Cream - "Disraeli Gears" (1967) - ATCO
Hello friends,
Even though its Fall outside, its the Summer of Love tonight on Vinyl in the Valley! Tonight we're cranking Cream's second (and best) LP, Disraeli Gears. Psychedelic blues at its absolute best!
In 1966, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce & Eric Clapton formed the first rock & roll supergroup; a heavy-sounding British trio with roots planted firmly in traditional blues and jazz music. Big egos would eventually win out and the band would break-up just two years later, but not before leaving a giant mark in rock & roll history!
The album opens with an amazing one-two punch: "Strange Brew"-- a trippy blues tune featuring Clapton on lead vocals-- and the iconic "Sunshine of Your Love"-- featuring one of classic rock's most famous riffs.
There's some great wah-wah pedal work on "World of Pain" and more great guitar-bass-drums interwining on the Bruce-helmed, "Dance the Night Away". Ginger Baker's "Blue Condition" (probably the album's weak link) finishes off Side One.
Side Two begins with the awesome "Tales of Brave Ulysses"-- a psychedelic-blues ballad based on Homer's Odyssey with some more killer wah-wah playing. The equally excellent, "SWABLR" (aka "She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow") follows. Not sure exactly what's going on in this song, but it may be about having sex with a transvestite! Hey, don't judge!
In 1966, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce & Eric Clapton formed the first rock & roll supergroup; a heavy-sounding British trio with roots planted firmly in traditional blues and jazz music. Big egos would eventually win out and the band would break-up just two years later, but not before leaving a giant mark in rock & roll history!
The album opens with an amazing one-two punch: "Strange Brew"-- a trippy blues tune featuring Clapton on lead vocals-- and the iconic "Sunshine of Your Love"-- featuring one of classic rock's most famous riffs.
There's some great wah-wah pedal work on "World of Pain" and more great guitar-bass-drums interwining on the Bruce-helmed, "Dance the Night Away". Ginger Baker's "Blue Condition" (probably the album's weak link) finishes off Side One.
Side Two begins with the awesome "Tales of Brave Ulysses"-- a psychedelic-blues ballad based on Homer's Odyssey with some more killer wah-wah playing. The equally excellent, "SWABLR" (aka "She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow") follows. Not sure exactly what's going on in this song, but it may be about having sex with a transvestite! Hey, don't judge!
Next up is Jack Bruce's absolutely haunting, "We're Going Wrong". With spare, falsetto vocals and tribal drumming, its a song that would not be out of place in some 1967 teenager's Vietnam nightmare or acid flashback!
Clapton sings and arranges a version of "Outside Woman Blues"-- an obscure call-and-response blues tune written by Blind Joe Reynolds. Not to be outdone, Bruce comes back with a raucous honky-tonk blues number, "Take It Back"-- which may or may not be about kids burning their draft cards. The album concludes with the barroom diddy, "Mother's Lament"-- a perfectly silly and nostalgic conclusion to such a bold and ground-breaking album!
Fun Fact: Hey kids, did you know that the title of this album is a malapropism? When Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker were talking about bicycles, a roadie chimed in with the statement that "yea, its got them disraeli gears" mistaking the 19th Century British Prime Minister for "derailleur gears".
In a similar story, one time on Election day I saw two sassy ladies at Walmart discussing the possible outcome of the Presidential Election and one turned to the other and said, "It don't matter who wins the popular vote, its the electrical vote that counts!" ZAP!
RATING: 5 Tales of Brave Ulysses out of 5
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