Fresh Cream [Remastered] - Cream

Unsurprisingly, following their recent reformation after several decades for a string of live dates at the Royal Albert Hall, there's been a jug full of new Cream product, from CD compilations to DVDs to biographies. Just to be contrary I thought I'd go right back to 1966 and their very first album.

If there's anyone on the planet who doesn't know who Cream were/are...well, they were dubbed Rock's first "Super Group", which ...
...forces. In truth though, at the time, only guitarist Eric Clapton could really be described as anything approaching a "star", following his stints with The Yardbirds, who he quit because he didn't like their pop direction, and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, with whom he earned the appellation "God".
Meanwhile drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce were knocking lumps out of each other in the respected, but not widely ... more

Unsurprisingly, following their recent reformation after several decades for a string of live dates at the Royal Albert Hall, there's been a jug full of new Cream product, from CD compilations to DVDs to biographies. Just to be contrary I thought I'd go right back to 1966 and their very first album.

If there's anyone on the planet who doesn't know who Cream were/are...well, they were dubbed Rock's first "Super Group", which became a fashionable term to describe several star musicians joining forces. In truth though, at the time, only guitarist Eric Clapton could really be described as anything approaching a "star", following his stints with The Yardbirds, who he quit because he didn't like their pop direction, and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, with whom he earned the appellation "God".
Meanwhile drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce were knocking lumps out of each other in the respected, but not widely well-known, Graham Bond Organisation. This mutual animosity caused Bruce to defect to Manfred Mann for a few months (he played on the #1 "Pretty Flamingo") although he only viewed the job as a stop-gap until something better came along.

Something better did come along when Clapton quit the Bluesbreakers after jamming with Baker, agreeing with the drummer that they should get a group together. They needed a bass player and, after both warring factions had agreed to bury the hatchet, Bruce was on board.

Cream were intended as a Blues group--"Freddie King with a rhythm section"--but early rehearsals revealed an unexpected abundance of vocal talent, together with Bruce's knack for composing commercial songs. Their initial live appearances relied on Blues jamming but the debut Cream single "Wrapping Paper" (included as a bonus track on this disc) was a pure pop ditty, propelled by barrelhouse piano, a brief and rather ludicrous Clapton solo, and surprisingly capable harmony vocals. It flopped, but the follow-up, the brisk, psychedelically flavoured "I Feel Free" (drafted in to open up proceedings on this CD) was a hit.

Singles were all well and good, but Cream's reputation was always going to be confirmed by their albums. When "Fresh Cream" appeared in late '66 it immediately shot into the Top 10 and reviews were good, if not universally glowing.

The album was both a look back to the past with various favourite Blues tunes given a make-over, and a signpost to the future with the extended soloing and the promising writing partnership of Bruce and poet Pete Brown.

Once you get past the added on delights of "I Feel Free", "Fresh Cream"--the album-- begins with the sound of Ginger Baker battering a simple, but loud, rhythm on his array of tom-toms--a recurring experience throughout the duration the album, and one that is likely to bring on a migraine to those unfortunate enough to suffer from that particular affliction. The sleeve-notes mention Ginger's "unique rhythm patterns". Hmm, unique they probably were at the time, but now his playing seems a bit ham-fisted and sluggish. Another thing, on my old Mono vinyl copy, Ginger's drumming sounded like a Rhinoceros stampede but here he's curiously muted and it's not until Eric and Jack join in that you realise why. For some reason, whoever did the stereo mix decided that Eric's guitar would be in one speaker and absolutely everything else would be in the other. Most of the time the sound is robbed of all of its power and guts. Maybe it's a tad better on this re-master than on the original CD issue but it still ain't as good as an almost 40 year-old vinyl LP (in my humble opinion).

Anyway...where was I? Oh yeah, the first track. It rejoices in the title of "NSU" and it bounds along energetically. The lyrics aren't exactly Shakespeare ("Sailing in my yacht--what a lot I got"!) but Jack's stentorian delivery is quite endearing.

Next up is a Bruce/Brown collaboration, "Sleepy Time Time" which is a predictably somnolent blues during the verses although the alarm clock goes off in time for the chorus.

"Dreaming" is a very attractive, almost singalong little number, heavily featuring Bruce once again. In fact it's Jack who is very much the star of the show over much of the album, with Clapton content to play a subordinate, background role.

"Sweet Wine" sounds very rigid and mechanical, probably because Baker wrote the music. Lots of vocal "Bah-Bah's" provide the hook and Eric finally gets his "Slowhand" working with a decent solo.

"Spoonful" was a staple number for any self-respecting Brit-Blues combo. Cream's version growls and grinds away with mucho harmonica and impassioned howling from Bruce. Clapton reels off some effortless licks but the whole thing has a kind of slow-motion feel, perhaps due to Ginger's less than energised performance. It's only Bruce's bravura display that lifts this out of the ordinary.

Side 2, in old terms, begins with another ubiquitous Blues cover, "Cat's Squirrel". Jethro Tull used to relentlessly bash this one out when Mick Abrahams was still their lead guitarist. Cream's version is actually quite sprightly (Ginger must have taken his medicine that day) but the repetitive riff gets boring and the track overstays its welcome.

"Four Until Late" shows off Clapton's hero worship of the 1930s Delta Bluesman Robert Johnson (who wrote it), but contrary to the lyric ("From four until late I would wring my hands and cry") Cream turn in a jumpy, almost singalong pop version with another scorching harp solo from Bruce.

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is also a Blues song that everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE, who considered themselves to be a Blues Band included in their repertoire in the 60s (John Peel played Canned Heat's version to death on his radio show). Cream take it at a frenzied pace with Bruce laying his bass to one side and concentrating on a demented harp & vocal performance. Clapton riffs away stiltedly on the sidelines and Baker bashes out a sub-tribal war dance beat. You can almost hear him crashing to the floor with exhaustion at the end.

Next up is Skip James' "I'm So Glad" and this is the best track by far. Finally everything seems to gel and you can hear the latent potential of the group. Bruce yet again turns in a brilliant, half-demented vocal performance while Clapton's guitar solo sings out with a freedom that is strangely inhibited elsewhere on the album. Even Baker manages to keep his feet out of the quicksand and keeps the rhythm bustling away. The album should have ended here but....and this is a BIG but...

...Oh dear! Drum solos are all well and good to give the other musicians a toilet break during a concert but on a studio album they really are a no-no (IMHO). I suppose you could forgive a group for including one on a double album when they are struggling for material but on a single album...and a debut album to boot? Bad move, but Ginger's ego had to be sated and so we are 'treated' to "Toad". There are actually 2 good things about the version of "Toad" on "Fresh Cream". Firstly, Clapton gets off some decent feedback effects during the introductory section, and secondly...it only lasts for about five minutes instead of the half-an-hour or more to which live versions regularly stretched.

If listening to an octopus on valium going dud-da-dud-da-dud-da-dud-da-dud ad infinitum on a double bass drum set-up is your idea of Heaven then this track is for you. If not then I suggest you quickly fast forward to the bonus tracks, the aforementioned "Cream do Chas 'n' Dave"-isms of "Wrapping Paper" and the lyrically interesting but musically draggy "Coffee Song".

OK, reading this back I don't appear to be very enthusiastic about this album. Actually I like it a lot (though I like the mono version better) but it just isn't the groundbreaker that history says it is. The likes of The Yardbirds, The Who and The Creation were all tearing up the rule-book with gay abandon during this period and in truth Cream's biggest asset in 1966 was their unrivalled volume. On their later studio albums, a more imaginative approach came to the fore (aided by producer Felix Pappalardi, later of Cream wannabe's Mountain) but "Fresh Cream" is the sound of a band getting to know each other and casting around for a direction that would simultaneously satisfy three massive egos. Try their second album, "Disraeli Gears" , first to avoid disappointment.

 

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