CREAM – WHEELS OF FIRE In The Studio LP – Nr MINT UK A1/B1 1968 ERIC CLAPTON

Cream – Wheels Of Fire In The Studio
(Polydor Records  1968  583033)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

EJ Day Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges/corners

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

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”.

Wheels of Fire is a 1968 double album by the rock group Cream, consisting of a studio and a live record. It reached #3 in the United Kingdom and #1 in the United States, becoming the first platinum-selling double album. In 2003 it was ranked number 203 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

It was also released as two single long-players, Wheels of Fire (In the Studio) and Wheels of Fire (Live at the Fillmore), released together with similar cover art. In the UK the studio album was black print on aluminium foil while the live album was a negative image of the studio cover. In Japan the studio album was black on gold foil while the live album was black on aluminium foil. In Australia both covers were laminated copies of the Japanese releases (the double album was never released in Australia).

Track listing

In the Studio

Personnel

• Jack Bruce – vocals, lead vocals, bass, cello, harmonica, calliope, acoustic guitar, recorder
• Ginger Baker – drums, percussion, bells, glockenspiel, timpani, spoken word on “Pressed Rat and Warthog”
• Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
• Felix Pappalardi – viola, bells, organ, trumpet, tonette
• Tom Dowd – recording engineer on disc one
• Adrian Barber – recording engineer
• Martin Sharp – art
• Jim Marshall – photography