The 500 - #205 - Wheels Of Fire - Cream

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #205
Album Title: Wheels Of Fire
Artist: Cream

Genre: Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock, Proto Metal
Recorded: Two studios (U.K. & U.S.A.) and two live venues (San Francisco)

Released: Summer, 1968
My age at release: 2
How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite

Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Crossroads (Live)

I've always loved a trio when it comes to rock bands. Two of my favourites are Rush and Triumph, progressive rock trios from Canada. However, I am also a fan of The Police, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Motorhead, ELP, ZZ Top, Nirvana, Beastie Boys, James Gang, Morphine, Silverchair, Husker Du and Primus. Collectively, the groups listed in boldface have 17 records on The 500 list. That total rises to an even 20 with the addition of Cream, the British supergroup comprising Eric Clapton (guitar, vocals); Jack Bruce (lead vocal, bass, harmonica); and Ginger Baker, (drums, percussion).

Cream, (l-r) Baker, Bruce, Clapton.

The term "supergroup" refers to a musical collective formed by individuals already successful as solo artists or with other bands. It first came to my attention in 1981 when the band Asia exploded onto the commercial music scene with their self-titled debut record and their chart topping single, Heat Of The Moment. Asia included members who had been in progressive rock bands that I already loved, including Yes, King Crimson, U.K. Uriah Heap and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). The unexpected commercial success of Asia felt like validation to me at 16. That summer, I suspect I skewered several romantic opportunities because of  my compulsion to share my knowledge about Asia with any girl who made the mistake of telling me she liked the song Only Time Will Tell.

However, Cream is generally regarded as the first supergroup. All three members were well established as premier blues-rock players in England. Clapton had success with The Yardbirds (#355 & #350 on The 500) and with John Mayall and The Blues Breakers (#195). Baker, whose groundbreaking drumming style blended jazz fusion and African rhythm, had gained fame with Blues Incorporated and the Graham Bond Organisation (GBO). Baker's first name isn't Ginger; it's Peter. However, he grew up in a tough area of south London and his flaming red hair quickly earned him the nickname. These days, I'd have a word with a student for using that pejorative moniker. In the 1940s, Baker accepted and adopted it like a badge of honour.

Baker, late 60s, matching his shirt with his flaming red hair.

The final member of Cream was journeyman multi-instrumentalist Jack Bruce who, by age 25, had already worked with Clapton and the Blues Breakers and with Baker in GBO. Bruce also found fame with Manfred Mann, a popular British band who took their name from their keyboardist.

The Cream trio came together because of their frustrations playing with earlier bands. Clapton found Mayall's band confining. Earlier, he left The Yardbirds because they were having "hits” with short ditties that eschewed guitar solos. Specifically, the two-and-a-half-minute song For Your Love, which topped the charts in the U.K., Canada and the United States, was built around a harpsichord melody. Similarly, Bruce and Baker felt stifled in the GBO and were fed up with band leader Bond's drug addiction and bouts of mental instability.

Graham Bond Organisation record featuring Baker and Bruce.

Baker, Bruce and Clapton initially decided on the name The Cream because they were considered "the cream of the crop" in the burgeoning U.K. blues and jazz scene of the ’60s. Sure, a bit boastful, but these lads had the chops to back it up. However, by the time of their debut release, Fresh Cream (#102 on The 500), it had been truncated to Cream.

Fresh Cream (1966), a record I look forward to writing about
in July, 2026.

Wheels Of Fire, the third release from Cream, became the world's first double record to reach platinum status -- with more than 1,000,000 units sold. It was also unusual because disc one featured nine tracks recorded in the studio, while disc two, dubbed Live at the Fillmore, included seven live recordings. For pop music buffs, a bit of trivia here is that six of the seven live recordings were captured when the band played at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom and only the instrumental track, Toad, was recorded at the nearby Fillmore Ballroom. This is likely because the Fillmore carried more cache, as many popular ’60s psychedelic acts had played and recorded there. Among them: Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Grateful Dead and The Mothers of Invention. Collectively, the foursome have eight records on The 500 list.

The famous Fillmore (Carousel Ballroom) in San Francisco.

I went through a Cream phase in the late-’80s, coinciding with my purchase of the Eric Clapton four-CD boxed set Crossroads. However, that is a story for when we get to my favourite album from the trio, Disraeli Gears, which ranks at #114 on The 500. It’s about my ill-fated attempt to join a few premier local musicians as their lead singer and saxophone player for a Battle of the Bands competition in the fall of 1988.