I’ve been listening to a Cream best-of in the car all week. I’ve loved them since I bought Heavy Cream as a teenager, one of the five or six albums that make up the foundation of the 40-year record collection I’ve assembled.
They’re a little like the Jefferson Airplane in that for that most people, even those in their 50s like me, they’re known almost wholly for two brilliant but overplayed singles; I bet half the people my age couldn’t name a third Cream or Jefferson Airplane song. (That may even be true of the Byrds, come to think of it, but “Eight Miles High” is somewhat of an FM staple.)
I know there wouldn’t be enough for interest for a full poll, and their discography isn’t large enough anyway. The 50-song limit was enough for every studio version they ever recorded--the original four albums, plus extras that turned up later and a couple of stray singles. I didn’t bother with live versions.
My favourite songs by them just don’t sound like anybody else to me. I don’t like them when they’re slow and bluesy--“Spoonful” and “Politician” and “Sitting on Top of the World” have always bored me. When they’re loud and sloppy and bluesy, at least once I think they’re great: “Rollin’ and Tumblin’ (heard Hambone Willie Newbern’s 1929 original for the first time ever last week, and that’s great too). But mostly I love them when they’re morose and gothic and cryptic: "Deserted Cities of the Heart,” “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” the two overplayed singles, dull surprises and black curtains and ocarina sounds. (I don’t think I’ve ever read a word on what “White Room” is actually about--I assume it’s a junkie’s lament, as perfect in its way as “Heroin” or “Waiting for the Man,” but I don’t know.)
Not to mention “Passing the Time” and the bridge on “Badge,” both incredibly beautiful, or “Anyone for Tennis,” which as nonsense hippie gnome-music goes, is as pop-perfect as “Itchycoo Park.” I think I’d put them fifth among my favourite ‘60s bands: Beatles, Who, Jefferson Airplane, Byrds, then Cream.
(Sure hope this hasn’t been done already. Come back, search.)
Poll Results
| Option | Votes |
| "Badge" | 16 |
| "Tales of Brave Ulysses" | 7 |
| "Deserted Cities of the Heart" | 4 |
| "Sunshine of Your Love" | 3 |
| "White Room" | 3 |
| "Strange Brew" | 2 |
| "We're Going Wrong" | 1 |
| "Outside Woman Blues" | 1 |
| "SWLABR" | 1 |
| "As You Said" | 1 |
| "Politician" | 1 |
| "What a Bringdown" | 1 |
| "Dance the Night Away" | 1 |
| "N.S.U." | 1 |
| "World of Pain" | 0 |
| "Crossroads" | 0 |
| "Traintime" | 0 |
| "Dreaming" | 0 |
| "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" | 0 |
| "Sleepy Time Time" | 0 |
| "Anyone for Tennis" | 0 |
| "Wrapping Paper" | 0 |
| "The Coffee Song" | 0 |
| "Lawdy Mama" | 0 |
| "Hey Now, Princess" | 0 |
| "Weird of Hermiston" | 0 |
| "The Clearout" | 0 |
| "Sweet Wine" | 0 |
| "Born Under a Bad Sign" | 0 |
| "Those Were the Days" | 0 |
| "Blue Condition" | 0 |
| "Cat's Squirrel" | 0 |
| "Toad" | 0 |
| "I'm So Glad" | 0 |
| "Rollin' and Tumblin'" | 0 |
| "Take It Back" | 0 |
| "Mother's Lament" | 0 |
| "Four Until Late" | 0 |
| "Sitting on Top of the World" | 0 |
| "Passing the Time" | 0 |
| "Pressed Rat and Warthog" | 0 |
| "Spoonful" | 0 |
| "Steppin’ Out" | 0 |
― clemenza, Wednesday, 15 February 2017 00:15 (seven years ago) link