Hi this is a sort of Cream appreciation thread.
Over the years people said Led Zeppelin and Hendrix were an influence for Queen.
When you listen to the early material (pre Queen) they've played some Cream songs as well.
Cream really was a great band (and still is) in my opinion, but what do you think of the band?
Did Eric Clapton make a wise choice to go solo or should he have sticked with the band?
Famous songs:
Sunshine of your love
White Room
etc.
Eric Clapton was never a "band guy", was he? He left the Yardbirds because they released "For Your Love" which was "too commercial" for his liking. Cream was the best group he was ever in, their music stands the test of time. I still listen to their albums, they still sound good. When they played 4 concerts in May 2005 I was online at 7 in the morning to get tickets but I failed :-( I would have paid a fortune to see them. Brian May was there and on their QPR Newcastle gig on May 3rd 2005 he played parts of "Sunshine Of Your Love" as a tribute. Roger made occasional jokes about the long Ginger Baker drum solos on the QPR gigs...
As to the question: should EC have stayed in the band: I don't think so. I think he is just not the real team player although he played with virtually everybody on stage over the decades. The discipline of a group is not for everybody. He broke up Blind Faith after only one album although it was a huge hit. I don't know much Derek and the Dominoes except that Layla comes from this band but it did not last for long, either.
deleted user 03.08.2007 15:04
I don't think Eric Clapton should have stayed in Cream. Like was said before, he wasn't really much of a team player. He was probably more content being labeled 'Eric Clapton--successful solo artist and legendary guitar god' than 'the ex-guitarist from Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes, and Cream' anyway. I believe that if he wouldn't have gone solo, he wouldn't have been as famous as he is now.
I am going through an obsessive Cream period at the moment.
I seem to listen to nothing but Cream these days - particularly the 2005 Albert Hall gig, which I actually think sounds even better than their old live stuff, though many will disagree.