Artist: CREAM
Album: THOSE WERE THE DAYS REMASTERED (4CD BOX)

Release date: 1997/ 2008
EAN/UPS: 0600753028087
Media type: CD

63 tracks, EVERY studio recording they waxed (all newly remastered) with a host of rarities, plus 2 CDs of live material, much of it rare or unreleased. Inside the Disraeli Gears -style day-glo box is a 48-page full-color booklet containing notes and rare photos.

Cream was the first of three supergroups spawned by the Yardbirds' three stellar axmen (they preceded the original Jeff Beck Group by a year and Jimmy Page's Led Zeppelin by two). The trio of guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce, and drummer extraordinaire (and band founder) Ginger Baker earned a reputation for fiery live performances rife with improvised blues-based jams (epitomized by Willie Dixon's "Spoonful") that could last half an hour. Two of this set's four discs are devoted to live Cream, showcasing prowess and interplay so powerful as to overshadow its occasional lapses into self-indulgence. Clapton admirers more familiar with his latter-day laid-back persona may be shocked at the incendiary musician showcased on these live cuts. Cream progressed over the course of its three and a half studio records (included here in their entirety). Electric blues evolution was their forte, but they also captured sounds that were moody and acoustic-tinged ("As You Said," "Passing the Time"), music-hall-influenced ("Mother's Lament," "Wrapping Paper"), and progressively poetic ("Deserted Cities of the Heart," "Pressed Rat and Warthog").

CD 1:

1.Wrapping Paper [In the Studio] - 2:22
2.I Feel Free [In the Studio] - 2:51
3.N.S.U. [In the Studio] - 2:43
4.Sleepy Time Time [In the Studio] - 4:20
5.Dreaming [In the Studio] - 1:58
6.Sweet Wine [In the Studio] - 3:17
7.Spoonful [In the Studio] - 6:30
8.Cat's Squirrel [In the Studio] - 3:03
9.Four Until Late [In the Studio] - 2:07
10.Rollin' and Tumblin' [In the Studio] - 4:42
11.I'm So Glad [In the Studio] - 3:57
12.Toad [In the Studio] - 5:11
13.Lawdy Mama [In the Studio][#][Version] - 2:00
14.Strange Brew [In the Studio] - 2:46
15.Sunshine of Your Love [In the Studio] - 4:10
16.World of Pain [In the Studio] - 3:02
17.Dance the Night Away [In the Studio] - 3:34
18.Blue Condition [In the Studio] - 3:29
19.Tales of Brave Ulysses [In the Studio] - 2:46
20.Swlabr [In the Studio] - 2:31
21.We're Going Wrong [In the Studio] - 3:26
22.Outside Woman Blues [In the Studio] - 2:24
23.Take It Back [In the Studio] - 3:05
24.Mother's Lament [In the Studio] - 1:47

CD 2:

1.White Room [In the Studio] - 4:58
2.Sitting on Top of the World [In the Studio] - 4:58
3.Passing the Time [Alternate Version][Take] - 5:53
4.As You Said [In the Studio] - 4:20
5.Pressed Rat and Warthog [In the Studio] - 3:13
6.Politician [In the Studio] - 4:12
7.Those Were the Days [In the Studio] - 2:53
8.Born Under a Bad Sign [In the Studio] - 3:09
9.Deserted Cities of the Heart [In the Studio] - 3:38
10.Anyone for Tennis [In the Studio] - 2:38
11.Badge [In the Studio] - 2:44
12.Doing That Scrapyard Thing [In the Studio] - 3:14
13.What a Bringdown [In the Studio] - 3:58
14.The Coffee Song [In the Studio] - 2:44
15.Lawdy Mama [In the Studio][Version] - 2:46
16.You Make Me Feel [In the Studio][#][Demo Version] - 2:39
17.We're Going Wrong [In the Studio][Demo Version] - 3:49
18.Hey Now Princess [In the Studio][Demo Version] - 3:31
19.Swlabr [In the Studio][Demo Version] - 4:30
20.Weird of Hermiston [In the Studio][Demo Version] - 3:12
21.Clearout [In the Studio][#][Demo Version] - 3:58
22.Falstaff Beer Commercial [In the Studio][#] - 1:00

CD 3:

1.N.S.U. [Live] [#] - 12:38
2.Sleepy Time Time [Live] - 6:48
3.Rollin' and Tumblin' [Live] - 6:29
4.Crossroads [Live] - 4:24
5.Spoonful [Live] - 16:39
6.Tales of Brave Ulysses [Live] - 4:43
7.Sunshine of Your Love [Live] - 7:25
8.Sweet Wine [Live] - 15:08

CD 4:

1.White Room [Live] - 6:21
2.Politician [Live] - 5:08
3.I'm So Glad [Live] - 9:32
4.Sitting on Top of the World [Live] - 4:55
5.Steppin' Out [Live] - 13:29
6.Train Time [Live] - 7:02
7.Toad [Live][#] - 17:35
8.Deserted Cities of the Heart [Live] - 4:14
9.Sunshine of Your Love [Live] - 4:44

[#] exclusive tracks