I have to admit, if I never heard another Credence, Motown or Doors song, I wouldn't feel like I was missing out. To be frank, many of the sounds of my boomer youth have been so overplayed on classic rock stations or used in angst-ridden movies that I find myself unable to listen to them any more. However, Cream is not one of those bands, and listening to this disc reminded me how very rich and muscular the best of that period's music could be, before it evolved into art rock like Yes, and that ilk. With the exception of Clapton's work with Derek and the Dominos, and I don't think any of these guys ever played as well as they did here, and I can't say enough about how good these songs are, even the goofy ones. Buy this, even if you're way too young to remember the band when it existed!

I used to think the term "remastering" was a come on dreamed up by Jimmy Page to sell old Led Zeppelin albums. I was wrong. Whoever is in charge of re-releasing the Cream catalogue should be ashamed of themselves. One of the greatest - I will dare say it - perhaps the greatest rock combo ever - has been ill served by the keepers of the catalogue. I had a cassette version of Cream's greatest hits that put the sound quality of this CD to shame. ERIC, JACK, GINGER - intervene and make sure your recordings sound crisp for posterity. You desreve better than what the corporate masters have dished out. Anyone with discriminating ears will immediately recognize that the sound quality is a triumph of profit over Cream's artistic genius. Shameful. Again (The BBC recordings are horrendous).

I got this CD as a Christmas gift for a friend, and she absolutely loved
it. I was impressed with the timely manner in which it arrived. I would
use this vendor again.

Jack Bruce's thumping vocals, Clapton's legendary blues guitar & Ginger Baker's fine drumming made for the finest Rock trio ever. I "Feel Free," has stunning vocals, snare drumming & Eric Clapton at his improvising best. "Strange Brew," has simple delivery, Clapton's falsetto singing & multiple guitar licks made for a sinister trance like tune. In the "White Room," the large array of instruments used alone make this an amazing tune.

For me, Baker's drumming is what held this song together. In "Crossroads," Clapton demonstrates why he is a blues master. Robert Johnson would be proud. "Sunshine Of Your Love," is their most popular song for a reason. Here Rock, Blues & pop sparkle into a love song that most music fans of any generation could appreciate. Clapton's base is an octave lower, which gave great depth to his riffs. Simply, a great group.

Great concert video! Brings back a lot of memories :o)

Some songs are poorly recorded and tinny sounding. They are not consistent. The selection is good.

Cream were a very good hard rock band that influenced many other hard rock bands. This is a talented band that released only a few albums. This collection of their greatest songs is one you should own because it has all the essentials.

I can't imagine a better deal than buying this wonderful collection of songs for such a good price.

I have had this for several years now, and I still find it to be just the right amount of cream with none of the filler. It has the ones you want, like I FEEL FREE, I'm So Glad, Strange Brew, Sunshine of You Love, Whiteroom, and Crossroads, plus a lot of other great tracks. This is still maintaining it's re-sale value, that is because people who get this don't sell it back, so you can't find it used. I'm likely going to play my CD to death, and then get another. Check this out, good value to get your injection of Cream.

I bought this when it came out years ago. I thought I would like it for the hits and the extra tracks. A good CD to have in your care. Right? The extra tracks are almost embarassing. The original Albums that were remastered have a lot more sonic boom. Pick those up.

If your a fan of Cream, this is the CD to have! It has 20 great songs for a long time of listening pleasure.

cream is called the cream because they really are the cream of the crop! no joke! the three men in the band was each the others favorite. so they decided to create thier own band! fortunatly they succeded in making one of the greatest bands ever!!

As good as ever; will never grow tired of the 'old' Cream hits!!

As several reviewers have mentioned, Cream wasone ofthe first major super groups. The Members of the group: Jack Bruce on bass andvocals, Eric Clapton on guitar and vocals,and Ginger Baker on drums, had all been in other bands previously. This cd, The Very Best ofCream, is a concise overview of Cream as a band. It contains some of there most famous songs like "Crossroads" "White Room" "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Strange Brew" along with some lesser known gems such as "Born on a Bad Sign."This cd is packed with great songs, and if you're a fan of 60's rock,guitar rock, or blues rock,this group is for you. I'm a teenager,and I think more of my generation should listen to this group. In there day,they were one of the best super groups out there.

Terrific compilation. Makes you regret the commercialized, synthetic music industry we have today. These songs are very well performed and recorded. What we really need in this day and age is more talent and less posturing.

I can listen to these guys over and over again in my car and never get bored. Great lyrics, awesome riffs, Cream is definitely tasty.

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. . The second track is "I Feel Free," follow the lead. The included songs are just too good for me to rate them below five stars. Cream were the masters of soloing and the live jam, so take a walk down to the "Crossroads." Disraeli Gears, with its psychedelic (hallucinogenic?) cover, carries such strong memories. I'll always remember "Swlabr," notwithsanding the mouthful of a title, for the neat, catchy verseline and lyrics, comin' to me when I wanted. And that classic guitar signature of "Sunshine of Your Love," one of rock's all-time great songs. It may be the best song, but what about "Badge" and the tingling psychedelia of "White Room," perhaps the group's most quintessential song, anyway. It's all here, a "Spoonful" of blues and "Sweeet Wine" and a "Strange Brew," and then those great guitar riffs to "Tales of Brave Ulysses."
Great stuff this,and i reccommend this band.

The Very Best of Cream is a must have for any Cream fan, this album showcases the versitility of a trio of musicians who, joined together for such a short time but concieved some titles that still sound fresh today. This is Eric Clapton,Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce at their best,with all their greatest hits.

This is truly the Best Of Cream. Some people say that you should get "Gold", but i say get this. first off, this CD is a lot less money than "gold". also, this CD has 20 songs while the other CD has 29, and 8 of them are live. So If you think about it, The Very best Of Cream has almost as many songs as "gold" for half the price.

This CD includes all the classic Cream Songs and it is a great buy for a great price

Great CD... however: there were many cuts that could have been left off and would not be missed. I would rather have had Quality than quanity on this CD. This was not the CD I thought it was

The history of electric blues would not be complete with mention of Eric Clapton, especially during his stint with Cream, which was in the vanguard of the British blues revival of the 1960's. Indeed, Cream, which also included drummer Ginger Baker and bassist/pianist/guitarist Jack Bruce, covered 30's blues legend Skip James' "I'm So Glad." The bulk of material on this very best of collection is taken from their two best albums, Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire, but there are some songs from Fresh Cream and Goodbye. And it's Clapton's guitar, sizzling and hard-edged one moment, wailing and bluesy the next, that really gave him and Cream their name.

The Stones and Led Zeppelin weren't alone in covering Willie Dixon. Cream covered "Spoonful" with a tempo and mood, and harmonica that owes a nod to traditional blues. Their live version of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" was their last Top 40 hit, peaking at #28 in 1969. And another cover is Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" with such pain-striking imagery: "been down since I began to crawl/if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all." I felt that way years ago.

What two songs are best associated with Cream? A no-brainer there. There's "Sunshine of Your Love," which hit #5, and the #6 "White Room," the former from Disraeli Gears and the latter from Wheels of Fire. The former scores with that familiar crunchy bluesy electric guitar that makes it a classical rock radio staple. "White Room" is one of those image-evoking songs that made Cream what it was, from the "White room with black curtains" to "silver horses run down moonbeams." This and other image songs were highlights of the psychedelic era.

But there are other famous tunes. There's an invigorating feeling in the lyrics of the fun romp of "I Feel Free." I first heard two artists cover this before hearing this original. They were Belinda Carlisle's poppified rendition on Heaven on Earth and David Bowie's quasi-techno on Black Tie & White Noise.

Cream really gets it right on the scathing satire of "Politician" Hearing "I support the left, though I'm leaning toward the right/but I'm just not there, when it's coming down to a fight" would've been ideal for Clinton when he embraced some of Gingrich's Contract on America platform. Other lyrics go to the clearly ironic. Since when do politicians practice what they preach?

Upbeat numbers include "I'm So Glad" and the metaphoric "Deserted Cities of the Heart." Some surreal lyrics are present in "SWLABR"-"you have a rainbow, but that rainbow has a beard." "N.S.U." has some rhythm and vocal stylings that recall early Pink Floyd, and a lyrical and image-invoking blues of "Tales of Brave Ulysses," with references to the Odyssey, are other highlights. But for some mood-invoking head-swaying blues, check out "Sitting on Top of the World," whose mood is akin to Led Zeppelin's "You Shook Me All Night Long."

"Anyone For Tennis" is an idyllic mellow summer number that peaked at #64 in 1968, while the final track here is "Badge" which peaked at #60 in 69, and which featured George Harrison on rhythm guitar. The bridge from where Clapton takes over seems a fitting valedictory to Cream's all-too-brief career.

Clapton had Blind Faith, brief stints with Ginger Baker's Airforce, Derek & The Dominoes, Delaney and Bonney, and his solo career awaiting him, but of the groups he was with, Cream put him on the path to fame, from which he has never veered.

Ive yet to find any live Cream recordings that are any where near as good as Crossroads and Spoonful on Wheels of Fire. All the other stuff lacks the moral power of experiencing new space. Does anyone out there know of any other recordings that are on the same page ? Regards John Nobbs

A bold statement, I know, and one that may cost me helpful votes. As if I cared. But it's true: Zeppelin's heavy, distorted blues-rock sound had been pioneered by Cream a good two years before Zep came around, plus Cream had musch more interesting lyrics - it helps that they collaborated with poets while Zeppelin just piled on cliched smut.
Anyway, yes this album is loaded with rock classics, mostly originals though there are three amazing blues covers: Crossroads is one of the ten, if not five, greatest songs of all time, and their versions of Spoonful and Born Under a Bad Sign also must be heard. Still, you should treat yourself to original songs such as White Room (my favorite Cream original, though Crossroads is their best song overall), I Feel Free, Sweet Wine, Sunshine of Your Love, Politician (They beat Led Zeppelin to the "guitar army" sound here!), Tales of Brave Ulysses, Strange Brew and Badge.
But some great moments were skipped. I'd like to see As You Said show up on a Cream best-of for a change, since it's really one of their better songs. Same with Ginger Baker's drum showcase Toad, I mean the studio version of course and not the indulgent live one. Lastly, Dance the Night Away would've been appreciated. Any one of these cuts could've taken the place of Wrapping Paper.
Start here, but make sure to get Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears, Wheels of Fire, BBC Sessions and maybe Goodbye.

A "Very Best of?" Maybe not. Personally, I'm not a big fan of "Wrapping Paper"...that should've been replaced with something else...maybe "Toad." Every other song is excellent.

As is with all "Best of," "Hits," and "Greatest Hits" collections, there are always selections that are left off that people feel should have been included. But then again, that's the "Best Hits" collections for you.

As far as this "Very Best of" collection goes, it serves as a great intro to the band. I think it's an outstanding compilation. In my case, it was pretty much the only Cream CD in the store. I would highly recommend this to any fans of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, or just anyone that is into rock or the music of the late 60s in general, or if you're just starting to take an interest in Cream.

That said, try to get a hand on their live records (Live Cream Vol. 1 & 2). I don't even know if those made it onto CD, so you might want you shop on eBay. Since Cream was at their best live, I'd recommend the live volumes before the studio albums (of course, be sure to get the studio albums too).

Cream would be one of the best classic rock bands ever. So much talent, amazing lyrics, amazing guitar and vocals what else could you want?...If you like Eric Clapton then heres some of his ealier works.

What do you get when you have one of the top 3 guitarists, a top notch singer and bassist, and an excellent drummer? You get Cream one of the all time greatest bands. (in my opinion) Although Sunshine of Your Love and Crossroads are well known, you will find yourself listening to those in addition to almost every other track. "Strange Brew" and "Swlabr" are paticulary good. So don't miss out on this Classic Rock classic.

Cream got it all right with their "best of" Compilation, which features 20 of their best hits at a reasonable price. I myself just got into Cream music through first hearing the bass controlled Sunshine Of Your Love and falling in love with it. In order to pursue my potential interest for the band, I wanted an album, but felt it necessary to become more accustomed to their music. Therefore, I downloaded several Cream tracks and liked them all. Recently finding out that Disraeli Gears is supposedly the essential Cream album, I went to check out some prices at a music store. My option was to pay 2 dollars more for the Best Of compilation which featured 20 songs, a number of them being already on the Disraeli Gears album, or buy the 11 track album, Disraeli Gears. Despite how classic a rock album it is, I let common sense get the better of me and bought the Very Best Of Cream.

To review this compilation, I would have to say it hits its stride once we reach N.S.U., a lyric shouter which flows together very nicely as a whole. That doesn't mean to say that Sweet Wine and Wrapping Paper aren't great songs though. I love the jump into I'm So Glad, and then as we continue, we get into more of the classic Cream hits that made them ever so popular. Swlabr is a huge highlight to this compilation, as is the smooth tendencies of I Feel Free. As with many discs, the first half stays consistent with song collection and the disc very much seperates itself in half, the first half focusing primarily on some of the more heavier sides of Cream, with controlled riffs. The second half features essentials like White Room and Strange Brew. Politician is art, with a heavier insight and noisier. We're Going Wrong is a softer, more melodic track, and then of course we have the blues based tracks, Spoonful, Sitting On Top Of The World and Born Under a Bad Sign, two of them being covers interpreted quite differently on the lyrical standpoint with small changes made. Badge seemse to close the album out nicely, and with a glorious piano accompaniement, and the changes of pace.

All in all, this a great compilation. Some people feel ashamed to buy Best Of's and Greatest Hits compilation, thinking they're not a true fan by doing so. I on the contrary, see it as a wonderful opportunity to explore the works of a particular artist or bands who you're not as familiar with as you wish you were. So please buy this compilation if you're a casual fan, someone who has an interest for 60s rock, or are just another Cream fan who's looking for all of their great hits on one affordable Disc. You won't regret your purchase, I guarentee it.

now I do admit that the remastering on this cd could be better, especially on "I feel free" and "strange brew," where the drums are practically not there in the mix. But other than production quality varying slightly from todays high standards, this collection is monumental. It captures all of the great cream songs, like "white room" and "crossroads" and a personal favorite of mine, "politician." If you are into classic rock you need this cd. If you want only the very greatest hits, the top 6 or so songs, they are on Cream of Clapton in better sound quality. I suggest you get that one also, because it shows the rest of Clapton's great music that he made after Cream. But by all means, get this cd. You will always enjoy having it around.

Cream (Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker) were possibly better as a live act than on record, but their records (at least some of them) were nevertheless impressive and this CD captures the best of their recorded music. The group were generally more popular in America (where they spent a lot of time touring) than their British homeland.

They were never really a singles act although they had some chart hits. They never made the UK top ten but they came close with I feel free. They also made the UK top twenty with Strange brew and Badge. Wrapping paper, Anyone for tennis, Sunshine of my love and White room all became minor UK hits. Every one of those tracks can be found on this collection, together with other brilliant tracks including Spoonful, Politician and Crossroads.

This compilation provides a great introduction to Cream's music, though maybe the best way to hear them is via their original albums (Fresh Cream, Disraeli gears, Wheels of fire, Goodbye). Still, this is the best place to start if you are new to their music.

Great basic compilation for begginers into Cream music such as myself , I have to admit that Clapton work never were that appealing for me untill i get lately into stoner rock since many new bands into this genre have rescued old influences and even very well known musicians that years ago fronted extreme metal styles have embraced stoner rock (i have commented before this in past reviews), well, Cream is one of the cornerstones of stoner rock many of the basic ingredients for this style were contained for the first time in Cream sound and for this reason im a beginner in to this legendary power trio music and what a surprise!!!!!, refinement of heavy riffs , methodic drumming , bluesy bass and fine vocals , nicely modulated not overproduced and natural vocalization , sublime slow riffs sinchronized in harmony with percussions and bass create delicious climax moments, "white room" is a classic now i realize from were The Cult took some elements for their style, "Im so glad" is so bluesy, Politician is a heavy song before the age of heavy came it is all a discovering , 3 music legends in one of the most real rock and roll bands Cream.
HM

i have not personally listened to this cd so i cannot attest to it's sound quality. some say it's good and others say not so it must be all in the individual ear. i have however heard 85% of the songs included in this compilation. for anyone not familiar with cream i'd say it's a good intro to the band for the reason that it includes most of my favorites. but the most important aspect of a cd such as this is for people to hear bands who start out with a mission like eric clapton. he after all these years has had staying power because of his singing, and writing talent and ear for excellent musicianship( he's an inspirational soloist and master of the lead in many musicians eyes). and musically, eric has been searching all of his life but one thing has remained a constant in his search and evident - that being his love and committment to the blues. maybe you'll find yourself wanting to listen to the blues because of eric's recorded love of the blues. this cd would have accomplished your intro to the blues. i think you'll agree his blues mission shows in this particular collection. and if you can't hear eric singing the blues above bassist jack bruce then in listening to jack bruce you can almost hear eric. their voices appear to be almost interchangeable. jack bruce is one of my all time favorite singers and if you can't hear it in "born under a bad sign" or "deserted cities of the heart" then maybe you'll hear him in "white room" which i heard him say was his favorite of all the songs he has recorded. or maybe the next time he's in town, you might go see him or eric because you've heard this cd. or possibly you'll want to hear more of ginger baker. what i'm trying to say is buy this cd as a good beginning to someone who constantly strived(s) for perfection and then maybe you'll find yourself wanting to hear all the other cds he has been a part of because eric clapton and all of the talent he has played and recorded with over the years is mesmerizing. so is his committment to the blues.

as a rule, most compilations are not all that great. usually one or maybe two songs get left off. or they just don't fill up a whole disc. but for the most part, this compilation has just about all of what you could want in a best of collection. now me, being a drummer, i would have also included.. yep, you guessed it.. TOAD. but, that's just a minor infracture to this great collection. cream only put out 4 studio albums and 2 vol's of live albums so really, by buying this instead of the actual albums, you're not really missing out on a whole lot. unless you're a completeist and just want the actual albums. the thing with this collection is, you get the songs that we're released as singles only like, anyone for tennis and wrapping paper which are not on the regular albums. all in all, for someone who just wants a single disc collection only, this is truly the way to go. you may not be one to put cream in your coffee, but be sure too put some cream in your music collection, great music from a great rock 'n roll band, get creamed today.

I got this compilation recently, and can not stop listening to it. I love EVERY song on this album. I picked it up because I really like Eric Clapton, and this blew me away. Check it out!

Honorable mentions: Strange Brew, Sitting On Top Of The World, Spoonful, Badge, White Room, SWLABR, Sunshine Of Your Love

I must say, I believe this disc is the way to go in putting together a Cream collection, even if you are relatively serious about the band's music, as I am. The band had a regrettably short lifespan, offering only 4 studio releases (two of them augmented by live versions of previously released songs), and most of their best tracks are included here. This collection, in particular, renders the band's debut album, 'Fresh Cream', and their most ambitious work, the double-LP 'Wheels of Fire', obsolete. Cream's swan song, 'Goodbye' really isn't even a collectable, so only 'Disraeli Gears' contains valuable tracks that cannot be found on 'the very best of Cream'. In addition, all of the tracks are remastered, and we have the presence of an unusual single release. To top it all off, we finally have a Cream disc where the producer made an effort to include some informative historical information on the band in the form of liner notes, and detailed information on the individual tracks, and several unique photographs of the band. It's a thoughtful and comprehensive compilation.

The CD starts off with the band's first single, the enigmatic 'Wrapping Paper'. Its unassuming pop posture is the last thing you would expect from the band, whose members were already steeped in the blues, rhythm and blues, and jazz. It's more of a curiosity than anything else. The song somehow made it into 'Fresh Cream' as well. We are then treated to the finer offerings from the debut LP. 'I Feel Free', 'N.S.U.', 'Sweet Wine', 'I'm So Glad' and 'Spoonful' are arguably the best selections from that disc.

Five selections from 'Disraeli Gears', the band's 1967 breakout classic follow. 'Strange Brew', built on the foundation of 'Lawdy Mama', 'Sunshine of Your Love' (the band's first top five hit), 'Tales of Brave Ulysses' and 'Swalrb' are easy selections. The inclusion of 'We're Going Wrong', however, is certainly debatable, especially when tracks such as 'Take It Back', 'World of Pain', and 'Dance the Night Away' lie in wait. I would have scratched 'We're Going Wrong' in favor of any of the other three standout tracks from this disc. These three tracks are probably enough to make 'Disraeli Gears' demand shelf space next to 'the very best of Cream'.

'Wheels of Fire' is gutted by 'the very best of Cream'. Every elite song is present, unless you're partial to the overdone instrumentals from the live disc, or Jack Bruce's 'Passing the Time' and 'As You Said', songs I would not consider essential to a Cream collection. There are seven songs included from 'WoF', and each is a winner, with 'White Room', 'Deserted Cities of the Heart', and the live version of 'Crossroads' being the obvious standouts. I actually sold off my copy of 'Wheels of Fire' when I purchased this disc.

'Goodbye' is certainly under-represented. 'Badge', being one of Cream's finest compositions, was a foregone conclusion for this disc. Since the rest of the disc is mostly live versions of previous releases by Cream, there wasn't much else to choose from. Instead, the producers elected to include the May, 1968 single 'Anyone For Tennis', which is almost as pop as 'Wrapping Paper', and had every bit as much success (none) on the charts. It is nevertheless a fun, laid-back listen.

Compilation discs often disappoint in one way or another, and while this one isn't perfect, it's darn close. So unless you're a completist, or tuned into the powerful and often lengthy live productions the band made of their studio tracks over the years, it may well be the only investment in Cream you'll ever need to make.

When you listen to Hendrix or the Beatles from this same year, or even a few years before, a couple things stand out. One of them is the shoddy original recording mix of Cream that no remaster seems to be able to fix. There's some kind of distance between you and the music -- a couple inches of sonically muffled noise, and no, I don't mean because their amps were too loud. There is always just a hiss, and the drums always sound like they were off in the distance, with all sorts of crashing and banging into one mike. I can only imagine how good this band might sound if someone had wandered over from the Beatles', Donovan's, Rolling Stones' or anyone else's studio and mentioned, "Hey, this guy is a pretty good drummer, why record everything through some cheap garage sound system?" Compare the recording quality of, say the White Album to this. Heck, even Zeppelin with its distortion was better recorded. Steppenwolf, too. And, dare I say, "Blue Cheer"? Too bad. It's not like they couldn't have afforded better recording. They sound way, way behind the times for their time on the recording quality level.

The second thing that ruins Cream is Jack Bruce. His wailing vocals are neither here nor there, and he has some indulgent need to echo the chorus and guitar leads with lots of "waah waah!" choruses. I guess he was all that back in the day (though how he was "the cream" with no memorable pre-Cream hits, and just a career abyss thereafter says plenty), but he ruins every Cream song for me. Nowadays everyone thinks Cream is all about Eric Clapton, but it still sounds like they're trying to back some earnest, failing singer. I guess his muffly, willy-nilly basslines are/were the cat's pajamas, but if Eric had sung these songs, brought in a studio bassist and a decent engineer, Cream would have been oh so much better.

Still a rockin' band, I must say.

Here it is, Bodge Phase ONE!!! This is A PSychodellic band, so it might sound strange and not as modern to your ears, like CCR! It has all the hits WHite Room adn Tales of Brabe Ulysses, Ulysses, in case you didnt know, was a book by James Joyce, and not many people have read it, but it is The best one written. SO get this it should be called THE ROOTS OF BODGE!

Oh, this weekend I visited some old friends and we played a new game called the Bodge Game. heres how. You start by saying "Bodge Is" then a word with be the next person says "Bodge IS" and a word with O and so on. Well when it came around for my one friend to say Bodge is B--- he said "Bodge is Beautiful". Then there was a pause and my other friend called him a name that means bilingual but isnt so nice.

So Now you can play the bodge game and this will happen and when it does it is pretty funny!!

So now you know...