Cream Cd A Great Trip Back In Time

Mon., Aug. 28, 2000

Kathy Bula East Valley

Cream “Disraeli Gears”

Cream is a band that hasn’t been passed down to us by our baby boomer parents in the same way that the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Led Zepplin and many other ‘60s bands have. It’s a shame because this band, which released only four albums, played an essential role in defining the genre of psychedelic rock that has influenced all rock since.

The band’s masterpiece album, “Disraeli Gears,” is one that every teen into late-‘60s music should have.

Cream’s style, if you’re unfamiliar with acid rock, is pretty much undefinable. The goal of psychedelic rockers was to simulate musically the feeling of “tripping,” although thankfully, the music doesn’t have the same side effects as LSD. The words often are strange (“Tiny purple fishes running through your fingers”) or out-and-out drug references (“So many fantastic colors, make me feel so good!”). But the key element is the music, which features incredible guitar playing by Eric Clapton (it’s a long way from “Tears in Heaven”) and intricate arrangements.

The album’s most notorious track is the infectious “Sunshine of Your Love,” which is one of those songs that everyone knows even if they don’t recognize the title. You’ll be hard-put to find a guitar player over 35 who doesn’t know that famous guitar riff.

Grade: A+

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