disraeli gears

Cream stirred things up with the heavy power rock of this psychedelic blues tour de force.  'Disraeli Gears' was recorded with producer Felix Pappalardi at Atlantic Studios in New York City over four days with Eric Clapton on lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and vocals; Jack Bruce on bass, piano, vocals, and harmonica; and Ginger Baker on drums, percussion, and vocals.  

Clapton considers:  “Everything I play is structurally blues. If you ask me to play baroque or Indian music, or something except blues, I wouldn’t be able to. Whether or not I’m playing pure blues isn’t the point, but whether or not I’m playing it good or bad is the point...Our music cannot be categorized because a lot of the material we play is not blues, it’s another thing completely, probably brand new...kind of a cross between what we are like in the studio and what we’re like on stage...Our sound is like an old blues sound, but heavily amplified."

Bruce admits:  “We don’t really know what songs we’re going to do when we go into the studio...We get a good sound track and then fool around with it...You can talk about the things that happen when you’re making music, but you can’t talk about the music itself because it’s a sound. It doesn’t translate the same way words do.”

Baker says: "My drums in Cream came about solely because of the volume the other two guys were playing at. You had to play heavy to hear yourself play. They were playing so loud! But, I mean, if you really listen to Cream, there's an awful lot of color involved in that. A lot of dynamics and stuff."

'Disraeli Gears' went to number twenty-nine in Greece, sixteen in Norway, ten in Canada, five in the UK, four in the US, and number one in Australia.  The title came from a comment from a roadie about a bicycle that Clapton was considering buying:  meaning "derailleur gears", he came up with the title, which the band found so hilarious that they used it for the album.  







http://www.jackbruce.com/

http://www.gingerbaker.com/

http://www.ericclapton.com/













'Sunshine of Your Love' went to number five in the US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16h6vLy6n4A




'Tales of Brave Ulysses' travelled to number seventeen in the US.







'Disraeli Gears'
full album:




Side one
1. "Strange Brew"   (Eric Clapton, Felix Pappalardi, Gail Collins)  lead vocals:  Eric Clapton 2:46
2. "Sunshine of Your Love"   (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown, Clapton)  lead vocals:  Jack Bruce, Clapton 4:10
3. "World of Pain"   (Pappalardi, Collins)  lead vocals:  Clapton, Bruce 3:03
4. "Dance the Night Away"   (Bruce, Brown)  lead vocals:  Bruce, Clapton 3:34
5. "Blue Condition"   (Ginger Baker)  lead vocals:  Ginger Baker 3:29
Side two
1. "Tales of Brave Ulysses"   (Clapton, Martin Sharp)  lead vocals:    Bruce 2:46
2. "SWLABR"   (Bruce, Brown)  lead vocals:  Bruce 2:32
3. "We're Going Wrong"   (Bruce)  lead vocals:  Bruce 3:26
4. "Outside Woman Blues"   (Arthur Reynolds, arr. Clapton)   lead vocals:  Clapton 2:24
5. "Take It Back"   (Bruce, Brown)  lead vocals:  Bruce 3:05
6. "Mother's Lament"   (Traditional, arr. Clapton, Bruce, Baker)  lead vocals: Baker, Bruce, Clapton  1:47