ESSENTIAL ALBUMS (#34): Cream - "Disraeli Gears" (1967)

Updating the avid experimentalism of their debut album, 1966's Fresh Cream, by infusing it with the psychedelic tricks of the trade prevalent in 1967—the newly refined guitar wah-wah and distortion among them—the jazz-blues-rock trio Cream hit their artistic peak with Disraeli Gears. Labeled the first supergroup due to the dazzling skills of guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, and drummer Peter "Ginger" Baker, with this album Cream opened the doors to many future musical genres, including jazz fusion and —some say—progressive rock.

The album's iconic dayglo-collage sleeve was the perfect accompaniment to the barrage of avant-garde music it contained, starting with the remarkable, sparse "Strange Brew", in which Bruce's banshee-like vocals overlay Clapton's jerky, almost funk guitar pattern with ethereal economy. It gets better and better: "Sunshine Of Your Love" (which, along with "White Room", remains Cream's best known song) was an inspiration to Clapton's only serious contemporary rival, Jimi Hendrix, who turned it into an on-stage guitar storm. "Tales Of Brave Ulysses" is a fiery poem drenched in Clapton's lacerating, bluesy guitar, while the traditional "Mother's Lament" is a direct nod to the musicians' influences.

It was primarily as a live act that Cream ("The Cream" as they were originally known) made their enduring reputation—and with good reason: on stage they played as if possessed by Robert Johnson and Charlie Parker. Disraeli Gears remains the best they have got on record, despite the strengths of their other albums. It is still a vital snapshot of a unique era.