Sadly, one of the great Rock Music bands of the 1960s decided to call it quits by the time this album was released. It was shortly announced prior to the release of this album that Eric Clapton (guitarist), Jack Bruce (vocalist/bassist) and Ginger Baker (drums) would be disbanding as a group. This was a real shame as the trio had created some of the most well-loved and interesting songs of the late 1960s. There were multiple reasons for Cream’s breakup, from stylistic differences musically to the fact that, in particular, Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce did not get along. So it was time to go for the mighty Cream. This album consists of a split of three live songs and three new recordings for the sake of the album. Obviously, this is rushed, but whether or not it will be a good listening experience is to be discovered here. Let’s hear it.

I’m So Glad – Live is a different-sounding live version of the Skip James cover which has Eric Clapton playing his Gibson SG nicely. The vocals here admittedly are not the greatest, but the tune is loud, live and furious. This is a really cool and interesting listening experience that is very much Fresh Cream. It quickly launches into an excellent extended solo section that sounds wonderfully brilliant. Eric Clapton in particular plays like a living legend on this song, and he sounds wonderfully skilful and indeed, unique. This is the sort of music that would eventually inspire the likes of Black Sabbath and others out there with its crunchy guitars, thumping basslines and pounding drums galore. All in all, this is a top-notch and inspired listening experience that is certainly worth listening to, particularly if you are a fan of late 1960s jam band music. It does sound really professional and unique, all the same. Indeed, these young men were cultivating relatively fresh musical ground at this point. It sounds powerful, warped and wonderful throughout. The fuzz bass guitar soloing by Jack Bruce is a nice touch and adds some genuine character to Eric Clapton’s guitar soloing. Ginger Baker plays some absolutely brilliant, excellent and listenable drum rolls to match. There is not a shred of poor musicianship or boredom throughout this extended listening experience. A great, great tune. The three musicians duke it out for attention, and it particularly sounds interesting through headphones. This continues well into the second half of the piece, and it sounds really dynamic and interesting. If Eric Clapton should really be remembered for his musical works, one of his main standout moments is these Creams jams, which are really excellent. This sounds fun and amazing from start to finish. It briefly stops near the end, with the crowd applauding, before the band launches into a final song section to wrap up and conclude with. Call and response vocals between Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce are present, and this notably wraps up with some thunderous drum rolls galore. A really cool and awesome listening experience throughout. The crowd cheers nicely at the end.

Politician – Live is a rather out-of-tune live version of the original song. It sounds weird, very weird, in fact. Still, the more drop tuning based piece here adds a classy touch to the original Cream piece. Jack Bruce sings mightily here, and the whole group follow very nicely along in their wake. A really cool tune. “I support the left, although I’m leaning to the right…” is a really awesome and great centrepiece lyric here (if you know anything about politics), and the music is amazing and fantastic to hear and listen to. Kudos goes to these guys, they could certainly play their instruments extremely well. Towards the midsection, this launches into a great solo section by Cream and the guitars are intense, along with some awesome fuzz bass guitar and pounding drums. A great, great listening experience to be heard. The guitar soloing is very tonally excellent, verging on the edge of distortion and feedback throughout. All in all, this really works nicely. A thoroughly great and top-notch piece of music, this would have repurcussive influences down the future generations of musicians out there. It returns to the song section at hand, before gradually concluding with some excellent and tuneful rhythmic jamming by Cream. A really awesome and exciting song to listen to, it ends with some intense clapping and cheering.

Sitting On Top Of The World – Live At The Forum, Los Angeles / 1968 is another strange-sounding rendition of an original Cream tune, this time likely in a dropped-down tuning. Still, it sounds really awesome for what it is. The whole group sound in really fine form here, and the playing is so very good that it is truly impressive and wonderful to listen to and enjoy. Using some unique Blues Music phrasing, Eric Clapton plays like the guitar God that he is. A pleasantly awesome, epic and wonderful listen. Jack Bruce puts in a stellar performance as a vocalist here, and this leads into an awesome section of guitar soloing and pounding drums by Ginger Baker. A really fantastic and definitely underrated listening experience, this sounds extremely wonderful and top-notch throughout. A great set of guitar solos emerges here to sound like a winner of a tune. Eric Clapton is the star of this song, with Ginger Baker putting in some amazing drumming as well. A great, great listening experience. This sounds superb and interstellar and is at a reasonable length of listening to hear and not get bored. Fine and fantastic music throughout, this ends with some chaotic guitar playing by Clapton and the song finishes nicely. It has some nice crowd applause and some thank yous here.

Badge begins the second half of the album with some studio tracks. It begins as a really nicely muted and chugging Blues number, launching into an excellent song with piano and glorious vocals by Jack Bruce. This sounds fantastically amazing and is an underrated gem by Cream. It sounds very original and fresh to this day, and the music is driven and nice enough to enjoy for repeat listens. This is the last magic of the great band Cream that is present. It sounds top-notch and amazing throughout. A great relic of the 1960s, and a good and different listening experience that is less than three minutes long. Different.

Doing That Scrapyard Thing begins with the piano chugging away, along with some hi-hats and some Beatlesque guitars. It is not the greatest thing on this album and is honestly quite a disappointment to listen to. Jack Bruce does sing nicely on this song, but that’s about it. This is fairly forgettable as a piece of music from start to finish, but it is still dramatic and enjoyable enough to sit through. It was fairly obvious that Cream was disintegrating at this point of time musically, but still managed to get it together for these final songs. The lyrics are quirky and surreal on this song, and the music is a fresh yet flawed take on changing musical trends in 1969. This ends with a repeat of the intro, and a quick conclusion.

What A Bringdown begins with more piano, organ and hi-hats, with some muted guitar. This is another nonsensical and rather average song by the group which points out that the magic of Cream was quickly dying out rapidly at this point. Still, it is a good listen with some rather surreal lyrics to boot. In any case, there is a fuzz-laden and wah-wah drenched guitar part here which is interesting. A good but not great piece of music that is an interesting historical footnote for such a legendary band. It sounds top-notch and awesome throughout, and there are references to historical figures such as Aristotle and other Psychedelic imagery. Very odd, and this concludes a mixed bag of an album well, although frankly, the songs here could be quite a bit better. It ends with an extended jam with piano and a crashing bell-driven finale. It’s okay.

This is not a great representation of the mighty band that was Cream. It is good but definitely not a great album and sadly is poorly reflective of both Cream and the late 1960s. Obviously, the band had enough by this point. With all three members of Cream coming from such diverse musical backgrounds and having different agendas, Eric Clapton left Cream to seek greener pastures in 1969. Ironically, these would bear him fruit more than the other members of Cream. A solid goodbye and an album to listen to? It’s okay but the mixed-up quality of the songs is disappointing.

Not the greatest.

6/10