Disraeli Gears

I can't believe I hadn't heard this album before. Sunshine of Your Love didn't even sound all that familiar to me. Anyway, this was bluesy and psychedelic in perfect amounts. It worked well. I hate Eric Clapton.

I was relived that this didn't include racist or anti-vax conspiracy theory themes, despite Eric Clapton's involvement. I don't know if we should separate the art from the artist, but for the purpose of this exercise I will try. Bluesy and psychedelic garage rock. It seems the Beatles weren't the only band doing interesting things in 1967. However, the interesting bits are relatively sparse here and there are several weak tracks, some of which are really quite annoying. The performance and musicianship maybe also disguises fairly nothingy song writing. Overall, about half of the album was enjoyable and it is easy to hear how this would have been influential. Sunshine of your Love the stand out track. 2/5.

This album should be a lot better for the hype it gets

Even in a release year crowded with banger albums (Jimi Hendrix, "Are You Experienced" and Beatles, "Magical Mystery Tour" among them), Cream's "Disraeli Gears" stands out among the very best of the year or even the decade. It's got everything you want form a 60s rock album (self-aware lyrics, social commentary, a bit of psychedelic juju, driving rhythms, the works) but with that extra dose of face-melting blues guitar from the the one and only Eric Clapton. The man's a guitar legend for a reason. Clapton's guitars, Baker's rhythms, and Jack Bruce's vocal performances combine to push out such a great vibe I can't help but love every minute of it.

Sorry Eric Clapton, really not doing anything for me. I can understand the significance of this record, but it was 30 mins long and felt like an hour. Not a winner chicken dinner.

Tales of Brave Ulysses and SWLBR are underrated gems. Classic album. Mother's Lament is weirdddd. Slightly repetitive at some points but a great listen. 4.5.

Quintessential psychedelic rock. Clatpon, Bruce, and Baker are all insanely talented, and each track managed to impress me. Lots of blues influence from Clapton's previous work in the Yardbirds. I love how the album goes from full psychedelia to blues near the end. Not a single bad track (ok Mother's Lament is just them having fun), and it becomes an enjoyable listen from start to end you can't get tired of.

THIS ALBUM FUCKS! I actually remember linking this to Giulietti like a year ago, when i was on a 60's kick. this album is so far out there, but in the best way, and just makes you feel like you are drugs on points, lol. there are some weird fucking songs like "Mother's Lament" was fucking morbid, but the rest of the album is fucking genius.

What a trip! A grooveless blues rock pissabout with mildly funny jokes. At least the half-arsed Dylan impression was funny, regardless of whether it was intended to be.

Big Kinks energy all over this but especially Blue Condition.

Anybody who has read any of my previous reviews knows that I am not a lover of Psychedelia but beware because whilst this nods to then custom of filling yourself with mind-altering substances (and I am sure that at least two of this trio, Ginger & Eric, where stoned for the whole of the sessions) do not be fooled by the cover. this is a Jazz/Blues album of the highest quality. Classics like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Strange Brew" and the Jack Bruce Composed "Take It Back" with some lovely R & B Mouth Organ from Jack are all classics. Love it as it is still Blues before they got "Heavy"... But probably one album that is the reason we had Led Zep Dominating the 70's. Love it and rightfully on the list. P.S. Mothers Lament is a music Hall classic too!

Yes, it's possible to separate Clapton's current tendencies to be an A-hole from the genius of CREAM. This album is a good reason. Nevermind the genius of Clapton's playing but listening to one of the greatest drummers Ginger Baker and the masterful bass playing of Jack Bruce makes this album such a sonic explosion that they only needed three members to do it.

Big Cream fan right here. I had already heard a lot of the big tracks on here but never the full album. Had a lot of fun jamming to this one. I enjoy a little more heavy, bluesy psych rock as opposed to the more pop/folksy stylings of Love. Wouldn't say Cream is an underrated band because they are very well respected, but I feel like the heavy psych rock discussion of that era is pretty dominated by Led Zeppelin. It was just cool to hear another laudable take on the genre.

I've never understood the argument for Clapton being one of the greatest guitar players of all time. There are thousands of blues/rock guitarists that sound just as good or better. He doesn't really bring much to a song imo. He is also a racist asshole, but I am going to try to separate art from artist on this one. Sunshine Of Your Love has a cool riff, but besides that this album is incredibly lame. Not really sure what people see in Clapton, he really is average at best. Even for his time he doesn't sound that ahead of the pack or that unique. The production also sounds really muddy, but it was the 60's so I can let that slide a little bit. I can't tell if there are multiple singers or not, but no one here can sing. Low 3.

What an album!! Got to see them live at the Santa Monica civic auditorium with the electric prunes as the other band on the bill!! A must listen for anyone who likes 60’s Psychedelia bands a classic!!

4.9 One of the best things to come out of one of the best years for music. Fave songs: Strange Brew, Sunshine of your love, world of pain, SWLABR, Mother's Lament

# Playlist track - Tales of Brave Ulysses # Notes - Freaking amazing. Hard to choose just one track. - I listened to Cream a lot during my "mp3 download era". Still sounds just as great. - Still have no idea what "Mother's Lament" is about. lol. - Fun fact: In ancient times, I tried to create a blog, and the name would be "Strange Brew". As most things I wanted to do in life, procrastination got the best out of that one. - I was going to nominate "Strange Brew" to album track, but the imagery of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is just too good.

This album was one of my undisputed favorites in high school, and it continues to be captivating. The lyrics come through crystal clear, and the guitar has some of the best riffs of all time. Despite the guitarist being a bit of dick, I thoroughly enjoy his work from the sixties. Of course the drums and bass are fantastic as well, but it's clear who they thought the stars of the show were in the mix. "Strange Brew," "Sunshine of Your Love," and "Tales of Brave Ulysses" are some of my favorite songs of all time, so I feel obliged to give this one a five. Bruce's voice is incredibly elegant, especially for other contemporary psychedelic rock (love Syd, and his voice, but Bruce definitely takes the cake). It's unfortunate that they only had a few albums, but they were all really solid. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, and 11.

Well that album was a trip, I'd expect deliberately so. Bit odd that it opens referencing "Strange fruit" as it's a British Rock album. However felt like a true global album pushing boundaries for the time (and still now considering the blandness which permeates now)

Super group comprised of Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton. This is a fantastic album. If I recall correctly, Tales of Brave Ullyses was one of the first song to feature a wah-wha pedal.

Excellent album - shame about the last track. I guess they were trying to demonstrate a sense of humour!

Sometimes I thought I heard some licks from Layla, then I found out Eric Clapton was in this band

This is probably Cream’s best album. Half of it can be found on a greatest hits compilation. This album is primarily blues rock tinged with psychedelia. Unlike a lot of bands of the time, Cream does not let the psychedelic overrun the album and those elements are used tastefully and never at the expense of the blues core. The musicianship is of course top notch. With Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce having jazz backgrounds and Eric Clapton having a deep blues background, the quality of the music and arrangement takes priority. Luckily, both Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton have great voices which blend well. It’s almost unfair how good this band is. This album suffers only from the fact that it does contain some filler, though the short length of the album makes even that much more palatable.

Epic album..

Loved it!

I have not listened to this in a while but it still resonates as a breakthrough album by three rock legends, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker. Most people have at least heard "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love". There are many other great songs on this album that move seamlessly from the band's blues roots to more psychedelic rock. Love "Tales of Brave Ulysses." It was a pleasure listening to this again as it is an all time classic for me.

This is brilliant up there with the best rock from the 60’s cream is by far the best thing Clapton was involved in and this is their best album. 5 stars.

If the remainder of Disraeli Gears had been a shambolic shitshow following the colossal one-two punch of Strange Brew and Sunshine of Your Love, it wouldn't be remembered as fondly as it is now. Thankfully the eight songs (nine if you want to count Mother's Lament) that follow Sunshine does more than what's required to uphold its weight and become equally memorable and quality songs that justify its position as the absolute peak of the sweet yet sour, shortlived lather of guitar/bass/drum combo that was Cream.

My dad had this record in his collection and I spent some serious time working this cream into a foamy lather when I was growing up. From the album art to the primitive distorted riffs that go on and on, to the trippy lyrics (bearded rainbow, anyone?) this transitional album embodies what I had always thought the late 60's to be. Iron Butterfly's album sputtered after In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, but Disraeli Gears continues to crank out great tracks SWLBR, Strange Brew, Sunshine etc., (I can do without Mother's Lament and Dance the Night Away). It's hard to discount this album as it marks the beginning of the most important period of rock ... the early 70's.

this album will never get old for me. CLAPTON IS GOD

this is a great album, don’t love “we’re going wrong” and “mothers lament” (wtf?) but the rest are electric guitar bliss

amazing

vsf eric clapton

fuck Clapton. this album is great but I hope its the last Clapton album I have to listen to.

Jace Bruce is perhaps one of the most overshadow music of all time. He shines on this album. Some really songs, Strange Brew, Sunshine, Tales of Brave Ulysses, SWLABR, couple stinkers like blue condition.

4.7 - So far this is the only Eric Clapton project I've heard that I wouldn't consider completely overrated. In fact, the intersection of blues, psychedelic and early heavy metal is truly special. "Strange Brew" starts us off with a perfect sample of all the colors within this record's palette - there's fuzzy squealing guitar, evocative lyrics and 12-bar blues. "Sunshine of Your Love" a rock mainstay invokes early elements of heavy metal. "Tales of Brave Ulysses", arguably the record's psychedelic apex, starts side B bringing together all of these elements. "We're Going Wrong" reminds us that in addition to being a world class guitarist, Clapton also has some impressive vocal chops. I also love the drumming on that song. "Mother's Lament" closes out the record with a dark little nursery melody.

"Oh, your baby has gone down the plug hole Oh, your baby has gone down the plug The poor little thing was so skinny and thin He should have been washed in a jug... ............. in a jug"

This album makes me want to drop acid. Best track: Sunshine Of Your Love.

Excellent rock and psych rooted in blues. I think Clapton might be a wanker, but I’ll keep that out of this. 4 Creams / 5.

Disraeli Gears Did either of you have this on CD? I never bought it but I’m sure I borrowed it from one of you. Anyhow, I haven’t listened to this in years, and I can’t really remember much of it, apart from, of course, being very familiar with Strange Brew and Sunshine of Your Love. Is this Clapton’s most inventive and interesting playing? As we’ve experienced on this list a lot of psychedelic influenced blues rock is woeful, but this feels different, the psychedelic pop approach seems to bring a sense of playfulness and service to the song from Clapton, and he works really well in tandem with Jack Bruce, while Ginger does whatever he wants. Sometimes Ginger does some great stuff and it really adds a different dimension to the songs, and at other times he just seems to be banging relentlessly on his tom toms. Also his two lead vocal tracks are terrible - Yellow Submarine and Octopus’s Garden these are not. World of Pain, Dance the Night Away, SWLABR, We’re Going Wrong are very good bits of bluesy psychedelic rock. Outside Woman Blues is a great bit of blues, but Take it Back is rather pedestrian and unremarkable in comparison, but overall Strange Brew, Sunshine of Your Love and Tales of Brave Ulysses are the standout tracks. Overall this is a very very good late 60s album with some great guitar and bass - an easy solid 4. ⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️ Playlist submission: Sunshine of Your Love

Wow okay so I guess I know a lot more Cream than I thought. I get it now. The fuzz, chunky low sounds, the voice. It’s every movie soundtrack set in the late 60s/early 70s. A couple of weaker tunes, but just a solid rock album.

Cream is always at their best when they lean harder into their psychedelia than leaning into blues. Also, I am convinced Cream is good in spite of Clapton rather than because of him.

I enjoyed this. It was a different take on psych rock than the Love album. That one seemed very very 60s-70s to me. This one I think translates better today without seeming of an era (though it still is). I enjoyed Strange Brew immediately. Clapton was kind of a shitty dude.

Nice steady late 60s vibes. And shout out to guitar hero with Sunshine on Your Love, classiccc. Would listen to chill and hang out with some upbeatness. Good high too

Has some good songs on it for sure, but also songs which are not so good. I covered some of these when I was in a band as a teenager so it has fond memories. I remember buying the CD in Greenwich market.

I can only imagine how good the threesome with some very liberal hippie chicks would have been to this album. On the other hand there's a LOT of "white guys play something influenced by blues" floating around this list and, in my humble, Cream are not the best at it.

Cream is the coolest thing Eric Clapton ever did, and even then…it’s not that cool.

Το μονο ωραιο μερος του αλμπουμ ειναι η κιθαρα του κλαπτον κατα τ αλλα πολυ αδυναμο. Rating:C

I expected this to be a great album. It didn't live up to my expectations at all. A few great tracks surrounded by unspectacular fillers. Blue Condition in particular is a yawn-fest.

This was solid for a while. Clapton playing only rhythm guitar and never speaking would be alright. The last three songs sucked. A goofy 'fun' song at the end isn't a good idea when the guys in the band do not seem fun to be around. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

3 stars for the song Strange Brew - minus 1 star for Eric Clapton being a turd.

Ok, some decent stuff, some whatever, not really the best, pretty forgettable overall

Скучно и однообразно.

dreck. sounds like a worse version of hermans hermits. Clapton was overrated from the get go.

I was not aware of how racist and stupid Clapton is! Lolllll. Sorry Eric your music is boring.

This is a superb album. Love the blues riffs over the great drumming from Ginger Baker. Clapton is in his element here. Just perfect all the way around. This is a must listen. Highlights: Strange Brew Sunshine of Your Love SWLABR 5/5

Just gonna say…Classic

I love it.

One of my favourite albums ever, every song is just so good, no clangers all bangers as my dad would say. 6 stars if I could.

Finally an album I was stoked for. Late 60s rock is like no other - raw sonic explosions with loud guitars and no holds barred. I would love to travel back in time and experience this era of music live. Loved this.

The cream rises to the top. Oh yeah

5/5. Took me a bit to grow on me and if this was the first time hearing this one, I would probably not like it fully. On further listens, each song displays great musicianship, and Eric's guitar slaps. Some of the songs are silly but somehow feel needed because the album has an air of just having fun, like none of them are taking themselves seriously, even if they were. I would recommend this to anyone as an introduction to heavier psychedelia. Best Song: Strange Brew, Tales Of Brave Ulysses, SWLABR

Un álbum súper crudo, la definición de lo que uno pensaría con rock. Con un poco de lisergia de los 60, wah wahs y unas guitarras tremendas, con algo pero no mucho de distorsión. Un par de temas que son sexo (Stange Brew, Sunshine of your Love), partes más descontroladas como en World of Pain. La calidad del sonido es de la época, no es la mejor, se funden un poco los instrumentos pero eso hace al sonido. Hay sonidos muy del hippismo de los 60 (Dance the Night Away es re contra de ese palo), además los coros de voces de hombres también remiten mucho a la época. Blue Condition es un poco una resitación de poesía con toques de country y blues, no se canta se habla, y la letra es muy nihilista. Tales of the Brave Ulysses es trementa, tal vez mi favorita. La entrada de la voz de Clapton dulce contrastada después por Bruce, un riff y solos wahweahdos de puta madre un poco jimmy héndrixico. SWALBR es más bailable, de las menos intersantes también. La siguiente es una reticación pesimista, de lo menos interesantes en lo musical, la letra es aceptable. Outside Woman Blues es sexo, la voz de Eric un buen riff con guitarra ruidosa y bajadas de blues a una mujer, 6/8 a full, la letra tremenda! Take it Back es más de trovador tipo Bob Dylan por la armónica y la voz del cantante, con toques de country y blues, es bastante sencilla en composición y letra, la distingue la armónica, de lo más bajito del disco. El último es un poco una especie de rag cantado por hombres, casi a capella excepto por un teclado, como una canción de piratas cantada en un barco, muy divertida, me encantó, la historia que relata es TERRIBLE!!!

hadnt heard this in its entirety in at least 15 years.. man there are some amazing tracks…

Short and sweet collection of well crafted jams

The perfect mix of blues and psychedelic rock. Lot of people hate Clapton. Well he fucked Harrison's wife. But I am not Harrison so I dont give a shit.

A classic album, and one that influences heavy music even today. This band had some of the best musicians of that era. Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker. Strange Brew is a stellar psychedelic first track that leads to a song that would become one of their top tracks, “Sunshine of Your Love.” “Tales of Brave Ulysses” is the sleeper track on this album. It weaves together psychedelic imagery and verses with a crushingly heavy chorus riff. Overall this is an amazing album and always worth a spin.

Incredible! Grace by Jeff Buckley is a hauntingly beautiful album that captures raw emotion with Buckley’s ethereal voice and poetic lyrics. Each track feels like a journey, blending rock, soul, and blues into something both intimate and timeless. Favorite Songs: So Real, Mojo Pin

Classic! There are so many good songs on this album. Favorites: Sunshine Of Your Love (obvious hit) and SWLABR.

The only bad thing about this album is that it is too short

Strange Brew and Sunshine of Your Love earn the 5--rest of the album's pretty good too!

Classic. Listened to it back to back

Classic rock staple, phenomenal drumming

Good Trippin

Album 561 of 1001 Cream - Disraeli Gears (1967) Rating : 4.5 / 5 If I were asked to give an example of psychedelic rock, it is quite likely that this is the album would be my answer. Perfect album for the time. They are all at the top of their game. Highly recommend

***DISCLAIMER***: i hate eric clapton as a person as much as everyone else and i do not endorse nor condone his personal beliefs and statements that being said, this album was extremely formative for me. while everyone else was listening to angsty numetal at school, i was listening to this. so from that respect, i will always have a soft spot in my heart for this album. on the other hand, i'm not 14 anymore and i'm years removed from that, so this album has become a lot less important to me, and due to the transgressions of a band member named above, it's put a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth here. and yeah, it's a bunch of white dudes from england co-opting a historically black form of music, which, you know, clapton made an entire legacy off of. all that aside, it's a great blues-psych album that has a huge importance in the evolution of rock and roll music in the 1960s, bridging the gap between the rock and roll boy bands of the early 60s to the advent of hard rock and heavy metal later in the decade. 'blue condition' and 'mother's lament' are detriments to an otherwise strong album. 'tales of brave ulysses' and 'SWLABR' are all-timers for me.

Awesome :)

Great album from the beginning to end

Awesome

Great album!

Eric Clapton is problematic, but this album really does slap. I love the bluesy-psychedelic nature of it.

While I've heard and remember certain songs from this album throughout my life (it might be my dad's favorite album of all time), it's cool to hear some of the "b-side" tracks that I haven't heard as often. I especially like the old, bluesy feel of Take Back. Surprising how easy the whole album is to travel.

Psychedelic

Muddy Beautiful Guitars Cannot fault it

10/10. :) This is the third 10/10 that I have been given!!! :) Personally, I love Cream. They are a fantastic band. The songs SWLABR, Strange Brew, World of Pain, Tales of Brave Ulysses, and Outside Woman Blues are all really memorable masterpieces. Among the sea of 1960's psychedelic rock albums in this 1001 album project, this one is absolutely among the superior ones. I wish that there were more Cream albums in the project. I really don't think that The Byrds need to be featured a whopping five times in the project. They're really not as good as Cream.

In a rather short career, Cream had an enormous impact on modern music. Among the first "supergroups," Cream made Eric Clapton a star. Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker because legends, even if they didn't become the star that Clapton did. Cream made blues-based, psychedelic rock, and Disraeli Gears may be their best recorded work. This album includes some of their hits - "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love." The album is a collection of incredible songs that helped define 60s psychedelic rock.

Groovy

Great album, thought it was a mistake at first to start off with the two big tracks. But far from it! A great album all the way through even to the music hall classic finalè.

Fantastic offering from the Class of 67. A friend encouraged me to focus on the drums / percussion and I pass that advice along to you as well.

One of my favorites

classic rock at it's best

One of the first hard rock records ever. Love the distorted noisy guitar on it. Lots of great tracks like Strange Brew, Tales of Brave Ulysses and of course Sunshine of your love. Not every track is as great, but I enjoy listening to all of them.

4.5 stars. Taking half a star off for the short length. But overall it’s psychedelic blues rock at its best. Classic guitar, bass and drums lineup with catchy riffs and rhythms. Standouts are “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Tales of Brave Ulysses”.

Dang. Ginger and Jack are forces of nature. Clapton never did better. Sure sure racist twat and all, but goddamn the solos and fills on this are good. Love the tightness, love the blues, love the psychedelia and surrealism. Coming to me with that soulfull look on your FAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaace. Coming looking like you never ever done one wrong thing...

One of my favorites from the 60’s.

Great album. Classic Clapton, Bruce and Baker

Sensacional

A cool, magic carpet ride of an album. Trippy, psychedelic and fabulous. Maybe listening straight after Snoop (he's not Shakespeare is he) made me appreciate this even more. But actually, I think it is just a brilliant album. Listened whilst catching up on jobs at home, and I was just dancing and singing around the house - a festival in my mind - happy days. Groovy. 🌼🌸🌈✌️🎸

It is a masterpiece! I like it very very much. Thanks for listening it again.

I love this album so much. I was introduced to it by my brother when I was maybe like 16 or 17 and we listened to it together for that entire summer and then the fall and then the spring and we just didn't stop. It was like a cure-all record that we could put on whenever, wherever, and it would be enjoyed. At the time we were playing heavy metal together and this was such a cool inspiration for us. Clapton of course is a phenom on guitar, but the real fans know that Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker were just as important for their sound to be what it was. This album always had so much mystery to me. Starting with the title- what did "Disraeli Gears" mean? I remember googling it and seeing it was the name of a politician and not finding out much more. Learning now that it was a malapropism when someone in the band was talking about a type of bicycle and they used the wrong name. "Strange Brew" is such a fun funky starter, "Sunshine Of Your Love" to me is just as magical as "Layla", "World of Pain" is mysterious and so weirdly catchy, "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is adventurous, and "SWLABR" is technical and yet contains maybe some of the smoothest melodies on the record. Funny enough though the track that stood out to my brother and I was "We're Going Wrong". The droning, meditative drums, and doom rock guitar parts mixed with the soft and serene vocals lull you into what feels like a fugue state. I love the dynamics. My brother and I borrowed an 8 track analog recorder from my high school band department and we recorded a cover of this track on it and gave it back to the school- hoping some lost band kid would find it and be like "this is the music that I want to make". I remember we used a tuba to double the vocal parts for extra weirdness. I love that ending. Legendary album, top ~25 or so of all time for me.