Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream explained

Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream
Type:	Compilation album
Artist:	Cream
Cover:	strangebrew.jpg
Released:	1983
Recorded:	1966–1968
Length:	41:24
Label:	RSO/Polydor
Prev Title:	Heavy Cream
Prev Year:	1972
Next Title:	The Very Best of Cream
Next Year:	1995

Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream is a 1983 compilation album by the British rock band Cream.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote that the album "must be the fifth or sixth Cream reissue--I stopped counting around 1976--but it's the only one I ever played twice, and I've always wanted an album with 'Anyone for Tennis?' on it."^[1] AllMusic critic Rob Bowman later gave it three stars and praised the compilation as being "what the title implies, all the finest tracks from the band's four studio albums. The best was brilliant."

CD track listing

(Note: Tracks 6 and 11 may not appear on some vinyl LP versions or on the cassette - they are on RSD5021 in the UK)

1. "Badge" (Eric Clapton, George Harrison) – 2:46
2. "Sunshine of Your Love" (Jack Bruce, Clapton, Pete Brown) – 4:10
3. "Crossroads" (Robert Johnson, arr. Clapton) – 4:14
4. "White Room" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:58
5. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Booker T. Jones, William Bell) – 3:13
6. "SWLABR" (Bruce, Brown) – 2:34
7. "Strange Brew" (Clapton, Felix Pappalardi, Gail Collins Pappalardi) – 2:48
8. "Anyone for Tennis" (Clapton, Martin Sharp) – 2:38
9. "I Feel Free" (Bruce, Brown) – 2:54
10. "Politician" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:12
11. "Tales of Brave Ulysses" (Clapton, Sharp) – 2:49
12. "Spoonful" (Willie Dixon) – 6:30

Release notes

Tracks 9 & 12 originally released on Fresh Cream (1966)
Tracks 2, 6, 7 & 11 originally released on Disraeli Gears (1967)
Tracks 3, 4, 5 & 10 originally released on Wheels of Fire (1968)
Track 1 originally released on Goodbye (1969)
Track 8 originally released as a single (1968)

Personnel

• Eric Clapton - Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, Lead vocals on tracks 1, 3 & 7-8, co-lead vocals on track 2
• Jack Bruce - Bass guitar, lead vocals on tracks 4-6 & 9-12, co-lead vocals on track 2
• Ginger Baker - Drums, percussion

Notes and References

1. News: Christgau. Robert. Robert Christgau. 27 December 1983. Consumer Guide. The Village Voice. 13 February 2017.