Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Cream was a band born to the stage, a fact that the band and their record label realized the public fully understood by the number one U.S. chart placement for Wheels of Fire, with its entire live disc, and the number two chart peak for Goodbye, the posthumous release that was dominated by concert recordings. And in response to those success, we got Live Cream, Vol. 1 (originally known simply as Live Cream) in the spring of 1970, nearly 18 months after the trio's breakup. This could well be their most consistently brilliant album for sheer musicianship, though it is also a peculiar one on a couple of counts, some of which probably prevented it from reaching quite as wide an audience as it might have otherwise. Released in April 1970 and derived from tapes made at three May 1968 California shows, all of the live tracks here consist of songs originally featured on the group's least ambitious and most rudimentary album, Fresh Cream, dating from 1966 -- and as it happens, there's not a hit represented among the five songs, a fact that probably made this release seem more appealing to hardcore fans than to casual and curious listeners (who didn't know what they were missing). The performances here show how far the group had come in the nearly two years since laying down the studio originals -- take side one of the original LP, where they stretch out their playing, as well as boost it to new levels of intensity, on "N.S.U." and "Sleepy Time Time," so that the renditions here are the definitive ones, and by themselves should have made this album an essential acquisition back in 1970. But that brings us to the original side two and the 15-minute rendition of "Sweet Wine," an excursion by all three players that is worth the quarter-hour time commitment of the listener. The live portion of the album ends with their searing, rollicking high energy rendition of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'." And then, for reasons not clear -- except perhaps simply that it was there, in the vaults, and seemed like a valuable piece of property, which it was (and what else were they going to do with it?) -- the producers close Live Cream with a studio cut, "Lawdy Mama," an Eric Clapton-inspired take on a traditional tune that subsequently evolved into the hit "Strange Brew" during what became the Disraeli Gears sessions. It's not a match for everything we've heard, but in the spring of 1970 no one was exactly complaining over being handed a previously unissued studio track by the Cream, as a bonus to the concert performances here. As it turned out, there were more live tracks from some of these same shows to draw on in future releases and reissues, which would include a couple of the group's hits; but Live Cream offers the overall highest quality, both in terms of clarity and fidelity, and the performances, which, in addition to the essential great playing (better in some ways than what was heard on some of the much-vaunted live tracks from Wheels of Fire), include excellent vocalizing by Clapton and Jack Bruce. Not that vocalizing looms that large here -- the live tracks are all given extended jazz-based treatment, and the dialog among the three musicians as the jams develop is fascinating. Foreground and background seem to dissolve as all three musicians take charge, using the full range of their instruments. And where Bruce goes with his bass, especially on "Sweet Wine," is every bit as rewarding as the places that Clapton's guitar takes us; and Ginger Baker's playing is a trip all its own. Performances like this single-handedly raised the stakes of musicianship in rock.
© Rob Bowman & Bruce Eder /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12.49€/month
Eric Clapton, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Felix Pappalardi, Producer - TOM DOWD, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Adrian Barber, Recording Engineer, Remix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Cream, MainArtist - Ginger Baker, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - BILL HALVERSON, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1970 Universal International Music B.V.
Eric Clapton, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Felix Pappalardi, Producer - TOM DOWD, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Adrian Barber, Recording Engineer, Remix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Janet Godfrey, ComposerLyricist - Cream, MainArtist - Ginger Baker, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - BILL HALVERSON, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1970 Universal International Music B.V.
Eric Clapton, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Felix Pappalardi, Producer - TOM DOWD, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Adrian Barber, Recording Engineer, Remix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Janet Godfrey, ComposerLyricist - Cream, MainArtist - Ginger Baker, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - BILL HALVERSON, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1970 Universal International Music B.V.
Eric Clapton, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Felix Pappalardi, Producer - TOM DOWD, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Adrian Barber, Recording Engineer, Remix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - McKinley Morganfield, ComposerLyricist - Cream, MainArtist - Ginger Baker, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - BILL HALVERSON, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1970 Universal International Music B.V.
Eric Clapton, Arranger, Guitar, Vocals, Work Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - AHMET ERTEGUN, Producer - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - TOM DOWD, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Adrian Barber, Recording Engineer, Remix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Cream, MainArtist - Ginger Baker, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Stigwood, Producer - BILL HALVERSON, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1970 Universal International Music B.V.
Album review
Cream was a band born to the stage, a fact that the band and their record label realized the public fully understood by the number one U.S. chart placement for Wheels of Fire, with its entire live disc, and the number two chart peak for Goodbye, the posthumous release that was dominated by concert recordings. And in response to those success, we got Live Cream, Vol. 1 (originally known simply as Live Cream) in the spring of 1970, nearly 18 months after the trio's breakup. This could well be their most consistently brilliant album for sheer musicianship, though it is also a peculiar one on a couple of counts, some of which probably prevented it from reaching quite as wide an audience as it might have otherwise. Released in April 1970 and derived from tapes made at three May 1968 California shows, all of the live tracks here consist of songs originally featured on the group's least ambitious and most rudimentary album, Fresh Cream, dating from 1966 -- and as it happens, there's not a hit represented among the five songs, a fact that probably made this release seem more appealing to hardcore fans than to casual and curious listeners (who didn't know what they were missing). The performances here show how far the group had come in the nearly two years since laying down the studio originals -- take side one of the original LP, where they stretch out their playing, as well as boost it to new levels of intensity, on "N.S.U." and "Sleepy Time Time," so that the renditions here are the definitive ones, and by themselves should have made this album an essential acquisition back in 1970. But that brings us to the original side two and the 15-minute rendition of "Sweet Wine," an excursion by all three players that is worth the quarter-hour time commitment of the listener. The live portion of the album ends with their searing, rollicking high energy rendition of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'." And then, for reasons not clear -- except perhaps simply that it was there, in the vaults, and seemed like a valuable piece of property, which it was (and what else were they going to do with it?) -- the producers close Live Cream with a studio cut, "Lawdy Mama," an Eric Clapton-inspired take on a traditional tune that subsequently evolved into the hit "Strange Brew" during what became the Disraeli Gears sessions. It's not a match for everything we've heard, but in the spring of 1970 no one was exactly complaining over being handed a previously unissued studio track by the Cream, as a bonus to the concert performances here. As it turned out, there were more live tracks from some of these same shows to draw on in future releases and reissues, which would include a couple of the group's hits; but Live Cream offers the overall highest quality, both in terms of clarity and fidelity, and the performances, which, in addition to the essential great playing (better in some ways than what was heard on some of the much-vaunted live tracks from Wheels of Fire), include excellent vocalizing by Clapton and Jack Bruce. Not that vocalizing looms that large here -- the live tracks are all given extended jazz-based treatment, and the dialog among the three musicians as the jams develop is fascinating. Foreground and background seem to dissolve as all three musicians take charge, using the full range of their instruments. And where Bruce goes with his bass, especially on "Sweet Wine," is every bit as rewarding as the places that Clapton's guitar takes us; and Ginger Baker's playing is a trip all its own. Performances like this single-handedly raised the stakes of musicianship in rock.
© Rob Bowman & Bruce Eder /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 5 track(s)
- Total length: 00:41:57
- Main artists: Cream
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: UMC (Universal Music Catalogue)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 1970 Universal International Music B.V. ℗ 1970 Universal International Music B.V.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.