Cream "Wheels Of Fire" Polydor-583 031/2 2XLP UK 1st press g/f A2/B1/A1/B2 1968
£
24
$
32
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Description
Cream "Wheels Of Fire" Polydor ?583 031/2 UK 1st stereo press 2 × Vinyl, LPs, housed in a gate-fold sleeve and released in 1968.
Both albums have a few surface marks which didn't get in the way of the music when I played them on my elderly stereo - no hop, stick or jump, and just the occasional crackle between tracks. The albums are housed in a gate-fold sleeve, which shows some signs of wear, but which is intact, no rips or writing. The spine is intact and legible. Matrix / Runout Side 1 : 583031 A//2 Matrix / Runout Side 2 : 583031 B//1 Matrix / Runout Side 3 : 583032 A//1 Matrix / Runout Side 4 : 583032 B//2
"Wheels of Fire" is Cream's third album, released in August 1968 as a two-disc vinyl LP, with one disc recorded in the studio and the other recorded live. It reached number three in the United Kingdom and number one in the United States, becoming the world's first platinum-selling double album. In May 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 205 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Cream's third album was planned to be a double album on which Atco Records' producer Felix Pappalardi and the group would include several live performances. The group and Pappalardi had, in July and August 1967, recorded studio material at IBC Studios in London, and at Atlantic Studios in New York City during September and October of the same year. Additional studio material was recorded at Atlantic Studios in January and February 1968, during a break from the band's heavy tour schedule. The following month, Pappalardi ordered a mobile recording studio in Los Angeles to be shipped to the Fillmore Auditorium and the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Six shows were recorded in San Francisco by Pappalardi and recording engineer Bill Halverson, and extra performances not included on "Wheels of Fire" ended up on "Live Cream" and "Live Cream Volume II".
The recording engineers on disc one were Tom Dowd and Adrian Barber, the songs on disc two were recorded by Bill Halverson and the performances on the second disc were mixed by Adrian Barber. The artwork for the album was by Martin Sharp who had also done the artwork for "Disraeli Gears". The photography was by Jim Marshall.
Ginger Baker co-wrote three songs for the album with pianist Mike Taylor. Jack Bruce co-wrote four songs with poet Pete Brown, while Eric Clapton contributed to the album by choosing two older blues songs.
For the second disc, Felix Pappalardi chose "Traintime" because it featured Jack Bruce performing a harmonica solo, and "Toad" because it features Ginger Baker's drumming while "Spoonful" and "Crossroads" were used to showcase Eric Clapton's guitar playing.
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