Wheels of Fire is the third album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in the US on 14 June 1968 as a two-disc vinyl LP, with one disc recorded in the studio and the other recorded live. It was released in the UK in the same format on August 9.
Background and recording
Cream's third album was planned to be a double album which would include several live performances. Unlike Disraeli Gears, which had been recorded in a matter of days, the Wheels of Fire sessions took place in small bursts over nearly a year. The recording engineers on disc one were Tom Dowd and Adrian Barber. The live performances on disc two were recorded by Bill Halverson and mixed by Adrian Barber.
Sessions with producer Felix Pappalardi began in July and August 1967 at IBC Studios in London, months before the release of Disraeli Gears, with the basic tracks for "White Room", "Sitting on Top of the World", and "Born Under a Bad Sign" put to tape. Jack Bruce expressed the band's preference for working with Pappalardi and Dowd, as well as the new unhurried atmosphere contrasted with the first two albums: "We're all temperamental but Tom...and Felix manage to get rid of that temperament...We spend a long time in the studio, so we don't have to rush. We usually talk for hours before we record anything, then we play, think and add sounds". Recordings continued with short sessions at Atlantic Studios in September and October 1967 where overdubs were added to the aforementioned three songs along with basic tracks for "Pressed Rat and Warthog" and the non-LP single "Anyone for Tennis". "Politician" came together quickly for a January 1968 BBC radio session when, needing one more track, Bruce came up with a riff which Brown, who was present in the studio, thought was perfect to match with lines of a poem he'd written several years earlier; the song was finished and recorded for broadcast that day.
Artwork
The artwork for the album was by Martin Sharp, The album's release, however, was accompanied by an announcement on July 10 that the band was going to split up by the end of the year, citing a loss of direction.
The album was also released as two single LPs, Wheels of Fire (In the Studio) and Wheels of Fire (Live at the Fillmore), with similar cover art. In the UK the studio album art was black print on aluminum foil, while the live album art was a negative image of the studio cover; In the Studio charted as high as No. 7 in that country, although it possibly took from sales of the double disc set. In Japan, the studio album art was black on gold foil, while the live album art was black on aluminium foil. In Australia, both covers were laminated copies of the Japanese releases.
Reception and legacy
In England, critical reception to the album was highly positive. In a lengthy review, Chris Welch of Melody Maker began by noting "If Cream have been disappointing on record in the past...their long awaited double album is sufficient to restore the faith of the most errant disciple", praising the group's taste and restraint on tracks like "As You Said" and enthusing that the live disc was "electrifying". Record Mirror said the record should be subtitled "to remind us of all that was best about the Cream live and in the studio", concluding that as the band wouldn't be around for much longer, it was a must for everyone's collection. Disc & Music Echo labelled it "Best LP of the month" and "a fitting--at times superb--memorial to Britain's best live group" with the best material they had put on record. In the United States, Jann Wenner at Rolling Stone gave a poor review to the studio disc, singling out "As You Said" and "Politician" as the only worthwhile tracks and stating of "White Room" that it is a too-close duplication of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" with a "Sonny Bono-ish production job that adds little"; however, he praised the live disc, stating of "Spoonful" that "this is the kind of thing that people who have seen Cream perform walk away raving about and it’s good to at last have it on a record". In a more positive review, Cashbox predicted that the album would see heavy sales action.
Retrospectively, the album has been cited a classic of the era. Writing in The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin said the live disc captured the group at their "inventive and exploratory best". David Bowling at The Daily Vault gushed that the album has "withstood the test of time, remains one of the essential rock albums and should be required listening." It was voted number 757 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
Track listing
Disc one: In the Studio
Disc two: Live at the Fillmore
Performers on disc one are "the Cream quartet" consisting of Clapton, Baker, and Bruce together with Felix Pappalardi, who plays many different instruments and is also credited with production.
While the second disc is labelled Live at the Fillmore, only "Toad" was recorded there. The other three tracks were recorded at the Winterland Ballroom.
In 2014, Japan Polydor released a two-disc limited edition SHM-CD (UICY-76024/5) with four bonus tracks: two on the studio disc, and two on the live one.
2014 Japan Polydor 2-disc Limited Edition bonus tracks
Disc one
- <li value=10>"Anyone for Tennis" (Eric Clapton, Martin Sharp)</li>
- "Falstaff Beer Commercial" (Clapton, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce)
Disc two
- <li value=5> "Sunshine of Your Love" (Clapton, Bruce, Pete Brown)</li>
- "N.S.U." (Bruce)
Personnel
Per liner notes.
Personnel and information for the studio sessions
"White Room"
Recorded at IBC Studios, July and August 1967; Atlantic Studios, September, 9–10 October, and 12–15 December 1967; 13–22 February and 12–13 June 1968
- Eric Clapton – lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – vocals, bass
- Ginger Baker – drums, timpani
- Felix Pappalardi – viola
"Sitting on Top of the World"
Recorded at IBC Studios, July 1967; Atlantic Studios, September 1967
- Eric Clapton – lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – vocals, bass
- Ginger Baker – drums
"Born Under a Bad Sign"
Recorded at IBC Studios, July and August 1967; Atlantic Studios, September 1967
- Eric Clapton – lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – vocals, bass
- Ginger Baker – drums, tambourine
"Pressed Rat and Warthog"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 9–10 October and 12–15 December 1967; 13–22 February 1968
- Eric Clapton – lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – basses, recorder
- Ginger Baker – spoken-word vocals, drums
- Felix Pappalardi – trumpet, tonette
"Anyone for Tennis"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 9–10 October and 12–15 December 1967; 13–22 February 1968
- Eric Clapton – vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitar
- Jack Bruce – bass, recorder
- Ginger Baker – congas
- Felix Pappalardi – viola
"Passing the Time"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 13–22 February and 12–13 June 1968
- Eric Clapton – backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – lead vocals, bass, cello, calliope
- Ginger Baker – backing vocals, drums, glockenspiel
- Felix Pappalardi – organ pedals
"As You Said"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 13–22 February and 12–13 June 1968
- Jack Bruce – vocals, acoustic guitars, cello
- Ginger Baker – hi-hat
"Politician"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 13–22 February and 12–13 June 1968
- Eric Clapton – lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – vocals, bass
- Ginger Baker – drums
"Deserted Cities of the Heart"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 13–22 February and 12–13 June 1968
- Eric Clapton – lead and rhythm guitar
- Jack Bruce – vocals, bass, cello, acoustic guitar
- Ginger Baker – drums, tambourine
- Felix Pappalardi – viola
"Those Were the Days"
Recorded at Atlantic Studios, 12–13 June 1968
- Eric Clapton – backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- Jack Bruce – lead vocals, bass
- Ginger Baker – drums, marimba, tubular bells
- Felix Pappalardi – Swiss hand bells
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Chart (1968–1969)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
|1
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
|3
|-
!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)
|2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
| style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Chart (2013)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|bgcolor="#efefef"
|}
Certifications
Notes
References
External links
- The making of Wheels of Fire – from the Official Ginger Baker Archive
- Double and single album releases