Cream

Released in time to capitalize on Cream's 2005 reunion gigs and the accompanying slick, professionally produced DVD and CD generated from those shows, this newly expanded disc returns us to the bad old days of grainy film and poor camera work. The documenting of rock shows was barely out if its infancy when Cream first threw in the towel on November 26, 1968. The result is this hodgepodge of amateurish video (Eric Clapton is almost never shown playing guitar, but there are plenty of facial close-ups) and the sound is barely professional. Unfortunately, little of that is corrected or improved on 2005's expanded reissue of the Farewell Concert, which adds three tunes ("Crossroads," "Sittin' on Top of the World," and an explosive "Steppin' Out") to the program, nearly doubling the original album's running time. A newly spiffed-up 5.1 mix doesn't do much for the tinny audio that still sounds just above bootleg quality, and the film still looks horribly dated with in-and-out of focus shots that are supposed to be psychedelic but are just headache-inducing. Cream performs with impressive energy, barnstorming through their "final" show with typically excessive, throbbing jams that sometimes connect but more often than not just stretch the songs beyond the breaking point. There are no extras other than the "original" cut of the film that simply omits the three songs, and returns the sound to less-than-glorious mono. Either way, this is a botched job, but it's all there is to capture this legendary band in its prime for posterity. While crude by contemporary standards, this remains an essential historical document despite the DVD's various flaws. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide