CREAM – DISRAELI GEARS LP – VG A1/B1 UK STEREO CLAPTON BRUCE BAKER

Cream – Disraeli Gears
(Reaction Records  1967  594003  Stereo)
Matrix No’s: 594003 A 1 1 6 4 1/594003 B 1 1 2 l 1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Very Good condition
(Vinyl plays great apart from last 2 tracks on side 1 which have 2 scratches which give clicks – otherwise would be Nr MINT with a few light pops/crackles)

EJ Day Fully Laminated Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– some wer on the bottom right corner and back cover shows a light crease to the laminate on the top left corner
Original Inner Sleeve

Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup power trio consisting of bassist/singer Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and guitarist/singer Eric Clapton. The group’s third album, Wheels of Fire (1968), was the world’s first platinum-selling double album. The band is widely regarded as the world’s first successful supergroup. In their career, they sold more than 15 million copies of their albums worldwide. Their music included songs based on traditional blues such as “Crossroads” and “Spoonful”, and modern blues such as “Born Under a Bad Sign”, as well as more eccentric songs such as “Strange Brew”, “Tales of Brave Ulysses” and “Toad”.

The band’s biggest hits are “I Feel Free” (UK, number 11), “Sunshine of Your Love” (US, number 5), “White Room” (US, number 6), “Crossroads” (US, number 28), and “Badge” (UK, number 18).

The band made a significant impact on the popular music of the time, and, along with Jimi Hendrix and other notable guitarists and bands, popularised the use of the wah-wah pedal. They provided a heavy yet technically proficient musical theme that foreshadowed and influenced the emergence of British bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Jeff Beck Group, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They also had an impact on American southern rock leading groups The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band’s live performances influenced progressive rock acts such as Rush.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. They were included in both Rolling Stone and VH1’s lists of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time,” at number 67 and 61 respectively. They were also ranked number 16 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock”.

Disraeli Gears is the second album by the English rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching No. 4 on the American charts. The album was No. 1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the No. 1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the United States. The album features the two singles “Strange Brew” and “Sunshine of Your Love”.

The title of the album is based on a malapropism. Eric Clapton had been thinking of buying a racing bicycle and was discussing it with Ginger Baker, when a roadie named Mick Turner commented, “it’s got them Disraeli Gears”, meaning to say “derailleur gears”, but instead alluding to 19th-century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. The band thought this was hilarious, and decided that it should be the title of their next album.

The original 11-track album was remastered in 1998, and then subsequently released as a two-disc Deluxe Edition in 2004.

In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 2003 the album was ranked No. 114 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. VH1 also named it their 87th greatest album of all time in 2001. In 2008, the album won a Classic Rock Roll of Honours Award for Classic Album.

Track listing

Original album

1. ^ Sung as a two-part harmony.
2. ^ Sung as a three-part harmony.

Personnel

Cream

• Ginger Baker – drums, percussion, vocals
• Jack Bruce – bass, piano, vocals, harmonica
• Eric Clapton – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, 12-string guitar, vocals

Production

• Felix Pappalardi – producer
• Tom Dowd – recording engineer
• Bob Whitaker – cover photography
• Martin Sharp – cover art
• Jim Marshall – additional photography