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Rating: 
Summary: Essential Cream
Review: A very good overview of the band - more like a Cream scrapbook than anything else, with lots of pictures of the band, their singles, albums, and all things Cream. My only gripe with the book is that it offers no new interviews with Clapton - all of his quotes are taken from long-ago interviews or existing videos ("Cream: Strange Brew" etc.) and a modern-day interview that had Clapton looking back on the band in retrospect would have given the book more clout. Ginger Baker and particularly Jack Bruce do contribute new interviews and info, though, and the discography and session date charts at the back of the book will be a boon to any fan. If you want to know about what happened within Cream in its heyday, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: It's better to burn out than it is to rust
Review: Finally, the book this great band deserves. I once saw an instant book on Cream, around the time of their early 90s reunion. This book is much superior to that one, and seems to be the only extant history of the band. There are well-written and -illustrated "before they were Cream" chapters on each musician. The chapter on Clapton tells the familiar tale of his career from the Yardbirds to John Mayall to Cream. A most welcome part of this book are the portions devoted to songwriter Pete Brown, who teamed with Jack Bruce for some of Cream's best-known classics. Over the years in various interviews Eric Clapton has fostered the idea that he was the whole show, so this material is an appreciated corrective. Much of the material on Bruce's and Ginger Baker's days with the Graham Bond Organisation come from Brown. The Cream material itself is a fan's dream come true. Jack Bruce and Pete Brown provide most of the reminisces. (Don't overlook the sidebar quotes in the concert log section at the end.) The illustrations are plentiful, including album covers, concert photos, publicity stills, magazine covers, etc. The only mild disappointment is that there are no pictures of Felix Pappalardi included. I'd love to see a picture of him in the studio, playing the piano on "Badge." More oddly, there are no pictures of their 1993 reunion. That's just as well, though. I am continuously grateful to Baker, Bruce, and Clapton for not cheapening Cream's achievement with endless reunions and farewells, as some well-known bands from their era have done. It'd be embarrassing to see Cream spending their golden years on the county fair concert circuit. Their career was cruelly short, but no one can say that they didn't leave a beautiful corpse. And now they finally have a worthy history of their achievements. Those were the days, indeed.
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Summary: More Cream than Harvey's Bristol!
Review: Rock journalist Chris Welch, who helped spread the gospel according to Cream in the pages of that wonderful British rock journal Melody Maker, gives us a wonderful overview of one of the most influential bands of the sixties. Each member is profiled in a personal interview section (including Pete Brown, the poet and semi-official "fourth member" of Cream who cowrote many of the bands hits with bassist Jack Bruce.) These reminiscences are candid and straightforward (Ginger Baker's especially so) and show both dizzying highs (the Fillmore West and Winterland concerts) and profound lows (Eric Clapton's angst over the famous Rolling Stone article which proclaimed him "master of the blues cliches.")The book also shows how even a great record company like Atlantic can fail to capitalize on the band's unique genius. (According to Jack Bruce, they were more interested in the Bee Gees.)It's a great read, with one or two minor quibbles. Even though there is some detail about the band member's post-Cream activities, more would be welcome, especially concerning Ginger Baker's alleged financial difficulties. Also, in the otherwise excellent diary section (a great idea, by the way), concert dates and recording sessions are chronicled thoroughly, yet there is no mention of the supporting act at the famous August 2, 1966 gig at Klook's Kleek. This was truly an historic occasion, as that supporting act was none other than Savoy Brown, and the concert not only helped break both bands, but also got Savoy Brown their first recording contract and began a musical legacy that is still going strong today. Other than these minor flaws, the book is very well written and deserves a place on your shelf, next to your Eric Claption biographies.
Rating: 
Summary: New Cream Book an Indispensable Reference Book
Review: The new book on the Cream entitled "Cream: The Legendary Sixties Supergroup" is an essential read for all fans of the late, great power trio. Penned by former Melody Maker Chief reporter (and Cream confidant) Chris Welch, this book provides a detailed and accurate account of the supergroups short lived career. Other writers contribute profiles of each member and apparently had the cooperation of each member of the group. The book is also lavishly illustrated with tons of great photos, memorabilia, record sleeves, etc. and is attractively laid out. Another vital feature of the book is the gig list annotated with contemporaneous reviews. Highly Recommended. Jeff Watt
Rating:
Summary: Overall good biograpy of an awsome band.
Review: This is a good way for someone who was not even alive in the 60's to learn about Cream. You get interviews from all three band members.There is also a time chart of rehearsals and recording sessions. There are sections about each members approach to their instruments and some early history. The book has a lot cool pictures and art work. My only complaint is that the printing on part of the inner sleave is blurred.This is defintely a MUST have for any Clapton, Jack Bruce, or Cream fan.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Cream
Review: This is THE book on Cream. Any Cream, Clapton, Bruce or Baker fan gotta have this. New interviews with Bruce and Baker shed lights on the Cream era. Detailed tour dates and wonderful pictures of covers and labels (I love them!!) Any Clapton fan should have a copy as reference.
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Summary: Cream - The message of the Cream..
Review: This rock group made several important contributions to the developement of rock music.The Cream brought to bear the credo of invention, and took the developement of musical traditions seriously. They succeeded because they did not take advantage of the public's opinion. One thing they did well was extend 'the classical trademark of jamming.' Musicians who love to play music.Extending the limited sequence of written songs into a jazz type world where the artist could try to invent his creative outlook and therefore his creative ability as well. The more you practice the better you get.They were more than an act geared into 60's consciousness,they were serious musicians who tried to help others understand the rapidity of the changing times..in trying to understand,evaluate and amend importance to rock music, this book about The Cream appeared to be useful. mfd
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