Search - Cream :: Wheel of Fire

Blasts listeners with a scattershot of progressive rock, blu

loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 06/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Wheels of Fire," Cream's double-barreled assault on the rock world, blasts listeners with a scattershot of progressive rock, blues, and jazz-rock, half studio based, half live. Clearly, the strong personalities of Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton are at work here, sometimes yielding classic performances and other times conjuring up what now seem examples of excess or misdirection.



Tracks such as White Room, Deserted Cities of the Heart, and Those Were the Days exemplify the freewheeling progressive vibe. Crossroads, Born under a Bad Sign, and Politician all showcase the band in its blues mode. As You Said (which foreshadows Jack Bruce's subsequent solo work) and Spoonful incorporate jazz-rock motifs, with the latter also leaning heavily into blues.



On those tracks, the trio consistently plays to their strengths and at times, such as in Spoonful, both spur each other on and spar with each other. Jack Bruce is not shy about playing lead bass, Ginger Baker could outplay any four-armed drummer, and Eric Clapton does not sandbag his efforts.



Traintime, Toad, and Pressed Rat and Warthog, (as well as the bonus track Anyone for Tennis found on some masterings) are not Cream's finest moments.



This blast from the past ultimately has more going for it than against it. Even the lesser tracks merit a listen every now and then, and the great songs have achieved the iconic status accorded those performances that transcend time.

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