ALBUMS: Wheel of Fire (1968); Disraeli Gears (1967)
MVC Rating: Wheels 4.0/$$$$;l Disraeli, 4.5/$$$$$
Listening to these now after all these years, they sound to my ears like historical archives.
It’s like finding old Da Vinci sketches that were mind blowing at the time. But now while those flying machines are fun, they don’t really take you anywhere.
Hearing and evaluating these albums properly would be to project yourself to the late 1960s and so you could hear it for the first time. That electrified blues rock must have been mind blowing upon first and early listens.
But it’s a little bit like when I was around 9 or 10 hearing Wilson Pickett and James Brown for the first time. This was so foreign from the bubblegum music of the day such as the Partridge Family, the Osmonds and Bobby Sherman. (I put the Jackson 5 in a category by themselves, beyond bubblegum.)
Still, you will notice, I give these records high grades because, well, they deserve them. Disraeli being my favorite gets 4.5.
‘Strange Brew,’ and ‘Sunshine of your Love’ were the two hit songs off of Disraeli Gears. ‘White Room’ off of Wheels of Fire was their second biggest selling single after Sunshine.
Listening to them as historic artifacts doesn’t mean they can’t be loved, but for me it’s more that I admire and wonder about some of these. Less blues on Disraeli and more of the psychedelic tinge that for better or worse would go on to influence groups like Deep Purple, Sabbath and, even, Jimi Hendrix. Or was it Hendrix, with a 3-piece band as well , influencing Cream?
But no matter the song, there was always the expectation Eric Clapton’s stinging guitar would come slip and lash. Jack Bruce on bass, Ginger Baker on drums and Clapton could surely make some noise for a three piece. I remember one of the Beatles responding to the question about how the Beatles got to be the best rock band in the world.
And one of the Beatles said Cream might be doing some thing better or more progressive than the Beatles. Nice political humble answer.
Based on what I hear here?
Nah.