I Feel Free: Ultimate Cream

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Cream

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It's hard to know what to say about Cream that hasn't already been said a million times, folks. What this very good compilation does is to remind us just how varied they were in their approach, ability and style. Having just lived through the non-stop roaring of Fall Out Boy live (yes, folks, you cannot judge 'em if you don't listen to 'em), I was almost begging for something like Wrapping Paper by the end, so numb were my ears and every other part of my anatomy that hadn't been actually cauterised by the wall of noise. And Cream were not exactly shrinking violets live, either, with Marshall stacks about the size of a small semi in Ruislip and secret weapon Ginge in the background. What is missing nowadays is the light and shade, the variety, the colour, the little details that make music of any hue lasting and even meaningful.

Almost every track here is worth a good listen and some of them are legendary. The live Crossroads is quite rightly thought of by many as the best 4 minutes ever in world rock, and shows what made Clapton so fantastic - not his speed, not his tone, not his style but his TIMING. Ginger's drumming in White Room is just out of this world, as are Jack's vocals, bass and songwriting on We're going Wrong. Anyone lucky enough to have been at the Albert Hall last year will know that this song was an absolute standout. De blooze is represented by Clapton's Strange Brew, nice and understated, Albert King's Born Under a Bad Sign and Crossroads (Robert Johnson, of course, just in case you're from The Crab Nebula). There is also a fair collection of oddities too - Wrapping Paper (odd, to say the least), Anyone for Tennis and scraggs from the end of their career. Classics like I Feel Free (anyone care to rewrite that solo?), Badge and Tales of Brave Ulysses still sound magical, and God, how we all gibbered with delight at Clapton's fills in SWLABR, which still inspire.

I just love Cream. I saw them as many times as I could in the sixties and once in the 05s. They were the most fantastic band on stage and on record, and I just cannot imagine what chemistry boughyt Messrs Clapton, Bruce and Baker together at all in the first place. All this happened in not much more than two years with a crazy tourinmg schedule too - today, Salisbury, next month, America. If I had nothing else on my desert island to listen to except Crossroads, White Room and We're going Wrong, I would be quite happy. I think that Ginger was and is the best rock crossover drummer ever, anywhere.

Now, if you haven't already done so, buy Chris Welch's fabulous book CREAM (Amazon have it), a real labour of love beautifully produced, and the Albert Hall concert from 2005. That should keep you busy for a weekend or two. Pray for rain or that the lawn mower explodes. Nothing should disturb Cream in full cry.