Re: stones 1995 vs cream 2005
Date: January 8, 2006 20:37
I dunno, this is not fair imo. Cream, from mid-66 to January '69, issued four albums - two studio, a studio/live double, and "Goodbye" which has 3 live tracks and 3 studio tracks - the latter 3 adding up to under ten minutes. And I LIKE Cream, the way they developed from raw heavied up blues ("Fresh") to psych-pop gems of "Disreali"(thanks in no small part to fourth member, in all but name, Felix Pappalardi, who produced, played a dozen instruments, gave direction, & co-wrote material), and then to the creative studio craftsmanship of "Wheels" & "Goodbye". It is evident that in '68 some of that later material would NOT have been reproduceable onstage, what with the trumpets, cellos, tubular bells, tonettes, keyboards, mellotron, violas, and recorder that gave those discs color and tonal variety. Not the way they played in '68. Hell, disc one of Wheels gets a lot more play in my house than the wretched (except for the blistering "Crossroads") disc 2. So Cream reunites 35-plus years later, plays all oldies (pretty well) and it's like the second coming of Christ. They have not had to sustain a band career, and continue to make new records and write songs and tour regularly yet still remain commercially viable. I can't understand why people expect the Stones to go out as just a guitar band (which they do, for several songs each set) and play material that since '65 has grown way beyond 2 guitars, bass, drums. That may be the foundation, and listening to Handsome girls or Ya-Yas the foundation is indeed more than enough, but it no more embodies everything great about the Stones than bass/guitar/drums "power trio" embodies what is best, and to me most interesting, about Cream.