If, in 1968, you'd predicted which rock stars of the day would survive, much less age well, Eric Clapton would most likely have been at the bottom of your list, had he made the list at all. That was the year I saw Cream perform, and while the show was spellbinding, the cast of characters was cadaverous. To be fair, at the time it was considered chic for rock stars to look like they were homeless, hadn't bathed in months, and subsisted on a steady diet of Mountain Dew and candy bars. Even by these low standards, Cream presented on-stage mayhem that only seemed possible through a barely managed tripartite psychosis and amphetamines.

A lot of rockers have "gone to France" since then, or worse, become grotesque caricatures of themselves. Some left the business altogether - Arthur Brown was last seen painting houses on Cape Cod. But the ironically nicknamed "Slowhand" is alive and well, having evolved as a player while still staying true to his blues roots. An amazing achievement. He even looks healthy. I saw him a year ago on a double bill with Robert Cray, (who simply burned the house down), and he still had the bite I noticed first on Stepping Out, which appears on the John Mayall album that introduced Eric Clapton. He also had most of the legendary speed.

What this longevity has meant is that there's always another crop of sprouts introduced to EC. The enterprising ones, who've heard that he lays claim to the title of "best rock guitarist ever," may follow the string to see where it leads, and it leads of course, to Cream, the first "super" group. Cream's tenure was brief, but its impact was immense. (Led Zeppelin, for example, got their entire act from Cream. Clapton was almost tapped to replace John Lennon in the Beatles.) Ginger Baker, drums, was the senior member who actually organized the group. Jack Bruce, a musical vunderkind, was the genius behind the group's success, as well as being its voice.

For listeners interested in skimming the surface, this CD is a great place to start. Crossroads, Strange Brew, and Born Under A Bad Sign are mandatory listening. (Sunshine Of Your Love - a tired hit - is obligatory.) There's another Best Of CD available, and while it has more tracks, the selection is not that much better. Any of the 4 original Cream CDs are worth owning, (Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Wheels Of Fire, Goodbye). The listener new to this material will also want to check out Blind Faith. But of all the choices, I would recommend avoiding the Best Of route and going straight to Goodbye. Half live and half studio, Goodbye is Cream at their absolute best, the live tracks in particular are incendiary.

This band had a unique sound.I originaly got into this band because Kiss always mentioned this band as one of their favorite bands.As i am a huge Kiss fan,i am curious at time to listen to their musical origins.
I knew Sunshine of your love and White Room.But the rest were not known at all to me.So i decided to get a copy of their best.
Man i was not disappointed.Got right into it and couldnt stop playing it.Some songs seem to be addictive,probably recorded them on tapes made out of hippy weed.
This collection is a must for fans of Clapton, Bruce, and Baker and the great rock of the late 60s. .Great stuff this,and i reccommend this band.

The one-disc, twenty-track Best of Cream has officially rendered all other Cream collections obselete. And this is no exception. Though this is a good bunch of tracks, the one-disc collection is so much better. This reminds me of a Jimi Hendrix compilation entitled Smash Hits: probably worked in its day, but is now just about useless. Nice cover photo, though.

STRANGE BREW-THE VERY BEST OF CREAM: Like Eric Clapton's previous group the Yardbirds, power trio Cream introduced millions of rock fans to the blues, in this instance via the most contorted, "jam packed" interpretations of Robert Johnson and Albert King ever channeled through a psychedelic wah-wah pedal. The band boasted Jack Bruce's triple threat bass/harp/vocal prowess, Ginger Baker's jazz-tinged skin stroking, and Clapton's "Guitar God" pyrotechnics, and Cream's originals (WHITE ROOM, SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE, BADGE, etc.) were on a par with their mentors' compositions. Not surprisingly, it was far too much talent to contain under one roof and they imploded after two short years. What's left behind is this stunning (albeit crimanlly brief) account of a band that actually lived up to all that "supergroup" hype (and how often does THAT happen?) RATING: FIVE SPOONFULS

This is the best of the best by Cream. There are no bad songs on this album. It starts with "Badge", written by Eric Clapton and Beatle George Harrison, which is a very good song. Next is the classic song "Sunshine of Your Love", the song that got me hooked on Cream, an excellent song and you should be ashamed of yourself if you don't like it. Next comes "Crossroads", one of my personal favorites, is the classic Robert Johnson blues song, with Eric Clapton on lead vocals. Next is "White Room", which is a very good song and the other song that got me hooked on Cream. "Born Under a Bad Sign" comes next. It is a great bluesy song about bad luck. Next comes "SWLABR", which is a good rock 'n' roll song. Next is "Strange Brew" which is also a good song. Next is "Anyone for Tennis?" which is a nice song on the slower side. "I Feel Free" is a really good song and another one of my personal favorites. "Politician" is another bluesy song about being a Political person. Then we have "Tales of Brave Ulysees", which is a great rocking song. Lastly is the bluesy "Spoonful" which is the longest song on the CD running at 6:29.

Overall this is a great album and i reccomend to anyone who likes Cream. For beginners, start with this, the newer "Very Best of Cream", or "Disraeli Gears"