Legends – Page 21 – 7th Level Music

Rest in peace, Chris Cornell.

I’m not sure what I can add to the thousands of words already written on the death of Soundgarden and Audioslave lead singer Chris Cornell. He was one of the best rock singers of my generation, and even sang the Bond theme for the modern version of Casino Royale – “You Know My Name.”

I’ll always remember him for his work on Soundgarden’s masterpiece album Superunknown. The whole record is a stunning piece of work, and Cornell’s voice ranges from screaming metal work to psychedelic wanderings to doom metal growls.

He was open about his drug addictions, and there is already talk that his death might be the result of suicide. I wish him peace and his bandmates and fans strength.

Keep your mind open.

Live – The Damned and Bleached – Chicago, IL – April 23, 2017

Spoils of moshing: A Damned 40th anniversary U.S. tour poster, a signed Bleached t-shirt, and a broken watch band.

I’ve wanted to see the Damned for a long while and was bummed that I missed them when they played Chicago’s Riot Fest a couple years ago. Lo and behold, they came to the U.S. again for a 40th anniversary tour, and this time I was able to catch them with Bleached opening for them. That’s a win-win.

I saw Bleached in October of last year in Cleveland. They put on a good show, so I figured they’d be solid again. I did not know that they would be even better in just six months’ time. It was quickly evident (within two songs when they were absolutely gunning on “Trying to Lose Myself Again” from Welcome the Worms) that Bleached has seriously upped their game in just half a year. They powered through many cuts off their excellent new EP Can You Deal? and even one I hadn’t heard before (“Electric Chair”). I was gobsmacked by the end of their set. I caught up with sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin at their merch table between the first and second encores of the Damned. I told them their set was a home run and how much they’d improved since Cleveland.

“Being on this tour has been really good for us,” Jennifer Clavin told me. “Playing in front of a lot of people who don’t know us has really made us work on our stage presence.”

“It’s only been six months!” Jessie Clavin said.

“I know,” I said. “That’s what make it more impressive.”

Speaking of impressive, the Damned were just that.

“We’re back from the mists of time,” said lead guitarist Captain Sensible, “to save the world from shitty music like Mumford and Sons!”

The band tore into literal floor-shaking classics like “Generals,” “Disco Man,” and “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today” before a mosh pit finally broke out during “Love Song.” The first of two beers went flying through the air during this. For the record, I’ve been in some wild, fun crowds at the House of Blues. I’ve never seen cups of beer, hats, shoes, and jackets thrown into the air during a show there until I saw the Damned play there.

I stayed in the pit for “Love Song” and “Street of Dreams.” The Damned continued a great set (and Captain Sensible kept decrying Mumford and Sons – as well as Kurt Vile, whom he called a “pillock,” Duran Duran, KISS, and Billy Idol) that included such fine tracks as “Eloise,” “Wait for the Blackout,” and “The History of the World (Part 1).”

Of course, the crowd (and I) went berserk during “Neat Neat Neat” and “New Rose.” Moshing to those punk classics was a dream come true for me. Truth to tell, I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear “Neat Neat Neat” live, so being in the middle of a friendly mosh pit ten feet from David Vanian as he sung it was great.

As I mentioned earlier, they played two encores. The first included “Jet Boy Jet Girl,” sung by the Captain, “Noise Noise Noise,” and “Smash It Up.” The last track especially showed off keyboardist Monty Oxymoron’s skill. The second encore included “Nasty” (the first Damned song I ever heard thanks to them performing it on The Young Ones) and “Antipope.” A guy near me had been yelling for “Antipope” for the last third of the show, so I was happy for him (and all of us) that they played it. He went bananas.

It was a fun show. They haven’t lost anything. Sensible is still a great guitarist and Vanian (“the Vincent Price of rock,” as Capt. Sensible called him) still commands a stage like few can. The Damned are touring extensively throughout the U.S. before they head to Europe. Catch them if you’re near you.

By the way, here’s the list of things I found on the floor during and after the mosh pit: A button labeled “GW,” a spiked bracelet (belonging to a guy in a Misfits jacket behind me), a nickel, an opened (but thankfully unused) condom, a peacock keychain and attached house key (belonging to a young woman I found after the final encore), a hat (owner unknown), and a sweater (owner unknown). A guy next to me in the pit found a cell phone. I don’t know if he ever found the owner.

Keep your mind open.

Chicago’s Riot Fest unveils killer 2017 lineup.

Chicago’s annual Riot Fest has unveiled its first lineup announcement for 2017, and it trumps Lollapalooza’s.

They’re bringing in punk legends Buzzcocks, GBH, and Bad Brains, new punks Slaves, Death from Above 1979, and Pennywise, grunge powerhouse Dinosaur Jr., industrial legends Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, electro legends New Order and modern icons M.I.A. and Peaches, progressive psych-rockers TV on the Radio, modern rock giants Queens of the Stone Age, and rap legends Prophets of Rage, Wu-Tang Clan, and Mike D.

They still have twenty-five more bands to announce. Tickets might be sold out by the time you read this, so don’t wait to get yours.

Keep your mind open.

Sleater-Kinney – Live in Paris

The first ever live album from alt-rock / punk / riot grrl legends Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein – guitars and vocals, Corin Tucker – guitars and vocals, Janet Weist – drums and vocals) is a doozy. Live in Paris captures the band on their 2016 tour supporting the No Cities to Love album (their first in over a decade), and the only show of the tour where they performed a second encore.

Opening with the fiercely funky “Price Tag,” the band is already firing on all cylinders within the first thirty seconds. Tucker is growling and spitting lyrics like a rivet gun throughout it. “Oh!”, one of their biggest hits, keeps up the pace and you can envision the whole Parisian crowd bouncing throughout it. The crunch of “What’s Mine Is Yours” is only outmatched by Tucker’s battle cry voice. It also has a cool breakdown that flirts with psychedelia before Weis hammers out a tremendous fill that takes them back to angry rock.

“A New Wave” is chock-full of fuzz and bent notes as Brownstein and Tucker sing great double vocals on the chorus. “Start Together” is one of Sleater-Kinney’s best songs about rocky relationships. Tucker’s vocals are always pleading on it, as is the guitar work. “No Cities to Love,” from the album of the same name, is a slick song about attachment and how many of us never truly connect with the place we live (“There are no cities to love. It’s not the cities, it’s the weather we love.”).

“Surface Envy” has Tucker crying out for a little help in a relationship (“We win, we lose. Only together do we break the rules.”) and Brownstein and Weis pound out a hard rhythm behind her. I would’ve flipped had I been in the crowd when they played “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone.” It’s a powerful song about a girl with an unrequited crush and one of my favorites by them. “Turn It On” is a song about what might happen if that crush returns the affection.

Weis cuts loose at the beginning of “Entertain,” proving yet again that she’s one of the best rock drummers around nowadays. It’s a scathing song about a lover who expects Brownstein to entertain her all the time, but she lets her lover know that “reality is the new excitement.” “Jumpers” is one of Sleater-Kinney’s great examples of dual vocals from Brownstein and Tucker. The encores are “Dig Me Out” (a scorching punk track) and “Modern Girl” (a simple, but slightly fuzzed ode to being okay despite being alone).

Live in Paris might be the closest I get to a Sleater-Kinney show in a while, and I’m happy they released it. Everything you’ve heard about a live Sleater-Kinney show is true. This album is proof.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Frank Zappa – Joe’s Garage Acts I, II, & III (1979)

My best pal and I used to crank Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage a lot in college. It has a lot of rockers, humor, and weird stuff you love from Zappa’s work, but I never realized until I picked up my own copy that it’s a concept album about music being outlawed and Zappa’s masterful skewering of the record industry, commercial radio, religion, government censorship, and sexual repression.

The first song on the record, “Central Scrutinizer,” introduces one of the main characters and narrators of the album / play. Zappa plays the Scrutinizer and the character introduces nearly every track. The Scrutinizer’s job is to enforce laws that don’t exist yet, especially those related to “a horrible force called music.” The album is a presentation by the Scrutinizer to warn us against pursuing a career in such a dangerous thing.

The title track tells the story of Joe and his garage band’s meteoric rise to success and plummet into irrelevancy. It’s a groovy cut that salutes 50’s doo-wop, surf rock, and hard rock. Joe runs afoul of the law for dabbling in grooves, so the Scrutinizer sends him off to church to get his mind right. However, he runs into a lot of fun “Catholic Girls” there and is soon getting a blowjob at the CYO. It’s a gut-buster of a song that also has killer bass guitar throughout it and two switches to lounge-style jams that Zappa’s band pulls off with super slick ease.

Joe’s girlfriend, Mary, becomes a “Crew Slut,” in which Zappa sings about the groupie “way of life.” She joins the crew of another rock group and leaves Joe behind. There’s some fine harmonica playing on this track. The disco sound of “Fembot in a Wet T-shirt” shows that Zappa and his crew could (and did) play anything they damn well wanted. Mary gets back “On the Bus” after winning $50 in the wet T-shirt contest, and we’re treated to a great instrumental guitar solo taken from earlier live recordings in a process called xenochrony. Joe hears about Mary’s infidelity and finds solace in a new girl, Lucille, who gives him a venereal disease, which leads us to “Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?” – a song only Zappa could get away with putting on an album back then, let alone load the song with rock guitars and drums big enough for a concert hall. The following track, “Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up,” is a slow reggae jam as frequent Zappa collaborator Ike Willis sings Joe’s cries for love.

Joe joins the First Church of Appliantology (Yes, Zappa was satirizing Scientology years ahead of everyone else.) in an attempt to shed his earthly desires, only to learn he’s a “latent appliance fetishist.” Joe then heads to a fetish club on “Stick It Out,” where he hooks up with a “Sy Borg” and bursts out in German, and English, “Fuck me, you ugly son of a bitch!” Not only is this a song that will have you laughing throughout it, but it’s also one of the hottest rockers on the whole record. The band has a blast on it and everyone fires on all cylinders. Joe goes too hard on Sy Borg in the next track (while the band plays over eight minutes of weird lounge jazz) and is soon apprehended by the Central Scrutinizer’s thugs.

In prison, Joe is told about “Dong Work for Yuda,” which is perhaps the funkiest song about prison sex you’ve ever heard, and “Keep It Greasy” is a far funkier rocker about the same subject than Tool ever made. The rhythm section is on fire for the whole track.

“Outside Now” has Joe dreaming of playing guitar again to at least mentally escape from prison. The guitar work on it is suitably strange and sorrowful. “He Used to Cut the Grass” is a story of Joe’s woes once he gets out of prison and discovers all the other musicians are gone and the world is a squeaky clean plastic world of consumer goods so he has to retreat once more into his mind. The guitar solo on this is almost ethereal and a perfect reflection of Joe’s melting mind.

“Packard Goose” is, on its surface, a song about Joe’s descent into madness but is also a diatribe against music critics like yours truly. It’s a wild, almost freestyle jazz tune with stunning guitar shredding throughout it. Speaking of amazing guitar work, that’s all of the instrumental “Watermelon in Easter Hay.” It is easily among Zappa’s greatest solos and, according to Zappa himself, the best song on the record. Zappa’s son, Dweezil, has been quoted as saying it’s the best solo his father ever played.

The closer is “Little Green Rosetta,” a song the Central Scrutinizer believes is the best type of music. He (Zappa) freely admits “this is a stupid song,” but it’s a goofy yet fine piece of craftsmanship from him and features nearly everyone who worked in or hung out at Zappa’s home studio back in 1979.

It’s a fun, wild, amazing masterpiece. There was a stage show of it in Los Angeles in 2008, but where’s the Broadway version? We’ve had shows about gay puppets, anthropomorphic cats, goofy Mormons, and even adaptations of Monty Python films, why can’t we have Joe’s Garage: The Musical?

Keep your mind open.

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Failure – Fantastic Planet: The Live Album

In 2016, rock legends Failure (Ken Andrews – guitar, bass, lead vocals, Greg Edwards – bass, guitar, synths, vocals, Kellii Scott – drums) played their masterpiece album, Fantastic Planet, on a 20th anniversary tour across the U.S. Sadly, I couldn’t make it to any of the shows, but getting a live album of one of the stops on the tour is a nice way to hear one of the best records of the 1990’s.

The album starts with the clockwork sounds (and sorrowful guitar) of “Saturday Savior.” The band immediately sounds like they haven’t lost a thing in 20 years. I instantly regretted having to work a full-time job upon hearing this, because work kept me from making one of the stops of this tour. “Sergeant Politeness” is one of the biggest rockers on Fantastic Planet, and this version is nothing short of a kick in the teeth.

The live album even includes the three instrumental segues between tracks. Failure wasn’t kidding when they said they’d play the album in its entirety. The first bridges the gap between “Sergeant Politeness” and “Smoking Umbrellas” – which has some of the biggest chorus vocals on the record. Andrews makes sure people out in the concession stand can hear him. “Pillowhead” has Scott going as wonderfully nuts on it as he did in 1996.

“Blank” is a beautiful piece of shoegaze that feels like a warm bath after a sprint workout from the previous two tracks. “Dirty Blue Balloons” is one of the many songs on the record about drugs (which were a large part of the band’s life back in 1996), and its heavy-hitting chorus makes it like the greatest Pixies track they never recorded. Edwards’ guitar solo on it is great.

“Solaris” is a bit of a mind trip, and almost sounds like a Yes track. “Pitiful” is another one of the rockers on the album. The chorus hits you like a left hook you didn’t see coming. “Leo,” which I’m fairly certain is about a guy freaking out after coming down from a high, is just as good as it was in 1996. It sounds just like when I saw them in 1997. “The Nurse Who Loved Me,” another song about dealing with drug addiction, is a crowd favorite and was one of their biggest hits (even the guys in Tool hold this song in reverence). The electric piano supporting the crowd’s vocals is great and the song builds to an uplifting power.

Failure is sometimes described as a “space rock” band, and “Another Space Song” is a good example of why that’s the case. It’s the sound of a derelict alien craft in orbit around the moon. It’s trippy, creepy, and one of the best tracks on the album. This song alone should’ve made Failure an even bigger success.

“Stuck on You” is Failure’s biggest hit without question, and it’s not hard to believe it once you hear it. It was the song that introduced me to them and made me drag my two friends to their 1997 Lollapalooza set. It’s a powerful song (about heroin, no less) with a chorus that bursts like a sunrise over a mountain and yet hits as heavy as many grunge classics from the same time.

It flows well into “Heliotropic,” which takes us back to outer space with Andrews’ heavy bass, Edwards’ great solo, and Scott’s third stage-rocket drumming. The album ends with “Daylight,” which itself starts with the clockwork sounds we hear at the beginning of the album. It’s a snake eating its tail. It’s hypnotic and dire (and, yes, about the lull of heroin). Andrews’ voice is slightly distorted and sounds slightly out of the room…until the chorus explodes and nearly knocks you out of your chair.

I, like most of us, had no idea the band was going through such a rough stretch when Fantastic Planet was made and released. We’re lucky none of them overdosed or gave up music. We’re lucky the record was released at all, considering their label at the time was put up for sale before Fantastic Planet was released. We’re lucky to have this live recording and, hopefully, new material from them in the future. It’s time to find this classic if you missed it in 1996.

Keep your mind open.

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New Order offers new record and other perks through PledgeMusic.

Electro legends New Order are offering their new double album, NOMC15, through a PledgeMusic campaign that includes some neat bundles for purchase.

The album is a recording of one of two sold-out shows in November 2015 at Brixton Academy. It features eighteen tracks that include classics like “Blue Monday” and “True Faith,” rarer cuts like “Your Silent Face,” and new stuff like “Tutti Frutti.”

Some of the PledgeMusic campaign bundles include triple LPs, double CDs, T-shirt and print packages, and even Live at the London Troxy, which is a recording of a 2011 show that was the band’s first concert in five years.

Get the deals while they’re hot. The new record drops May 26th.

Keep your mind open.

The Damned’s North American tour starts April 6th.

THE DAMNED

40TH ANNIVERSARY NORTH AMERICAN TOUR BEGINS APRIL 6TH IN LOS ANGELES!

CHECK LOCAL TICKETING FOR EXCLUSIVE VIP PACKAGES FOR SHOWS

(INCLUDING LIMITED EDITION 7″ PICTURE DISC OF ‘NEW ROSE’)

NEW ALBUM IN THE WORKS – FOR MORE INFO & PRE-ORDER LINK VISIT: PLEDGEMUSIC

‘DAMNED DAMNED DAMNED’ 40^TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION OUT NOW VIA BMG

Photo: Dod Morrison

Formed in 1976, The Damned really need no introduction… As well as releasing the first ever British punk single and album, they also broke further new ground as the first UK punk act to tour America. Cited as one of the most influential punk groups of all time, they also contributed vastly to the gothic rock genre and influenced an entire generation of future hardcore punk bands such as Black Flag and Bad Brains, with their fast paced energetic playing style and attitude, as well as heavyweights such as Green Day and Guns ’N’ Roses (the latter acknowledged the debt when they covered “New Rose” on their 1993 album, ‘The Spaghetti Incident’). Along with the Sex Pistols and The Clash, the Damned helped spearhead the punk movement in the UK and they continue to wave the flag for originality, stick two fingers up to mediocrity and celebrate a DIY punk ethos in the face of plastic entertainment and scripted reality, four decades and ten albums later (and still on the road).

The band’s hugely influential classic debut single, ‘New Rose‘, celebrated its 40th anniversary last November with a limited edition 7” release via BMG. Featuring original artwork, picture disc and exclusive fold out poster, it’s a must have collectable release of one of the most influential records of all time. Their classic debut long-player, ‘Damned Damned Damned’ (the very first British punk album), was originally released by Stiff Records on February 18th 1977 and, to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the band’s dramatic breakthrough, BMG also released a very special Art Of The Album: Deluxe Edition of that incredible debut album on February 17th, almost exactly 40 years to the day since its original issue.

David Vanian, Captain Sensible, Monty Oxymoron, Andrew ‘Pinch’ Pinching, and Stu West headed into the studio this winter to start work on a brand new album, their first since 2008’s ‘So, Who’s Paranoid?‘ A pre-order link for the CD, colored vinyl, as well as exclusive merch (and experiences) is available at PledgeMusic. Stay tuned for more info.

Currently on an extensive world tour, which includes a two month North American run beginning April 6th in Los Angeles, they will also play a series of UK festivals this summer (check the band’s website for details).

See The Damned live – it will be a night out that you will remember for a very long time…

NORTH AMERICAN SHOWS:

April 6 – Los Angeles, CA – Belasco Theater <<<

April 7 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues ***

April 8 – Anaheim, CA – House Of Blues ***

April 9 – Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues ***

April 11 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore ***

April 12 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades ***

April 14 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom ***

April 15 – Vancouver, BC – The Commodore ***

April 16 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox ***

April 18 – Salt Lake City, U – The Depot ***

April 19 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall ***

April 21 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall ***

April 22 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line ***

April 23 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues ***

April 24 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom ***

April 26 – Indianapolis, IN – Deluxe at Old National Ctr. ***

April 27 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s ***

April 28 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues ***

April 29 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall ^^^

April 30 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Theatre ^^^
May 2 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda ^^^

May 4 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club ^^^

May 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw ^^^ SOLD OUT

May 6 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony ^^^

May 7 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA ^^^

May 9 – Baltimore, MD – Sound Stage ^^^

May 11 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade/Heaven ^^^

May 12 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House Of Blues ^^^

May 13 – St, Petersburg, FL – State Theater ^^^

May 14 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution ^^^

May 16 – New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues ^^^

May 17 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues ^^^

May 18 – Dallas, TX – House Of Blues ^^^

May 19 – Austin, TX – Mohawk Outdoors ^^^

May 21– Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theater ^^^

<<< w/ Alice Bag & The Sissy Bears

*** w/ Bleached
^^^ w/ The BellRays

“…a rage of rude bamalama and embedded pop-song smarts that, with time and sense, now sounds as consistent and fundamental as the Clash and Sex Pistols hymnals.” Rolling Stone

“The Damned are a band of infinite depth and a wide variety of pleasures. Their catalog includes high-quality blurs of melodic punk, Beach Boys-ish flowery psych-pop, chiming, bittersweet post-punk, Moody Blues-ish bombastmopherics, spiraling goth and soaring faux soul, all brilliantly executed…With their predilection for both massive power and chaos and highly developed and subtle songwriting, they continue to be an effective and dramatic touring act, to this day.” New York Observer

“The show was anything but a by the numbers nostalgia fest….The Damned delivered a performance that would leave many bands half their age in jealous awe.” Concert Addicts

“The Damned are 40 this year and still punk as fuck. Or goth as fuck. Or something in between that was never quiet the Ramones or Bauhaus, but Dave Vanian dressed like a vampire and Captain Sensible wore gonzo plaid. Something for every counterculture.” Diabolique Magazine

“For a band in their 40th year, The Damned surprisingly still have more energy than many groups half their age. Founding members singer Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible are all over the stage, moving almost constantly as they work their way through one song after another.” Chunky Glasses

“…across two sets, the band — which still features vampiric vocalist Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible — worked their way backwards, more or less, through their entire catalogue, delivering most of their best-loved songs along the way. Vanian’s voice is still in top form, and Captain Sensible provided the riffs and comic relief. Fantastic show.” Brooklyn Vegan

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Rewind Review: Cream – Goodbye (1969)

Wrapping up my journey through the Cream (Ginger Baker – drums, Jack Bruce – bass and vocals, Eric Clapton – guitar and vocals) catalogue, I arrive at their fourth and final record – Goodbye. The band was dealing with the pressures of success and frequent touring, the clashing egos of Baker and Bruce, the eagerness of Clapton to try something new, and a lot of drug use among all three.

Goodbye, which features interior album art of the song titles on gravestones, is only six tracks. Three are live cuts and three are studio recordings. The opener is a version of “I’m So Glad” over nine minutes long. Bruce’s bass is fat on it and they’re soon into a massive jam during which all three members try to outdo one another. This jam is so heavy that it’s a shock when they come back to the lyrics.

The bass and drums on the live cut of “Politican” are almost sludge metal, but Clapton keeps the blues flavor close. He keeps it even closer on “Sitting on Top of the World” with funky riffs, and Baker’s drumming on this cut is outstanding.

The studio cuts begin with “Badge,” which is written and sung by Clapton. It’s almost a Traffic track (and Clapton was trying to get Steve Winwood to join the band around the time, but Winwood was happy with Traffic). Clapton’s guitar work stretches out for a great mix of blues, psych, and even a touch of surf. “Doing That Scrapyard Thing” has Bruce playing bass and piano as he sings a quirky jaunt about his youth.

I’m sure the irony wasn’t lost on Cream, their label, and their fans that the last song on Goodbye is titled “What a Bringdown.” It’s a song that returns to their psychedelic rock (listen to that freaky guitar work by Clapton) and talks of changing times and looking for better opportunities (i.e., “Do you or don’t you wanna make more bread?”).

Goodbye is a good record. It’s no Disraeli Gears, but any Cream is better than none. They were too good to last, not unlike the Police. Theatres weren’t big enough for their rock, and unfortunately the band wasn’t big enough for them.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Cream – Wheels of Fire (1968)

The third stop on my journey through the Cream (Ginger Baker – drums, Jack Bruce – bass and vocals, Eric Clapton – guitar and vocals) catalogue brings me to their double album Wheels of Fire.

The album opens with perhaps their greatest hit, “White Room,” in which Bruce sings about being trapped in a strange place while Baker’s drums try to break him out and Clapton’s guitar wails like someone in a mental asylum. It’s a great way to start a record. Many bands could (and did) learn from it.

Their cover of the blues classic “Sitting on Top of the World” is another fine entry into their list of blues-rock power tracks, and Clapton’s guitars are downright dirty on it. “Passing the Time” floats from rock to calliope-fronted psychedelia. “As You Said” is more tripped-out psychedelia with Bruce’s vocals layered with reverb, his acoustic guitar licks spiced with Arabic influences, and even playing cello on it.

“Pressed Rat and Warthog” brings in trumpet and recorder as Baker sings about an unlikely pair of pals with a weird store and Bruce and Clapton put down heavy riffs.

Everyone had a political statement to make in the 1960’s, and Cream was no exception. “Politician” is a sharp-witted sting on politicians using their position to get laid and ducking responsibility whenever possible (“I’m support the left though I’m leanin’ to the right, but I’m just not there when it’s comin’ to a fight.”). “Those Were the Days” mentions another subject common in 1960’s music – Atlantis. Bruce sings about ancient times and places and how he craves a return to such enlightened times before Clapton unleashes a quick solo that might raise the lost city from the depths.

Their cover of the blues standard “Born Under a Bad Sign” pretty much set the standard for covering the Booker T classic. You can tell they had a good time recording it, and Baker’s groove is so sick it needs penicillin. “Deserted Cities of the Heart” has an excellent guest violin by Felix Pappalardi (who contributes a lot to the album on several tracks and instruments).

The second part of the double album is a live recording from the Fillmore that opens with another one of Cream’s greatest hits – their cover of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads.” Eric Clapton, as you well know by now, shreds the tune like a crosscut saw. As good as it is, however, it’s really a warm-up for the epic version of “Spoonful” that clocks in at nearly seventeen minutes. “Traintime” has Bruce having a blast on harmonica while Baker keeps a Johnny Cash-worthy beat behind him. Baker then goes bananas on “Toad” – a drum solo over sixteen minutes long.

The live portion of the album is alone worth the purchase price. The psychedelic rock on the studio album is a great bonus.

Keep your mind open.

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