REPOST: Cream - Live Cream (1970) and Live Cream Volume II (1972)

(U.K 1966–1969)
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Cream were a 1960s British blues-rock band and supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Their sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues, hard rock and psychedelic rock, combining Clapton's blues guitar playing with the powerful voice and intense bass lines of Jack Bruce and the jazz-influenced drumming of Ginger Baker.
It's hard to know where to start when talking about Cream. In 1966, Eric Clapton was widely considered one of the best guitar players in rock 'n' roll, and after he left the Yardbirds, he got hooked up with Ginger Baker, a phenomenal drummer himself. After the two jammed together, Baker asked Clapton if he wanted to form a new group; Clapton agreed, but only on the condition that bassist Jack Bruce—who he had played with in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Powerhouse—be brought on board.
With Bruce in the fold, the group hit the studio in July of 1966, and their debut, Fresh Cream, was released in December of that year. Though it was not an automatic commercial smash, it features some of the most beloved rock songs ever recorded, including "I Feel Free," "Spoonful," and "I'm So Glad." Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the 101st best album of all time.

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For their follow-up, they dialled back the blues a bit and went for a more psychedelic approach. And it worked. Disraeli Gears easily outsold its predecessor, and it helped Cream book its place in the pantheon of rock's greatest bands. With tracks like "Sunshine of Your Love," the trio also conquered America, hitting No. 4 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Sadly, Cream would only release two more albums, 1968's Wheels of Fire and 1969's phenomenal swan song, the aptly named, Goodbye. Though Goodbye only featured four new studio recordings, one of them, "Badge"—a song that Clapton wrote with George Harrison (who's wife, Pattie Boyd, Clapton famously went on to marry)—is one of the group's finest songs.
Like so many great artists from the era, their run was too short. Internal turmoil between the members, especially between Bruce and Baker, led to the group splitting up in May of 1968. But lucky for us, it was a hell of a prolific three years.

Live Cream (1970)
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Live Cream (Vol 1) is a live compilation album by Cream released in 1970. This album is comprised of four live tracks recorded in 1968 at Winterland and The Fillmore, and one studio track "Lawdy Mama" from 1967, recorded during the Disraeli Gears sessions. The instrumental track for "Lawdy Mama" is the same chord progression as heard on "Strange Brew" with a different vocal and guitar solo by Eric Clapton.

My first experience with hearing Cream was when my brother bought this live recording and played it at full volume one Saturday afternoon when our parents were out. Needless to say, I was totally blown away by the heavy bluesy music I was hearing and on many occasions after this 'initiation by fire' I borrowed his album to play in my room, with the headphones on. I eventually bought the LP off him (and purchased Live Vol 2) and still play both today - some 50 years later !

This NEW RIP was taken from my vinyl in FLAC format and includes full album artwork along with label scans and select pictures taken from the 1968 Winterland Concerts. 
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Track Listing

01 - N.S.U. (March 10 1968, Winterland, San Francisco)
02 - Sleepy Time Time (March 9 1968, Winterland, San Francisco)
03 - Sweet Wine (March 10 1968, Winterland, San Francisco)
04 - Rollin' and Tumblin' (March 7 1968, The Fillmore, San Francisco)
05 - Lawdy Mama (Studio Recording from Disraeli Gears sessions, 1967)
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Band members:
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Jack Bruce - bass, vocals, harmonica
Ginger Baker - drums

Cream Link (250Mb) New Link 25/06/2021

Live Cream Volume II (1972)

Live Cream Volume II is the second live album by the British rock band Cream, released in March 1972 by Polydor Records (ATCO Records in the US). This album contains six tracks recorded at various performances from 9th March to 4th October 1968.

Album Review
(Review by Chicapah)

Cream’s astonishing popularity took a long time to wane. Three years after their “Goodbye” album served as their official headstone and epitaph, demand for their music was still running unbelievably high so in March of 1972 ATCO assembled yet another collection of in-concert recordings and put it on the market. It promptly rose to #27 on the LP chart, proving once again that the public, usually possessing a very short memory, couldn’t seem to get Eric, Jack and Ginger out of their minds and that’s another telling testimony to what an indelible impression this threesome made on civilised culture in their two and a half years together. They were able to bring the basic concept of jazz improvisation into the volatile world of rock & roll more efficiently than most any other group of that era and that trait is never found to be as evident as it is in their live performances that were, thankfully, captured and preserved.

Live at Winterland

One contrast between this one and the first “Live Cream” album (released almost two years earlier) is that all of the recordings on that disc happened before they’d decided to disband in mid-’68. On “Volume II” half of them were taped in October of that year so it’s my opinion that the first three cuts reflect a lame duck band that was, to some extent, dutifully fulfilling their contracted obligations and had no long-term aspirations or a pressing need to impress their audience. I’m not accusing them of mailing it in, I’m just convinced that, human nature being what it is, there’s a notable difference in the energy being generated in that half of the numbers. It’s no secret that Bruce and Baker weren’t even speaking to each other after they’d opted to call it quits so it stands to reason that those two weren’t exactly focused on providing the tight rhythms that can be heard on the live cuts contained on “Wheels of Fire,” for example.

The disc opens with the three weakest tunes, recorded in the fall of ’68 at an arena in Oakland towards the end of their final American tour. Jack’s “Deserted Cities of the Heart” starts things off and, while the studio version (one of my favourite songs on “Wheels of Fire,” by the way) has an exceptional amount of drive pushing it there’s also a tactfulness involved that gives it a cool personality. On stage it turned into a virtual steamroller that lacked any semblance of dynamics. With the exception of the brief jazzy interludes there’s not much finesse to be detected, just an all-out assault on the gathered throng’s ears. 

At this point in their career the crowds that bought the tickets justifiably expected to hear the band’s big hits recreated for them and few tunes were more in demand than the radio staple, “White Room.” They provide a bland but decent rendition of the song and Bruce takes some interesting vocal liberties with the melody line but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. The blend of guitars and drums in particular seems to undulate erratically and it detracts from the impact the recording may have had. Jack’s “Politician” is next, one of my top five Cream numbers due to its creative meld of blues and rock. It gives Clapton a chance to riff all over the place in the spaces between Bruce’s snarky vocal lines and he does a swell job here but I prefer both the original studio take and the exhilarating in-concert rendition included on “Goodbye” to this one simply because they’re both more cohesive and powerful.

The last three cuts were taped pre-dissolution in March of that same year at the Winterland in San Francisco and the difference their still-striving-to-please attitude makes is striking. Eric’s iconic “Tales of Brave Ulysses” from “Disraeli Gears” is performed with gusto. They play a deliciously heavy-handed version and it shows the dramatic presence they regularly projected from the stage into their audiences, especially when you hear them improvise freely as they do toward the end of the number. Whereas the earlier “White Room” is practically devoid of excitement, their performance of their signature song, “Sunshine of Your Love,” is electrifying in comparison. It’s a faithful rendition of the tune structurally but Eric tricks it up a bit by abandoning his well-known guitar solo and taking off on a more spontaneous tear in the middle. The elongated wall of sound ending is immensely intense and galvanising. These guys could knock down stone fortifications with their collective fury. But the best, because it’s the most authentic, is saved for last.

 Their almost 14-minute cover of James Bracken’s blues instrumental, “Steppin’ Out” (not "Hideaway" as the cover credits it) contains everything that made Cream so worthy to be included in any discussion of the evolution of jazz/rock music in the 60s. No doubt, this song was intended to be a time-filler that would allow the acknowledged guitar God Clapton to stretch his wings and give the folks what they came to witness. It begins as a spirited jam but after a while both Jack and Ginger drop out as Eric continues to shred his fretboard unabated as if he was oblivious to whether the other two members were backing him or not. It’s here that you get a chance to realise what a spontaneous and utterly melodic guitarist he was. Baker slowly eases back in behind him and commences to embellish and enhance every lick that Clapton unleashes from that moment on, resulting in some of the most spectacular and aggressive off-the-cuff vamping you’ll ever experience. It’s jaw-dropping good stuff.

Live At Winterland

It’s hard to convey to the younger generations the enormous influence that bands like The Beatles, Stones, Who and Cream had on those of us who came of age in the 60s and how important they were to our well-being. We took bands like this VERY seriously. When this trio broke up it was a tragedy on par with the assassination of JFK and it took us years to get over it. Perhaps albums like “Live Cream, Vol. II” will give you hints as to why we adored them so. On stage they created magic out of thin air and took us on journeys that stimulated and fed our passion for music that knew no restrictions or boundaries. While this album is inferior to its predecessor, there’s still enough in its grooves to make it worth your while.

This NEW RIP was taken from my vinyl in FLAC format and includes full album artwork along with label scans and select pictures taken from the 1968 Winterland Concerts. 
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Track listing

01 - Deserted Cities of the Heart (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) – 4.33

02 - White Room (Bruce, Brown) – 5.40

03 - Politician (Bruce, Brown) – 5.08

04  - Tales of Brave Ulysses (Eric Clapton, Martin Sharp) – 4.46

05 - Sunshine of Your Love (Clapton, Bruce, Brown) – 7.25

06 - Steppin' Out (James Bracken) – 13.38 (Mistitled as "Hideaway" on original LP pressings)

Side 2, tracks 1 & 2 recorded 9 March 1968 at the Winterland, San Francisco

Side 1, track 4 recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland, San Francisco

Side 1, tracks 1, 2 & 3 recorded 4 October 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA.

Eric Clapton – vocals, guitar

Jack Bruce – vocals, bass, harmonica

Ginger Baker – drums

Felix Pappalardi – producer

Live Cream Vol 2  (272Mb)  New Link 25/06/2021