Cream - Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker - toured and recorded a great deal during their relatively short-lived existence. Even then, intrepid fans documented the performances for posterity. Today, there is an abundance of material available to collectors. Thanks to modern technology, a number of audience and soundboard recordings have been “remastered” resulting in a significant upgrade in quality.
A good “core collection” of Cream bootlegs consists of:
Klooks Kleek ‘66 (Capricorn / SB6 tracks 1-10, SB3 tracks 11-17)
The first half of this disc contains studio outtakes from 1967 in excellent sound quality. If you are only interested in the studio outtakes, these 10 tracks are available on The Alternative Album (ITM Records / SB6). The second half has portions of two Cream performances from the Klooks Kleek Club in London in 1966. Note that the live tracks are from a vinyl source so there may be some pops and clicks. They are an excellent historical document of early Cream prior to their first U.S. visit in March 1967 and features great versions of “Spoonful” and “Lawdy Mama”.
Trinity (MidValley / 5)
A very good audience recording for its age recorded at the Marquee Club, London on 23 May 1967. Features performances of the rarely performed songs “Dance The Night Away” and “World Of Pain.” Great versions of “Tales Of Brave Ulysees”, “Sleepy Time Time” and “Outside Woman Blues”.
Silver Horses Running Moonbeams In Your Dark Eyes (Dandelion / SB6)
An “on” night for Cream at the Coliseum in Oakland, California. Eric, Jack and Ginger at the top of their game.
Sun Vanishes - Birth Of The Six Strings God (MidValley / SB5)
This is the best soundboard recording to surface from The Grande Ballroom in Detroit on 15 October 1967. By this time, Cream was much more adventurous in their playing when compared to shows earlier in year. This set features a truly amazing version of “Spoonful”. “NSU” and “Steppin’ Out” are excellent examples of why Eric is credited as being one of the prime innovators of feedback as a musical tool. “NSU” also features a live example of Eric’s distinctive “woman tone” sound.
Note: Alternatives (with minimally reduced sound quality) are Real Cream (Gold Standard / SB5) with bonus tracks from Winterland in San Francisco on 8 March 1968 and Dazed & Cream (Bell Bottom / SB5). The only difference between the two alternates is that “Hideaway” was substituted for “Sleepy Time Time” on the Dazed & Cream release. AVOID Creamset (Gold Standard) as an alternative because the second disc contains sound problems.
California ‘68 (Perfect Blue Music Co. / SB4)
This two-disc set represents Cream at their peak with complete sets from Oakland and Los Angeles in October 1968. Tracks include “White Room”, “Politician”, “Deserted Cities Of The Heart”, and “NSU” among others. A good alternative is Live Cream Vol. 3 (BTM ARTZI / SB5), but it only has the Oakland show.
Blues Condition (Hiwatt / SB6)
This CD collects all 26 Cream BBC performances on a single disc. The tracks are drawn from various shows such as Top Of Pops, Saturday Club, and Top Gear and were recorded between 11 November 1966 and 9 January 1968. All tracks have appeared on other discs, but the sound quality is much improved here (some tracks still have some hiss or tiny glitches). The disc provides a nice summary of the development of the band. Particularly useful in this regard are the two versions of “Steppin’ Out” (one recorded in November 1966 and the other, in January 1968). The recording of “I’m So Glad” is unique in that Clapton plays a bit of the 1812 Overture. The playing is a bit restrained due to time limitations imposed by the BBC. Also included are the original “groovy” introductions by John Peel and Brian Matthews and two short interviews with a very young-sounding Clapton. This disc will likely be made obsolete in March 2003 when the BBC officially releases Cream’s radio sessions, as they have successfully done for Led Zeppelin, The Who, and others.
Long Time Comin’ (Hawk / SB4 & SB5)
This single CD is historically important because it documents the band’s reunion at the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993. It features rehearsals plus the Hall Of Fame performance.
For an excellent in-depth discussion of Cream-era bootlegs, visit Those Were The Days .
Where’s ERIC! does not encourage or condone the manufacture of bootleg recordings. They are illegal and artists do not receive royalties from their sale. However, Where’s ERIC! realizes that there are fans who collect these recordings. In that spirit, information about them is provided for fans’ research and guidance purposes. Where’s ERIC! does not sell, trade or provide free copies of bootleg recordings nor can we tell you how to obtain them.
