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Goodbye Cream (1969)
by Cream is
the farewell album of one of Britain's- and indeed the world's- most legendary rock bands.
Only containing six tracks, it has three new songs ('Badge', 'Doing That Scrapyard Thing'
and 'What a Bringdown') as well as three live versions of older material ('I'm So Glad',
'Sitting on Top of the World' and 'Politician')
This style, which some would call self-indulgent, does not lend itself to everyone. Quite simply it can be a little tedious to endure a 6 1/2 minute instrumental section. And this is no isolated incident either. For both 'Sitting on Top of the World' and 'Politician' (originally from Wheels of Fire, 1968) both feature prominent non-vocal pieces. The three new songs, on the other hand, are much more conventional. 'Badge', co-written by Clapton and ex-Beatles member George Harrison features Clapton on lead vocal. 'Doing That Scrapyard Thing', actually more piano than guitar based, is a somewhat absurd though very likeable song, with Bruce delivering the peculiar lead vocals. Lastly comes 'What A Bringdown', easily the highlight of the album. In many ways it shows Cream as the band many might want them to be. In contrast to, say, 'I'm So Glad' the guitar is powerful without being gratuitous or excessive. And perhaps Goodbye Cream would have been better if that approach was consistently adopted. Still, as any real fans of the band will tell you, a lot of guitar is the point. In the end this is the line that will divide those that like and those that dislike this album. Fans of guitar will find this appealing; others will just find it irritating. RATING: 7.5/10 Go To Page: 1 |
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