I had my "Wheels of Fire" verborgt to a younger colleague, who had to have played in the sandbox at the time of their appearance. When he returned it to me, he said: "Good music, no doubt - but from the stylistic devices forth something outdated .." - Refit ?? Rock may sound a little different today. But: Is Bach outdated? Haydn? Mozart? - Cream are rock classics for me, and their "wheels of fire" are, I dare say, one of the culminating points of the rock music. Cream - a name as a program, and by no means an exaggeration. In these rare stellar conjunction, as occurs in half a century only once, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton were really the cream of the rock. Cream - that was a three-stage rocket: Step 1: "Fresh Cream", a promise. Stage 2: "Disraeli Gears", whose redemption. Level 3 and the peak of development, "Wheels of Fire" from the year 1968th The album consists of two parts, four live numbers, nine studio cuts. The recorded at the Fillmore live recordings show BB & C as virtuosi of their profession, breathe the blues standards like Johnsons "Crossroads" and Howlin 'Wolf's "Spoonful" with unimagined Drive new fire breath. Instrumental climax of this part is probably Bakers imposing vietelstündiges drums solo "Toad", in which he shows his colleagues from the percussion group, where the Bartl brings the new wine. Of the nine studio recordings are also two blues classics ("Born Under a Bad Sign", "Sitting on Top of the World"), the other original compositions. For four of Cuts Jack Bruce set poems of (rock) lyricist Pete Brown, among them we find one of the mE most perfect rock songs in music history, "White Room", and the incredibly complex numbers "As You Said" and "Deserted Cities of the Heart ". Ginger Baker contributed (along with Mike Taylor) three songs in which far transcend the genre Rock: the elegiac "Passing the Time" (with Bruce on painted bass), the surrealist "Pressed Rat and Warthog" and the above ground-beautiful "Those Were the Days "(" When the city of Atlantis stood serene above the sea .. "). How much the Cream are musically over the Pop-bustle, in addition to their instrumental virtuosity shows (all three are among the best instrumentalists of their divisions), the rhythmic complexity of the songs. The opening chorus in "White Room" follows a 5/4-stroke, "Passing the Time" constantly changes between 3/4 and 4/4, and in "As You Said" comes up once a 7/8-clock to Wear what certainly not fake, but organic acts and the numbers gives color and something like an exotic appeal. That you should once a nachhüpfen of the four quarter-knockers of contemporary popular music! There are always moments in the songs incredible musical intensity. And never had Clapton interesting material as a starting point for its glorious solo fireworks (if one uses younger Clapton CDs for comparison, this is like heaven and one). And although Bruce and Baker accompany bare, this has quite the character and brilliance solo performances. In this way it is possible the triumvirate, even dozens of times to undergo gecoverte songs an exciting makeover - from "Born Under a Bad Sign" I know no better version. The original compositions are in many places a fascinating synthesis of rock and chamber music. Two years lasted the creamy glory, then broke the Soupergroup, probably due to the accumulation of creative potential that exceeded the critical mass. Clapton and Baker formed up with Steve Winwood and Rick Grech for an album group "Blind Faith". After their breakup Baker founded the "Airforce" and today in jazz. Clapton returned with "Derek & The Dominoes" into manageable terrain of the blues with his three (sometimes four) chords and ended up with less sophisticated, but obviously eingängigerem songmaterial several hits. Bruce teamed up with jazz musicians like John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell to record albums, but with the exception of the first ("Songs for a Tailor") found hardly wider audience resonance. Anyway, I am (even on my account on my knees) grateful to my destiny that my youth was in the sixties, a time when rock and pop music experienced an incredible growth spurt. The scene back then was prolific as a tropical rainforest, drove miraculous blossoms and the "Wheels of Fire" was one of its most beautiful - perhaps the most beautiful.
