News

Cream 1966-1972 Vinyl Box Set Due

8 Nov 14

On 24 November in the UK and 15 December in North America, Universal Music Enterprises will release Cream 1966-1972, presenting the band’s six studio and live LPs in a vinyl box set. Each LP will have exact reproductions of original artwork to retain authenticity and will be pressed in 180-gram heavyweight audiophile vinyl packaged inside a rigid slipcase box.

The British supergroup 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 burgeoning 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.

The group soon evolved further creating a trademark approach built around each musician’s virtuoso playing. Their live performances soon became renowned for lengthy improvisational pieces based on traditional blues structures such as ‘Crossroads’ and ‘Spoonful,’ modern blues such as ‘Born Under A Bad Sign,’ and their own songs such as ‘White Room’ and Ginger Baker’s powerhouse showcase ‘Toad.’

Cream’s debut album, Fresh Cream, set the tone for group’s inventive mix of blues standards and more eccentric original material and reached No. 6 in the UK album charts. It offered a unique blend of blues – Robert Johnson’s ‘Four Until Late’ and Skip James’ ‘I’m So Glad’ – inventive originals such as ‘Dreaming’ and the showcase, near-instrumental ‘Cat’s Squirrel.’

In late 1967, Cream released the follow-up 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.

Non-stop touring soon saw Cream break through in America where Wheels of Fire, released in August 1968, topped the US charts for a month and was the world’s first platinum-selling double album. It comprised one album ‘in the studio’ – including the Jack Bruce and Pete Brown penned classics ‘White Room’ and ‘Politician’ – while the other side was recorded at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, highlighted by expansive readings of ‘Crossroads’ and ‘Spoonful.’

By the end of 1968, however, Cream had disbanded after less than two and a half years during which time they set new standards in rock musicianship and generally raised the bar for rock music as a credible and critical form. The band bowed out with a US Farewell Tour in October and November and two final shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 26 November 1968.

The group’s post-breakup album, Goodbye, was released the following March. Like it’s predecessor, it mixed live and studio recordings and featured the hit single ‘Badge’ written by Clapton and George Harrison, who played rhythm guitar under the name L’Angelo Misterioso.

Two further live albums Live Cream and Live Cream Volume II followed in 1970 and 1972, both recorded on tour in America during 1967 and 1968. Live Cream also included the unreleased studio cut ‘Lawdy Mama’ recorded in May 1967 during the Disraeli Gears sessions.

Cream was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2005, Clapton, Baker and Bruce reunited for a series of concerts in London and New York CIty. In 2006, they received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of their contribution to, and influence, on, modern music.

Click here to pre-Order Cream 1966-1972 from Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
Click here to pre-Order Cream 1966-1972 from Amazon.com (North America)
Click here to pre-Order Cream 1966-1972 from Amazon.jp (Japan)

LP1: Fresh Cream (1966)
A1 N.S.U.
A2 Sleepy Time Time
A3 Dreaming
A4 Sweet Wine
A5 Spoonful
B1 Cat’s Squirrel
B2 Four Until Late
B3 Rollin’ And Tumblin’
B4 I’m So Glad
B5 Toad

LP2: Disraeli Gears (1967)
A1 Strange Brew
A2 Sunshine Of Your Love
A3 World Of Pain
A4 Dance The Night Away
A5 Blue Condition
B1 Tales Of Brave Ulysses
B2 SWLABR
B3 We’re Going Wrong
B4 Outside Woman Blues
B5 Take It Back
B6 Mother’s Lament

LP3: Wheels Of Fire (1968)
A1 White Room
A2 Sitting On Top Of The World
A3 Passing The Time
A4 As You Said
B1 Pressed Rat And Warthog
B2 Politician
B3 Those Were The Days
B4 Born Under A Bad Sign
B5 Deserted Cities Of The Heart
C1 Crossroads – Live At The Fillmore
C2 Spoonful – Live At The Fillmore
D1 Traintime – Live At The Fillmore
D2 Toad – Live At The Fillmore

LP4: Goodbye (1969)
A1 I’m So Glad
A2 Politician
B1 Sitting On Top Of The World
B2 Badge
B3 Doing That Scrapyard Thing
B4 What A Bringdown

LP5: Live Cream (1970)
A1 N.S.U.
A2 Sleepy Time Time
A3 Lawdy Mama
B1 Sweet Wine
B2 Rollin’ And Tumblin’

LP6: Live Cream Volume II (1972)
A1 Deserted Cities Of The Heart
A2 White Room
A3 Politician
A4 Tales Of Brave Ulysses
B1 Sunshine Of Your Love
B2 Steppin’ Out