My rating is not a reflection of the greatness of Cream, rather a forewarning to prospective buyers of this compilation. Before purchasing this compilation, consider that there is a vastly better one available for near the same price! "The Very Best of Cream" features all of the tracks presented "Strange Brew", an additional 8 tracks, and more extensive liner notes. Also "The Very Best of Cream", released in 1995, was the first Cream best of to be released exclusively on CD, and is mastered using Apogee's UV22 encoding that vastly improves the sound quality of the original songs, and the songs on this album. Save your money and get it instead!

Ahh, Cream. So brief was their existence, yet so important and revolutionary. Here we have a great introduction to their work. A trio of musicians unlike any other. Jack Bruce's voice is marvelous, as is his bass playing. Their music was very blues-based, but electrified, taken to new realms. And Bruce never resorted to the standard blues patterns. If you listen to the bass during Clapton's (amazing) solos, you will hear a level of improvisatory interaction unheard of from bassists in rock at the time. Bruce once said in an interview : "Cream was a Jazz band, we just didn't tell Eric." Now it makes sense! The jam-band scene owes a lot to Cream, and also obviously to the Grateful Dead. Get this cd if you want a nice, yet brief overview of Cream's amazing music.

Though out of print, "Strange Brew" is still the best single-disc Cream sampler. All the essentials are here. "20th Century Masters" is also a good sampler, but it doesn't include the driving "Born Under a Bad Sign." Try to find "Strange Brew" if you can.

cream were great! my dad used to listen to this album when i was younger and i never really liked it that much! now i am 17 i have realised how stupid i was! obviously there are most of the classics 'sunshine of your love', 'white room' etc. so if you dont own any cream then it is worth picking up! brilliant to smoke too! that always helps! but i would recommend some yardbird's stuff if you like cream and jeff beck (also brilliant). there isn't much point writing this really cos there are plenty of people out there who know a lot more about them than i do! but i just wanted to leave a message to the 'stoners' who want some cool smoking music really! so sorry, but im sure you all know the classic cream tracks anyway! so you probably shouldn't be reading this! or maybe you should! anyway 'white room' is one of the greatest songs in the world!! if you haven't heard any cream download that song and if you dont like it then there is no helping you!

Although short lived, Cream had a trio with the energy of Jimi Hendrix's Experience. Clapton got with these guys(Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce) and just layed down some of the most influential lines in Rock n Roll history. From the White Room with black curtains to the ever popular and often covered Sunshine Of Your Love, the band had some of those air guitars players playing until they couldn't play no mo'. Although the music varied a lot(anyone for tenis) the album is great! Even if the harder stuff is wanted for your collection from the earlier days, you can not count your collection complete without the first four/five songs from this great compilation. The music I refer to most of the album,I like to call it the hardest blues you hear. C'mon, Clapton left the Yardbirds for it, you should buy them at their best!

...The cover art from Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire! Great music in a compact and complete retrospective. The youthful energy of these takes is balanced with virtuosity. Whoever heard a bassist play guitar-style like Jack Bruce? Or a drummer play as conspicuously as Ginger Baker? And, of course, who ever heard a guitarist wail like the young Eric Clapton? Everyone should own some album with Crossroads on it. As a song not included here says, "Those were the days."

In regards to Eric Clapton's recording, many of his songs after Cream, though extraordinary, lack the incredible guitar solos that are on this CD (I can't speak for his stuff before because I haven't heard very much of it). I never knew that rock could be done this well before I heard this CD. "Sunshine Of Your Love", "White Room", and "Crossroads" are definately my favorites. I think "Crossroads" is among the best performances Clapton has ever done. Buy this CD, its the best.

This CD has the best songs Cream ever created, with some of Clapton's most awesome guitar work. Some of the songs include Crossroads, White Room, Sunshine of your love, Strange Brew, and many others. There simply isn't a bad track on this album. With the combination of Jack Bruce, a great bassist, Ginger Baker, the best blues drummer ever, and of course the guitar god Eric Clapton, this Rock and Roll hall of fame band present its best work in one CD.

The british psychedelic's rock bands studio and live track versions from their recordings is much like the anticipated "The Very Best of Cream" anthology compilation disc. With favorite song tunes including "Anyone For Tennis?" (The Savage Seven Theme), "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Badge". Are highlighted masterpieces with Jack Bruce's acoustic guitar sound effects performances right here!

Quite a good repitoire of Cream classics. From "Sunshine of your Love" to "I Feel Free", if you don't have any Cream cds, this is the one to get.If you like The Doors, The Velvet Underground, or Hendrix, this is a top pick.