Consumer Guide Album

Cream: Live Cream [Atco, 1970]
Clapton, Bruce, and Baker made their money (and names) and ruined their music (and fellowship) in concert. About forty percent of what they released on record during their career was live, so this posthumous product is unnecessary by definition; it's also preferable to the live disc of Wheels of Fire ("Toad" and "Spoonful" are their nadir), if not to the more shapely live cuts on Goodbye. The intensity of side one is unmistakable and attractive, but I'll take Clapton's graceful picking on Fresh Cream's "Sleepy Time Time" over the flat-out distortions here--Hendrix has all that amp stuff locked up solid. About the strings, we'll see. C+