It’s been 50 years since guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker came together to form Cream. In doing so they were pivotal in establishing two essential notions in the classic rock gene: the power trio and the supergroup. Their sound helped bring the blues not just into rock but pop music thanks to Top 10 hits like “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room.” The four albums they made in a mere two years together remain rock music milestones.
Now fans can own a set that includes all the music from those LPs with the release this coming Friday (5/6) of the Cream Classic Album Selection. The five CD package includes all of the music the band issued on their four original albums.
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Fresh Cream, which came out in December 1966, was a bracing combination of blues covers and original songs, and helped usher in the era of the drum solo with Baker’s workout on “Toad.” Disraeli Gears, which came out nearly a year later, found the threesome melding blues-rock with psychedelia to create one of the monumental rock albums of the late 1960s. It rocketed Cream to superstar stature.
Wheels of Fire, which was released in August ’68, was a double LP set that allowed the band to showcase their virtuosity, especially on its second disc of four live tracks that had been recorded at Winterland and the Fillmore West in San Francisco. It was the first double album – still something of a novelty at the time – to be certified platinum for sales of one million copies. Goodbye, the group’s swan song, contained both studio and live tracks, including the song “Badge” that became a Clapton standard and featured George Harrison, who co-wrote the song, on rhythm guitar.
Cream’s legend continued to build in the years following their break-up. The band reunited in 1993 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and again in 2005 for shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall and New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Over time they’ve sold 15 million albums and are enshrined in the pantheon of rock music legends.
