Cream - Disraeli Gears - Deluxe Editon [Disc 1of2] (Stereo)[EAC - FLAC]{2004} (oan)

Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Intense Cream fans and collectors might be disappointed in the two-CD deluxe
edition of Disraeli Gears for offering little in the way of previously unreleased
material. There is a lot of extra stuff here, mind you, which makes it a nice expansion
of the group's best and most focused album. There's the original album in both stereo
and mono; two outtakes of "Lawdy Mama" and five additional demos (all seven of
which previously appeared on the Those Were the Days box set); and nine 1967-1968
BBC recordings from the Disraeli Gears era (all of which appear on the BBC Sessions
compilation). The only wholly previously unavailable item is an alternate version of
"Blue Condition" with Eric Clapton on lead vocal, in both stereo and mono, which
actually qualifies as about the least interesting track on the set. And why, pray tell, is
the BBC version of "Sunshine of Your Love" -- far and away the album's most
popular song -- present on BBC Sessions, but not included here? That minor
complaint aside, this is a fine listen, the main album enduring as the peak of Cream's
artistry, as the group blended its original blues-rock with psychedelic pop on wellwritten
songs with a mystical tinge. Almost every song is excellent, and "Sunshine of
Your Love," "Dance the Night Away," "Swalbr," "Strange Brew," and "We're Going
Wrong" are all among the very best tracks the band laid down. While the extras can't
match the album itself, they're all worth hearing for both historical appreciation and
actual listening pleasure. The five demos are considerably rougher than the much
more polished final record, but offer three songs ("Hey Now Princess," "Weird of
Hermiston," and "The Clearout") that didn't make the ultimate cut. None of them
really deserved to, but the vituperative "Hey Now Princess" and more whimsical
"Weird of Hermiston" are interesting relics of the Jack Bruce-Pete Brown songwriting
partnership, while "The Clearout" is a pretty hot instrumental that sounds like a
backing track only in need of some good lyrics to make for a worthwhile album cut.
Six of the nine BBC recordings are versions of songs from Disraeli Gears itself, while
two ("Politician" and "Born Under a Bad Sign") would appear on their subsequent
LP, Wheels of Fire, and one (the instrumental "Steppin' Out") had been previously cut
by Eric Clapton in his Bluesbreakers days. In the usual BBC tradition, these nine
tracks aren't up to the level of their studio counterparts, but make for worthy contrast
to the better-known versions, with a certain live edge.
1. (02:50) - Strange Brew
2. (04:13) - Sunshine Of Your Love
3. (03:06) - World Of Pain
4. (03:36) - Dance The Night Away
5. (03:32) - Blue Condition
6. (02:50) - Tales Of Brave Ulysses
7. (02:34) - SWLABR
8. (03:30) - We're Going Wrong
9. (02:27) - Outside Woman Blues
10. (03:07) - Take It Back
11. (01:49) - Mother's Lament
12. (02:50) - Lawdy Mama (Version 2)
13. (03:12) - Blue Condition (Alternate Version)
14. (03:50) - We're Going Wrong (Demo)
15. (03:33) - Hey Now Princess (Demo)
16. (04:34) - SWLABR (Demo)
17. (03:15) - Weird Of Hermiston (Demo)
18. (03:56) - The Clearout (Demo)
Playing Time.........: 00:58:44
Total Size...........: 349.35 MB
Included.............: INFO, SFV, LOG, CUE, FLAC FINGERPRINT/
All ARTWORK Disc 2
INFO pdf