CREAM - Fresh Cream - Original UK Mono LP on Reaction - Eric Clapton Psych

	£		35
	$		46

New Page 1  

** RECORD COLLECTOR **

CREAM

Fresh Cream

Original UK Mono LP released on Reaction Records in 1966. Front-laminated cover.

593001 A ▼   2   420   /   593001  B//1

***CHECK OUT OUR OTHER CREAM & CLAPTON AUCTIONS THIS WEEK!!!***

Fresh Cream represents so many different firsts, it's difficult to keep count. Cream, of course, was the first supergroup, but their first album not only gave birth to the power trio, it also was instrumental in the birth of heavy metal and the birth of jam rock. That's a lot of weight for one record and, like a lot of pioneering records, Fresh Cream doesn't seem quite as mighty as what would come later, both from the group and its acolytes. In retrospect, the moments on the LP that are a bit unformed stand out more than the innovations, which have been so thoroughly assimilated into the vocabulary of rock, but Fresh Cream was a remarkable shift forward in rock upon its 1966 release and it remains potent.

Certainly at this early stage the trio was still grounded heavily in blues, only fitting given guitarist Eric Clapton's stint in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, which is where he first played with bassist Jack Bruce, but Cream never had the purist bent of Mayall, and not just because they dabbled heavily in psychedelia. The rhythm section of Bruce and Ginger Baker had a distinct jazzy bent to their beat; this isn't hard and pure, it's spongy and elastic, giving the musicians plenty of room to roam. This fluidity is most apparent on the blues covers that take up nearly half the record, especially on "Spoonful," where the swirling instrumental interplay, echo, fuzz tones, and overwhelming volume constitute true psychedelic music, and also points strongly toward the guitar worship of heavy metal.

Almost all the second side of Fresh Cream is devoted to this, closing with Baker's showcase "Toad," but for as hard and restless as this half of the album is, there is some lightness on the first portion of the record where Bruce reveals himself as an inventive psychedelic pop songwriter with the tense, colorful "N.S.U." and the hook- and harmony-laden "I Feel Free." Cream shows as much force and mastery on these tighter, poppier tunes as they do on the free-flowing jams, yet they show a clear bias toward the long-form blues numbers, which makes sense: they formed to be able to pursue this freedom, which they do so without restraint.

If at times that does make the album indulgent or lopsided, this is nevertheless where Cream was feeling their way forward, creating their heavy psychedelic jazz-blues and, in the process, opening the door to all kinds of serious rock music that may have happened without Fresh Cream, but it just would not have happened in the same fashion as it did with this record as precedent.

Tracks Are :-

Side One

N.S.U.
Sleepy Time Time
Dreaming
Sweet Wine
Spoonful

Side Two

Cat's Squirrel
Four Until Late
Rollin' And Tumblin'
I'm So Glad
Toad

Released on 'Reaction Records' in 1966

Catalogue No. 593 001

Disc is in VG+ condition (some light surface wear)

Sleeve is in VG+ condition (light shelfwear / minor laminate creasing)

Please contact me via Ebay Messages with any questions I will try my best to get back to you as quickly as possible.

PAYMENT BY PAYPAL ONLY FROM NON-UK BIDDERS

IF BUYING MORE THAN ONE ITEM PLEASE WAIT FOR COMBINED INVOICE!!!

---------------------------------------------------------

UK 1ST CLASS POSTAGE RATES FOR LPs & 12" SINGLES:

1 LP £3.90
2 LP £3.90
3 LP £6.50
4 LP £6.50
5 LP £6.50
6 LP £6.50

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE RATES TO EUROPE FOR LPs & 12" SINGLES:

1 LP £6.10
2 LP £7.50
3 LP £9.00
4 LP £10.50
5 LP £12.00
6 LP £13.50

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE RATES TO DESTINATIONS OUTSIDE EUROPE (USA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN ETC ETC) FOR LPs & 12" SINGLES:

1 LP £8.50
2 LP £11.00
3 LP £13.50
4 LP £16.00
5 LP £18.50
6 LP £21.00

-------------------------------------------------------------

POSTAGE RATES FOR 7” SINGLES & CDs:

UK: £1.80 – then £0.50 each extra.
EUROPE: £4.50 – then £0.50 each extra.
DESTINATIONS OUTSIDE EUROPE: £5.50 – then £1.00 each extra
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND: £6.50 then £1.00 each extra

*********DOUBLES COUNT AS TWO*********

---------------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT COMBINED SHIPPING ON ALL 12" VINYL / LPS / 12" EPS / 12" SINGLES - PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY!!!!

We offer combined shipping on all LPs / 12" Vinyls: our shipping rates are listed above. HOWEVER shipping packages that weigh more than 2kg is VERY expensive. Therefore we can only offer combined shipping up to a maximum of SIX (6) LPs / 12" vinyls. Any extra purchases will be invoiced, packaged and shipped separately.

***Due to the physical logistics of how I can package orders, I will not combine box sets with other items, I will only package them individually***

---------------------------------------------------

COMBINED POSTAGE FOR DIFFERENT FORMATS will be invoiced at my discretion:

While I am happy to combine (for example) one or two 7” singles into one package with 12” records, sometimes it simply isn’t practical (like if you want me to combine one 12” record with three or more 7” records). I simply do not think that these combinations can be packaged together safely and securely. Therefore these will be invoiced separately as two packages.

IF YOU ARE UNSURE, please contact me before bidding!

---------------------------------------------------

Sorry but I am no longer willing to carry combined transactions beyond two weeks of auctions (see below).

---------------------------------------------------

PAYMENT

I would appreciate payment within seven days of the auction’s end. If you want to bid on more of my auctions ending a week later please inform me. I will wait and issue a combined invoice at the close of the second week’s auctions.

However, I am no longer willing to carry combined transactions beyond two weeks and in these cases would appreciate payment promptly after the close of the second week’s auctions.

I am sorry to have to introduce these measures – I always try to be patient and allow buyers to bid on extra auctions and / or delay payment. Unfortunately some buyers have been stretching out transactions to unacceptable lengths so I feel I have no option but to limit ‘carried over’ transactions to two weeks.