in the studio. And since the other half of the equation, the actual melodies and other "main song parts" of Cream's tracks, doesn't really have any chance to change either (maybe there's slight differences in intensity or whatever, but not significant reworkings), it's tough to see what there is about these tracks that would make me put them on instead of the originals.

Ok, I'll give; "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is slightly eerier here than in its original version. Whee.

Anyway, this gets a relatively high grade for such an essentially useless album, as I do enjoy it when it's on. And hey, it has about half of Cream's entire catalogue on one disc, so that could make it worth buying. I guess. Don't pay through the nose for this, though.

Anyway, one thing this is clearly not is a return to the exact style and approach that had made Cream so infamous once upon a time. The band doesn't completely avoid the chance to stretch out a bit, but there's nowhere near the reckless abandon that came from the band once upon a time in its live shows. Plus, Clapton sticks with his Fender, not returning to the Gibson of old, and both Bruce and Baker settle more into 'support' roles for Clapton (who is clearly the star of the show overall) than they ever did in the day. Fortunately, the band members do a darn good job of working in their revamped roles, and the performance is quite enjoyable for what it is. When they start jamming, however briefly, Clapton often flashes styles of playing that he probably hadn't thought about since '68, and when the band decides to plow straight ahead in 4/4 mode, they sometimes just f#.*&ing rock (like in "N.S.U.").

There are actually quite a decent number of surprises for a reunion concert, too. No, they don't do "Dance the Night Away" (that would have made me soooooooooooooo happy), but as shocking as that would have been, it still doesn't match the immense "HUH??!" reaction from hearing them do a faithful rendition of "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (complete with recitation from Ginger Baker). We get to hear a short and snappy "Badge" (never done live by the band before), a rather moving "We're Going Wrong" (Eric actually returns to his psychedelic roots!), a slow blues number ("Stormy Monday," also never done by the band before) that provides a showcase for Eric at his best, and a rendition of "Deserted Cities of the Heart" that's certainly not worse than the good version on Live Cream Volume 2, along with all the various expected standards. Which, by the way, include "Toad." Yes, it's still a stupid drum solo, but it's a drum solo done by a guy in his mid-60's with arthritis! It sounds no different than it ever did, but that actually works in its favor this time around, strange as it may sound.

This is certainly not an essential live album for the average music listener, but it's certainly a danged novel experience for somebody who likes Cream in general, and I'd definitely recommend it for any Cream fan. Everybody's old, but everybody's solid, and that should be enough.