Cream (2) – On Top Of It: BBC Sessions 1966-1968
| Label: | Not On Label (Cream (2)) – DDF001/DDF002/DDF003/DDF004 |
|---|---|
| Format: | 4 x CD, Compilation, Unofficial Release |
| Country: | Europe |
| Released: | |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Style: |
Tracklist
| Complete & Remastered BBC Sessions 1966-1968 Part One | |||
| Session #1 | |||
| 1-1 | 'The New Fave Rave Trio' | 0:17 | |
| 1-2 | Sweet Wine | 3:09 | |
| 1-3 | 'Eric Clapton Interview' | 0:59 | |
| 1-4 | Wrapping Paper | 2:33 | |
| 1-5 | 'We're Into Our Finale' | 0:07 | |
| 1-6 | Steppin' Out | 1:45 | |
| 1-7 | Sleepy Time Time | 3:10 | |
| 1-8 | Rollin' And Tumblin' (Incomplete) | 3:03 | |
| 1-9 | I'm So Glad | 3:11 | |
| 1-10 | Rollin' And Tumblin' (Complete But Poor Sound) | 4:27 | |
| Session #2 | |||
| 1-11 | Crossroads | 1:54 | |
| 1-12 | Steppin' Out | 2:32 | |
| Session #4 | |||
| 1-14 | Cat's Squirrel | 2:59 | |
| 1-15 | 'More Music The TOTP Way' | 0:09 | |
| 1-16 | Traintime | 2:42 | |
| 1-17 | 'Last One Comin' Up | 0:06 | |
| 1-18 | Hey Lawdy Mama | 1:48 | |
| 1-19 | I'm So Glad | 4:19 | |
| Session #3 | |||
| 1-20 | I Feel Free | 2:46 | |
| Session #5 | |||
| 1-21 | 'Eric Clapton Interview' | 0:48 | |
| 1-22 | I Feel Free | 2:56 | |
| 1-23 | Four Until Late | 2:00 | |
| 1-24 | N.S.U. | 2:56 | |
| 1-25 | Toad | 2:29 | |
| 1-26 | Traintime | 3:20 | |
| Session #6 | |||
| 1-27 | Take It Back | 3:04 | |
| Session #7 | |||
| 1-28 | 'Groovy Tuned-In Turned-On' | 0:10 | |
| 1-29 | Strange Brew | 2:50 | |
| 1-30 | 'Eric Clapton Interview' | 0:49 | |
| 1-31 | Tales Of Brave Ulysses | 3:04 | |
| 1-32 | We're Going Wrong | 3:32 | |
| Session #8 | |||
| 1-33 | Strange Brew | 3:01 | |
| 1-34 | 'Eric Clapton Interview' | 0:42 | |
| Session #9 | |||
| 1-35 | Tales Of Brave Ulysses | 3:03 | |
| Complete & Remastered BBC Session 1966-1968 Part Two | |||
| Session #10 | |||
| 2-1 | 'Eric Clapton Interview' | 0:44 | |
| 2-2 | Born Under A Bad Sign | 3:05 | |
| 2-3 | Take It Back | 2:20 | |
| 2-4 | Outside Woman Blues | 3:18 | |
| 2-5 | Sunshine Of Your Love (Incomplete) | 4:12 | |
| Session #11 | |||
| 2-6 | We're Going Wrong (Incomplete) | 4:24 | |
| 2-7 | N.S.U. (Incomplete) | 2:19 | |
| 2-8 | We're Going Wrong (Complete But Poor Sound) | 5:43 | |
| Session #12 | |||
| 2-9 | Politician | 4:04 | |
| 2-10 | 'Sock It To 'Em Harry' | 0:06 | |
| 2-11 | SWLABR | 2:28 | |
| 2-12 | 'Fantastic Wailing Blues' | 0:15 | |
| 2-13 | Steppin' Out | 3:34 | |
| 2-14 | Blue Condition | 2:50 | |
| 2-15 | We're Going Wrong | 3:42 | |
| 2-16 | SWLABR (Alternate Take) | 2:27 | |
| Wheels On Fire - In The Studio | |||
| 3-1 | White Room | 5:00 | |
| 3-2 | Sitting On Top Of The World | 4:59 | |
| 3-3 | Passing The Time | 4:31 | |
| 3-4 | As You Said | 4:21 | |
| 3-5 | Pressed Rat And Warthog | 3:14 | |
| 3-6 | Politician | 4:12 | |
| 3-7 | Those Were The Days | 2:54 | |
| 3-8 | Born Under A Bad Sign | 3:10 | |
| 3-9 | Deserted Cities Of The Heart | 3:39 | |
| Bonus Tracks: | |||
| 3-10 | Anyone For Tennis | 2:39 | |
| 3-11 | Falstaff Beer Commercial | 1:22 | |
| Wheels On Fire - Live At The Filmore | |||
| 4-1 | Crossroads | 4:16 | |
| 4-2 | Spoonful | 16:47 | |
| 4-3 | Traintime | 7:03 | |
| 4-4 | Toad | 16:17 | |
| Bonus Tracks: | |||
| 4-5 | Sunshine Of Your Love | 6:58 | |
| 4-6 | N.S.U. | 12:38 |
Credits
- Bass, Harmonica [Harp], Vocals – Jack Bruce
- Drums, Percussion – Ginger Baker
- Guitar, Vocals – Eric Clapton
Notes
Disc 1: Session #1, tracks 01-10. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Tuesday 8 November 1966 between 2pm & 4:30pm. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 12 November 1966. Producer: Bill Bebb. Sources:,01-06 transcription disc; 07-10 off-air recordings.
Session #2, tracks 11-12. Recorded: Aeolian Hall Studio 2, Bond Street, London, UK: Monday 28 November 1966 between 2:30pm & 4:30pm. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Guitar Club': Friday 30 December 1966.
Session #3, track 20. Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London, UK: Wednesday 21 December 1966. Broadcast: BBC TV 'Top Of The Pops': 29 December 1966. Source: off-air recording.
Note band sings over remixed studio version which omits Jack's original vocals.
Session #4, tracks 13-19. Recorded: Maida Vale Studio 4, Delaware Road, London, UK: Friday 9 December 1966 between 3pm & 6:30pm. Broadcast BBC World Service Radio 'Alexis Korner's Rhythm & Blues': Monday 9th January 1967. Producer Dale Griffin. Sources: transcription disc.
Session #5, tracks 21-26. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Tuesday 10 January 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 14 January 1967. Sources: 21-24 transcription disc; 25-26 off-air recordings.
Session #6, track 27. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Monday 20 March 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Monday Monday': Monday 20 March 1967. Source: off-air recording.
Session #7, tracks 28-32. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Tuesday 30 May 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club' 3 June 1967. Producer Bill Bebb. Sources; transcription disc.
Session #8, tracks 33-34. Recorded: BBC Dickinson Road Studios, Rusholme, Manchester, UK: Tuesday 22 June 1967. Broadcast (live): BBC TV, 'Dee Time': Tuesday 22 June 1967. Source; poor off-air recording.
Session #9, track 35. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Friday 14 June July 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Joe Loss Show': Friday 14 July 1967. Source:poor off-air recording.
Disc 2: Session #10, tracks 01-05. Recorded: Aeolian Hall Studio 2, Bond Street, London, UK: Tuesday 24 October 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio, 'Top Gear': Sunday 29 October 1967. Producer Bernie Andrews. Sources 01-04 transcription disc; 05 off-air recording.
Session #11, tracks 06-08. Recorded Lime Grove Studios (Studio G), Shepherd's Bush, London, UK: Sunday 26 November 1967. Broadcast: BBC TV '"Twice A Fortnight"': Saturday 2 December 1967. Sources: 06 (video?) tape; 07-08 off-air recording. Note: Definitive version of WGW. Ginger collapsed after the recording and was rushed to hospital leading to several cancelled dates.
Session # 12, tracks 09-16. Recorded: Aeolian Hall Studio 2, Bond Street, London, UK: Tuesday 9 January 1968. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Top Gear': Sunday 14 January 1968. Produced Bev Philips. Sources: 09-13 transcription disc; 14-16 off-air recordings.
All tracks are Mono
Research & Mastering: Prof Stoned
Note:
Here's another BBC comp that (hopefully) will rock your world, after having to live live with the disappointment of an atrocious official release from 2003 and the subsequent rehashing of the same masters on Deluxe editions of Fresh Cream & Disraeli Gears (off-speed, poor-quality sources, heavy handed use of noise reduction). For the production of this compilation. I was given access to pristine transfers from original BBC Transcription discs and an extensive collection of off-air recordings, the same ones that JWB used for his 2018 fan-compilation 'On The Radio' (Ass Blaster 030). JWB and Laservampire graciously allowed me to do my own version of this material (thx guys).
This collection is about as complete as it gets. A few things were passed over, such as versions from sessions #9+10 without voice-over in much lesser sound quality. Quite a lot here was recrded off the air by fans. That's because the BBC did ARCHIVE *ONLY* ONE SINGLE CREAM RADIO SESSION ON TAPE of roughly twelve. Four sessions are considered lost and have remained unheard since their airing date. All that survives in excellent quality comes from transcription disc. The tracklists here do not appear in chronical (chronological?) order but rather start out with the best quality material.
As for the music, this collection showcases some of the band's best playing. Quite a few tracks here are superior to their studio counterparts. Nearly all songs from their second LP Disraeli Gears appear hear and these raw mono recordings demonstrate perfectly what a great album that could have been, if it hadn't been for the horrid production (guitar plugged straight into the mixing desk? Aarrgh!) and fairly lackluster performances. really makes you appreciate the group as a proto-hardrock powertrio that brought an interesting mixture of pop, blues & rock with some light touches of jazz.
I have carefully remastered every track in my studio. I am quite pleased with the results, considering how rough some of these direct-to-mono recordings are on the actual source material. Enjoy!
Sources:
- 'digital transfers from BBC transcription discs'
- Blues Condition (CD, Unofficial) Hiwatt BBC 67 Japan 1999
- 'various fan-made off-air tapes'
- Fresh Cream (CD) Polydor, UMC 571 855-1 Europe 2017 (Session #2)
- All My Loving (DVD) BBC 2007
Discs 3&4
This is arguably the best way of hearing this album. This edition was mastered flat from the original USA mastertapes and has been CSG decoded.
CSG (Compatible Stereo Generator) was a technique used in the late 1960s to make stereo recordings mono-compatible. It was printed on the mixdown mastertapes of 8 of 11 tracks that can be found in folder CD1. read more about this process here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haeco-CSG
Despite the fact that CSG can easily be undone in digital audio workstation, only one official edition of WOF thus far was actually decorded and that one used an inferior source. So here it is.
The complete and remastered BBC Sessions 1966-1968 & Wheels On Fire (CSG decoded Best Sounding Version) A Prof. Stoned Compilation 2021.
Session #2, tracks 11-12. Recorded: Aeolian Hall Studio 2, Bond Street, London, UK: Monday 28 November 1966 between 2:30pm & 4:30pm. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Guitar Club': Friday 30 December 1966.
Session #3, track 20. Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London, UK: Wednesday 21 December 1966. Broadcast: BBC TV 'Top Of The Pops': 29 December 1966. Source: off-air recording.
Note band sings over remixed studio version which omits Jack's original vocals.
Session #4, tracks 13-19. Recorded: Maida Vale Studio 4, Delaware Road, London, UK: Friday 9 December 1966 between 3pm & 6:30pm. Broadcast BBC World Service Radio 'Alexis Korner's Rhythm & Blues': Monday 9th January 1967. Producer Dale Griffin. Sources: transcription disc.
Session #5, tracks 21-26. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Tuesday 10 January 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 14 January 1967. Sources: 21-24 transcription disc; 25-26 off-air recordings.
Session #6, track 27. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Monday 20 March 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Monday Monday': Monday 20 March 1967. Source: off-air recording.
Session #7, tracks 28-32. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Tuesday 30 May 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club' 3 June 1967. Producer Bill Bebb. Sources; transcription disc.
Session #8, tracks 33-34. Recorded: BBC Dickinson Road Studios, Rusholme, Manchester, UK: Tuesday 22 June 1967. Broadcast (live): BBC TV, 'Dee Time': Tuesday 22 June 1967. Source; poor off-air recording.
Session #9, track 35. Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London, UK: Friday 14 June July 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Joe Loss Show': Friday 14 July 1967. Source:poor off-air recording.
Disc 2: Session #10, tracks 01-05. Recorded: Aeolian Hall Studio 2, Bond Street, London, UK: Tuesday 24 October 1967. Broadcast: BBC Radio, 'Top Gear': Sunday 29 October 1967. Producer Bernie Andrews. Sources 01-04 transcription disc; 05 off-air recording.
Session #11, tracks 06-08. Recorded Lime Grove Studios (Studio G), Shepherd's Bush, London, UK: Sunday 26 November 1967. Broadcast: BBC TV '"Twice A Fortnight"': Saturday 2 December 1967. Sources: 06 (video?) tape; 07-08 off-air recording. Note: Definitive version of WGW. Ginger collapsed after the recording and was rushed to hospital leading to several cancelled dates.
Session # 12, tracks 09-16. Recorded: Aeolian Hall Studio 2, Bond Street, London, UK: Tuesday 9 January 1968. Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Top Gear': Sunday 14 January 1968. Produced Bev Philips. Sources: 09-13 transcription disc; 14-16 off-air recordings.
All tracks are Mono
Research & Mastering: Prof Stoned
Note:
Here's another BBC comp that (hopefully) will rock your world, after having to live live with the disappointment of an atrocious official release from 2003 and the subsequent rehashing of the same masters on Deluxe editions of Fresh Cream & Disraeli Gears (off-speed, poor-quality sources, heavy handed use of noise reduction). For the production of this compilation. I was given access to pristine transfers from original BBC Transcription discs and an extensive collection of off-air recordings, the same ones that JWB used for his 2018 fan-compilation 'On The Radio' (Ass Blaster 030). JWB and Laservampire graciously allowed me to do my own version of this material (thx guys).
This collection is about as complete as it gets. A few things were passed over, such as versions from sessions #9+10 without voice-over in much lesser sound quality. Quite a lot here was recrded off the air by fans. That's because the BBC did ARCHIVE *ONLY* ONE SINGLE CREAM RADIO SESSION ON TAPE of roughly twelve. Four sessions are considered lost and have remained unheard since their airing date. All that survives in excellent quality comes from transcription disc. The tracklists here do not appear in chronical (chronological?) order but rather start out with the best quality material.
As for the music, this collection showcases some of the band's best playing. Quite a few tracks here are superior to their studio counterparts. Nearly all songs from their second LP Disraeli Gears appear hear and these raw mono recordings demonstrate perfectly what a great album that could have been, if it hadn't been for the horrid production (guitar plugged straight into the mixing desk? Aarrgh!) and fairly lackluster performances. really makes you appreciate the group as a proto-hardrock powertrio that brought an interesting mixture of pop, blues & rock with some light touches of jazz.
I have carefully remastered every track in my studio. I am quite pleased with the results, considering how rough some of these direct-to-mono recordings are on the actual source material. Enjoy!
Sources:
- 'digital transfers from BBC transcription discs'
- Blues Condition (CD, Unofficial) Hiwatt BBC 67 Japan 1999
- 'various fan-made off-air tapes'
- Fresh Cream (CD) Polydor, UMC 571 855-1 Europe 2017 (Session #2)
- All My Loving (DVD) BBC 2007
Discs 3&4
This is arguably the best way of hearing this album. This edition was mastered flat from the original USA mastertapes and has been CSG decoded.
CSG (Compatible Stereo Generator) was a technique used in the late 1960s to make stereo recordings mono-compatible. It was printed on the mixdown mastertapes of 8 of 11 tracks that can be found in folder CD1. read more about this process here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haeco-CSG
Despite the fact that CSG can easily be undone in digital audio workstation, only one official edition of WOF thus far was actually decorded and that one used an inferior source. So here it is.
The complete and remastered BBC Sessions 1966-1968 & Wheels On Fire (CSG decoded Best Sounding Version) A Prof. Stoned Compilation 2021.
Reviews
- The BBC tracks are a straight rip of the Professor Stoned set, they even include his sleeve notes. Unfortunately (for the set producer, if not us) the professor has recently updated his set to include some recently surfaced material which makes this box superseded.
- Good knock off off the latest Mid Valley BBC set! 3rd of the price some charge! If you want to invest, go Mid Valley as these will turn up in the usual limited to 300 numbered issues and same again 6 -18 months later and beyond!
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