Added: 3 years ago
From: sinkoman
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  • WHEELS OF FIRE, except for BAKER'S solo on TOAD, IS the finest album ever produced...because of it....

  • Yes the bass in this track is phenomenal, but for my money this is also one of, if not the best Clapton solo. If I ever need to show someone what an awesome soloist Clapton was... I play them the solo in this track.

  • My favorite Cream's song

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  • Back in the day- when Cream was intact and for a few years after- Jack Bruce's star shined brightly. Sure EC was the guitar hero, but Jack got a lot of press too. Rightly so.

  • Felix Pappilardi, the "4th" Cream member. Played a major part in the production of Creams greatest tunes, including this one. He was kind of like what George Martin was to the Beatles. Very say that Felix met with an early death at the hands of his wife.

  • Classic "art rock." Brilliant rhythms in this song. I love the bars of 3/4, and then the way Ginger "shifts gears" at approximately 0:59 and 2:35 is amazing. Thank you for posting this.

  • @NobleJoyous Did you spot the 60's trick of recording a guitar at half speed then speeding it up?

  • Always was surprised this tune did not get more air play back in the day. Loved the entire album the moment I bought it. Thanks for posting!

  • love the guitar solo

  • A few times in the past, with this tune playing, I've turned off the audio portion to Easy Rider (the scene where Fonda and Hopper are riding into the sunset). This song fits that scene quite well. What a tune! Soulful vocals, great percussion, vibrant guitar awash in Blues/Psychedelia, bass that has true "feel." This is KING TONE!

  • 420 likes. nice

  • Christ, I think I've listened to this tune about 50 times in the last couple days. Talk about music which never grows old.

    "Thumbs up" if you think that 25,000 years from now (so long as recording technology still exists) that this song will still be considered great...

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  • why isnt this band given the accolades it so deserves; being the forefathers of heavy metal-BEFORE Led Zepplin. T he differance between stuff like this & H eavy Metal is this has MELODY & HARMONY; sad to say ,which MOST heavy metal is VOID of !!!!

  • @shimmyshimmy69 Maybe because, as you said, this isn't heavy metal?

  • The bass is fantastic

  • @tonyfera Acoustic guitar and cello too: all played by JB, who also cowrote this song (with his then songwriting collaborator, Pete Brown) and of course did the vocal. I give Clapton his props, but it galls me when people refer to Cream as Clapton's band. It was Jack Bruce who wrote and arranged most of the original songs, and was the architect of the band's sound in the studio. Of course Baker was a great drummer and Clapton a fine guitarist, but it was Bruce who WAS Cream.

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  • jack bruce immortal!

  • @jeanfelipe182 Not enough thumbs up for such a perceptive comment as this !

  • nobody has ever sung like Bruce - a throaty tenor, dark, strong, impassioned - unparalleled!

  • This tune has always reminded me of Fonda and Hopper in the final riding scenes of Easy Rider (with them riding into the sunset).  What bass! What soulful vocals! EC at his very best. Baker with his Godzila tap-dancing on the tom-toms style of drumming. Fantastic!

  • 1:50 to 2:35 = fucking greatness!!!!

  • @GrazFlow I believe Wheels of Fire is the only rock album that's a combination of studio and live. Its my favorite Cream album which was my first Cream album and my first album ever back in 1973 when I was 13.

  • mmm, this is what i call music too smoke a blunt too

  • @bluedogofdark - Reefer is good.

  • One of the BEST songs Cream ever recorded, still great after all of these years.

  • @70fanmusic totally agree. everything is perfect in this song. vocals ,bass,drums and guitar. brilliant

  • Thank sinkoman. You said it more gracefully than me.

    Beautiful, beautiful song...

  • Do you hear that bass. People often say that Clapton was the man in cream, but my money is on Jack Bruce.

  • @noblesiner  they all are man

  • @SaggyNativePenis Yeah your right. Clapton, Baker, and Bruce Were all awesome. Love em all.

  • @noblesiner WHILE he was singing!

  • @noblesiner Well ,"If" you seen Them "Live" Your words would be The Truth ;HANDS DOWN NO REPLAY, HE WAS.........

  • @noblesiner Amen!! Jack Bruce is way under-appreciated for his contributions to rock. He was and still is a phenomenal bass player but I think what people do not give him enough credit for is his singing voice. I have to say that of all the 60's and 70's mega groups, hell any group, Jack Bruce was my favorite vocalist; so soulful and heartfelt, especially on tunes like this one.

  • @noblesiner Dude, actually it was Ginger...

  • @noblesiner Are you a musician my friend ? If not you should be,( I am, Bass Player too)

    you have an exceptional ear ! In fact Cream was Jack Bruce's Band,in fact Cream's 1st rehearsal as a "band"was at Jack Bruce's home.Jack & Peter Brown wrote 90% of the Lyrics & Music & Jack sang 90% of the songs.Funny story,Jack wrote Sunshine of Your Love after seeing Hendrix in London,Hendrix didn't know that and often covered Sunshine of Your Love "live",so he "covered" a song dedicated to himself.

  • @noblesiner Bruce was the heart and soul of Cream...Though all three were critical to it's success...

  • I just got home from doing errands. My mum thanked me for stopping by the bank for her. So I sang "It was on the wayyyy!" =D

  • "The winter life is coming back". What poetry.  Backed with a powerful beat, and-- a marimba? Lots of faves, have I, in this band's song list.

    --Brep

  • I think Clapton's mom is the Virgin Mary.

  • 3 people should just "drown in no love streams" or get lost "on the way" to "Deserted Cities of the Heart"

  • personally my favourite song and definately favourite album from cream

  • one sick heavy metal to Jam out before moving on......

  • The piece around 2:32 is superb

  • @sabbathwho40 I gotta disagree, i think that the piece around 0:00 to 3:39 is superb!

  • i don't believe in the 2012 bullshit, but if it does happen this song will be the aftermath song 

  • Baker has always been one of my favourite drummers. Listen to this...

  • Loved cream. I grew up to these guys. But this was always My fav. Perfect choas

  • Jack Bruce was the heart of Cream and is a forgotten superstar.

  • @LesbianVampireLover Bruce---a very solid foundation for this band. But 3 of them together were a powerhouse.

  • I'm not a huge fan of Clapton but the use of the acoustic for the verse of this is an utter stroke of genius.It adds to the rogue aspect of the cut.Who do I like better?Beck,Blackmore,Page,Edd­ie VanH,Jimi,Tommy Bolin(respect to the dead for both),

  • I love the bridge of this song. Those violins just do something indescribable to me every time I hear them.

  • I wish I had Cream's talent.

  • @KUTVgroucho - yes, just the solo recorded normal and then double speed in the mix. All of the other bits were recorded and mixed normal, if anything qualifies as normal these days. When I record I like to have everything live, that is, little or no tweaking because the mixdown is painful for me. I need an engineer with ears.

  • This song puts me in a trance and makes my head feel euphoric. Musical perfection!

  • Brilliant song,brilliant album

  • @gutbucketblues - good ear, mate. Recorded half speed, mixed in double speed.

  • Listen to the guitar very carefully. Recorded at half speed (slow) and then played back double speed in the mix so that is is actually an octave above the way it was played. I figured this out in '68 when I realized that Eric's vibrato was double speed. A bit of old school studio tweaking.

  • @bamboosa Sounds plausible - and may have been that way for the studio cut - but I have heard this performed live and it sounded pretty much the same. Eric Clapton my be called old slow hand, but he can peel the paint off the walls when he wants to. Listen to the intro on She's Gone.

  • @bamboosa Just the solo was recorded that way, right?

  • Wow, even the album covers were better those days...

  • @mariofanatic101 woops, you are talkin' bout cream, rite?

  • @mariofanatic101 this is cream, not zep...

  • g.b. is the best.pioneer drummer everyone is playing his style 40 years later.

  • can't believe Ginger doesn't get the love ! He should be # 1 for drummers!

  • @bbbill454

    unfortunately, there are some who feel that playing the drums should be approached as you would an olympic sport...

    Ginger's drumming - at least at this phase of his career - stands out for it's musicality and inventiveness

  • Hmm, it's almost progressive rock ey? Except prog rock hadn't be invented yet, so could you say this is where it all started? Such an amazing song anyway, my favourite cream song. The solo gives me shimmers every time.

  • does the shimmy

  • Who are the 2 morons

    

  • Best album by Cream?

    Best studio/live album ever?

    AM I RIGHT?

  • @GrazFlow

    I personally prefer the first 2, but by the time this came out, I'd already seen them live twice and thought there was a lot of drug induced overkill...this track, however, is brilliant

  • @jimi99colorado

    I totally agree that Disraeli Gears-album has the best killer-songs, but I think that Wheels on Fire works better as a whole: after this song was played there were still 4 long live songs waiting!

  • @GrazFlow man i gots no clue all i know is roll another one

  • @GrazFlow desreali gears

  • @GrazFlow One of them. Someone said trying to pick the best is like moving the chairs around on the deck of the Titanic.

  • @GrazFlow u are right

  • @GrazFlow Soooo right

  • Ma favourite Cream song.

  • @tremah05 Amen to that. Maybe the best rock song of all time.

  • "On this dark street

    the sun is black.

    The winds are right

    He's coming back..." Prophecy!

  • crearm rocked

  • Dopest album cover on earth

  • For this time, guys, it was so new and tasty, specially with only 3 musicians, and a 4lines recording staff - Beltoise

  • Its the rhythm section that made Cream a great band, that and Jack`s singing.

  • What is that instrument @ 1:54? (sounds like a plucked violin or viola to me)

  • @jasonpp1973 I'm going with violin, too.

  • @jasonpp1973 i'm pretty sure it's a viola.

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  • An underrated gem. Whenever I just need to hear Cream for a few minutes, I go straight to this one.

  • I am very fortunate to have grown up in a time that has a very rich musical heritage. This is a lost classic from one of the best groups from late sixties. All of these guys are still a live and making music today. If you ever wonder why Eric Clapton is called slow hand, be sure to listen to his solo.

  • shitty u tube quality. gimmie the fukin lp.

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  • @mariofanatic101 explain led or the beatles then?

  • @TheDarthZoso I admit Led Zeppelin's case is one of a kind, but break the Beatles and you see none of them was something special.

  • @NsNsis so what about ringo eh?thomas the tank voice over?thats special!wings....band on the run?george..my sweet lord?and whos the other...oh yeah...John Lennon!you suck, ect.

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  • what about john lennons Imagine probably one of the most famous songs in modern music, no-ones career was more succesfull than johns and he was shot dead. paul's wings: band on the run and his famous christmas song wonderfull chrismas time. george's work with ravi shankhar. christ, shows how little you know about their careers. break cream and led zeppelin, as much as I love them, their solo careers weren't as sucessfull.

  • Cream is without a doubt one of the best rock bands ever assembled. The poetry of their lyrics is vastly underrated.

  • @mariofanatic101 excellent wisdom comment!

  • the thing is/was...nobody wrote or played like this back then...that's what made Cream stand out

    thanks for posting this

  • this tune and those were the days are creams Iliad and odyssey 

  • Epic song, epic album; just listen to that cello, it creates such a great effect.

  • @mariofanatic101

    mainly because their made of lead

  • For all you newbies, this is the Apex time frame of blues rock fusion, this double album along with Hendrix Electric Ladyland double album brought listeners to a new frame of conscious awareness, try to understand what they really are singing about.

  • @fencersdelight

    or how 'bout you stop being an analytical faggot and let the music take you, like its supposed to.

  • @fencersdelight This was a time one had to be there. All else are nothing but remnats of echos and sadness.

  • @fencersdelight A shitload of drug use?

  • One of the best bands of all times.

  • Clapton was some guitarist, but hell, Jack Bruce was some vocalist.

  • There's always room for cello. ; )

    This is my favorite track on the album.

    Very intense!!!

  • Wonderful to hear this again. My cover band is doing a Cream medley, and I'm trying to get this one into the mix.

  • @mariofanatic101

    Led Zeppelin must have defied the laws of physics, then.

  • @mariofanatic101 you said it

  • IT WAS ON THE WAYYYY HEY

    ON THE ROADD TO DREAMS

    NOW MY HEART DROWNS IN NO LOVE STREAMS YEAH

  • Epic!

  • Their best album.Cream were a unique mixture of rare quality

  • @kenfig Great description!!! But Disraeli Gears is their best album. A true master-piece of art in general. I love this one too tho! :)

  • @Solus77 Disreali used to be my favourite for many years but ive been a fan since the late 60s and about 15 years ago changed my mind !

  • @kenfig  Alchemy.

  • You can hear the influence of the sitar in Clapton's break, which at the time Ravi Shankar had been popularizing among the rockers.

  • @jstanley011 You are quite right.I remember that being the signature of the late John Cippolina of Quicksiler Messenger Service

  • the guitar solo is amazing

  • Practiced drums to this song as a lad -- these cats were one of those magic mixes!! Each just as badass as the other! This album is a rock masterpiece!

  • Times are a changing

  • @CavenEdwards I hear ya :'( But we've still got these records!

  • I agree with seanlbackpistolero. Sometimes if you listen to Cream and Hendrix too much-if that is in fact possibility-you can lose sight of just how innovative they were. It helps to go away from time to time and come back with fresh ears, like I''ve been doing lately with the "Wheels of Fire" material

  • Perfection from all three......blessings to all who can appreciate it..:)

  • @bluefen You see ? this is a track that is difficult to categorise ; i suppose it has an effective blend of folk, jazz,classical and rock in it but rare in the way it is blended and arranged ; only truly serious and great musicians could do it so beautifully

  • Mountain, Cream & Blue Cheer are just about the awesomest bands ever & they deserve much more recognition than they get!

  • jack bruce is fucking God

  • @111skcusennast  ... I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT IN A PORNO FILM...

  • Love this, full blast on a weekend.

  • someone tell me who made Cream's cover, it was Moscoso? I'm a fan of this guy.

  • @Thiago1950 An Aussie by the name Martin Sharp -started a magazine called OZ read up -quite a bloke

  • @TumbrelJockey Wikipedia Martin Sharp and he's a pretty trippy guy. Always at the cutting edge in those times.

  • I love this song ...

  • did they speed up Clapton's guitar solo, or is that in real time?

  • @gutbucketblues I think he's using some kind of wacked out effect that Les Paul invented bak in the fifties. While Les lost a LOT on his chops as he got older, he was a studio-sound pioneer long, long before Jimi and the sixties Icons. BTW, Ginger Baker's playing is just sick on this (in a good sense.)

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  • @gutbucketblues No tweaks -just Eric's prowess, the inspired moment that made this particular take the keeper & quite possibly thinking about Patty Boyd.:)

  • Ha ha! The Melvins version is better!!!!!

  • @artistonabike the melvins kick ass but cream has the best version

  • @Jimihendrix6699 the version of melvins is badly a joke

  • @vangelisideras it's not a joke, i mean just because it's not your thing, doesn't make it a joke.

  • @Jimihendrix6699 Jee..je, is graceful, already you see! it is a joke: because of a bad version a bad discussion; sorry I'm inconditional to cream/j. bruce. Peace.

  • @vangelisideras half of that didn't make sense....

  • @Jimihendrix6699 if you're not joking, does that make it a joke

  • @pikiwiki no, it doesnt.

  • @mariofanatic101 naw it was cuz jack bruce forced wrapping paper onto an album...see wat ginger baker said about wrapping paper

  • i was 16 and smoking grass with only a single candle burning in the room ,and i heard this song for the 1st time.whew....what a buzz. my favorite e.c. gitar solo.mean and clean.

  • Aw YEAH!!!!! This right here is my favorite Cream song ever... love the guitar solo... thanks for posting it!

  • There is never gonna be another band like Cream...

  • @Jorsalfar Spot On ; no band quite like them ever since !

  • @Jorsalfar

    True.

  • This was when white boys finally got it right and learned to serious rock. I fucking love this song and the lyrics

  • @Screamingdk

    White boys have lead Western Civilization because in order to survive the blazing sun they have had to devise better means of shelter than the typical Hottentot running loose on the plains of the Serengeti

  • To jest świetna piosenka!

  • I think Cream was one of the best classic rock bands ever. Jack Bruce, talened bassist and vocalist, Eric Clapton, the best Caucasian blues buitarist, and Ginger Baker, competition to Keith Moon, both great percussionists.

  • @Zasalamel49 Guitarist, sorry.

  • @Zasalamel49 I like EC v much, but "best" Caucasian blues guitarist ... I tell you what, listen to "I've Got A Mind To Give Up Living/ All Over Again" from either Stockholm or New Orleans, then tell me if you think so. You might just revise your thinking and name PG. Certainly, BB King does: "the only white man that ever made me sweat."

  • @phddddd

    can someone point out who PG might be? thank you.

  • @Agoateeman Peter Green.

  • @phddddd

    ok, thanks man....

  • Bravo to Cream....exciting song.

  • There was something in the air then, some cultural meme mix that bore such as this. It was more than English lads discovering the Blues. Great musicians come into every generation. Few can change the musical culture as was done in the 60's. Don't know what it was, but it was there and then, but not now. Something, uh, supernal?

  • @markjbaldwin

    I will tell you what it was. people in England grew up in a rich musical and literary tradition built up over many generations.Even poor kids there were immersed in song. there were thousands of groups inspired to be the next Beatles. Think back to the Renaissance in Florance.Michelangelo was only the best of an industry that employed thousands of stone cutters. there needs to be a healthy culture to produce healthy art not a decadent one, an industry born of normal people's wants

  • @uncatila i happen to agree

  • @uncatila Tell me about that milieu please. Was it the schools, the Church (I believe Keith Emerson and Elton were choir boys and then organists in their youth), or what.  The post WW2 era I am sure had something to do with it too.

  • @markjbaldwin ...great comment...they seemed to be on a mission, having a great time exploring the musical universe...everything seemed fresh, exciting and open to interpretation..... music has been increasingly hijacked/corrupted by profiteers ever since....all the best...

  • This song is incredible. Just Bruce's acoustic strumming alone is incredible; the beat, Bruce's bass playing, Clapton's solo, the apocalyptic lyrics, Bruce's vocals- this is the way the world ends, with psychedelic apocalypse.

  • Great bass lines. Always loved this track since I first heard it in 1970.

  • Beautiful indeed. Cream must have been the first progressive rock/heavy metal band to utilize the cello.

  • SOLO RULES