Those Were the Days (Cream album)

Updated on Sep 26, 2024

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Released 23 September 1997 Length 303:12 Artist Cream Label Polydor Records		Recorded 1966–1968 Producer Joanna Bennetts Release date 23 September 1997

Those Were the Days(1997) 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection The Best of Cream(2000) Genres Blues rock, Psychedelic rock, Hard rock, Acid rock Similar Cream albums, Blues rock albums

Those Were the Days is a retrospective compilation of music recorded by the British rock band Cream, released on 23 September 1997. It comprises four compact discs and includes almost every studio track released during the band's active lifetime, with the exception of the original "Passing The Time" from Wheels of Fire, and all but three tracks from the live material recorded in 1968 and released on Wheels of Fire, Goodbye, and the two Live Cream volumes of 1970 and 1972. The title is taken from the song written by Ginger Baker and Mike Taylor, released on Wheels of Fire in 1968.

Cream those were the days

Disc one: In the Studio

Non-album single (1966)

1. "Wrapping Paper" (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) – 2:22

Tracks taken from Fresh Cream (1966)

2. "I Feel Free" (Bruce, Brown) – 2:513. "N.S.U." (Bruce) – 2:434. "Sleepy Time Time" (Bruce, Janet Godfrey) – 4:205. "Dreaming" (Bruce) – 1:586. "Sweet Wine" (Ginger Baker, Godfrey) – 3:177. "Spoonful" (Willie Dixon) – 6:308. "Cat's Squirrel" (Traditional, arr. by Baker, Bruce, Eric Clapton) – 3:039. "Four Until Late" (Robert Johnson, arr. by Clapton) – 2:0710. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (Muddy Waters) – 4:4211. "I'm So Glad" (Skip James) – 3:5712. "Toad" (Baker) – 5:11

Studio outtake (1967)

13. "Lawdy Mama" version 1 ¹ (Traditional, arr. by Clapton) – 2:00

Tracks taken from Disraeli Gears (1967)

14. "Strange Brew" (Clapton, Gail Collins, Felix Pappalardi) – 2:4615. "Sunshine of Your Love" (Bruce, Brown, Clapton) – 4:1016. "World of Pain" (Collins, Pappalardi) – 3:0217. "Dance the Night Away" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:3418. "Blue Condition" (Baker) – 3:2919. "Tales of Brave Ulysses" (Clapton, Martin Sharp) – 2:4620. "SWLABR" (Bruce, Brown) – 2:3121. "We're Going Wrong" (Bruce) – 3:2622. "Outside Woman Blues" (Blind Joe Reynolds, arr. by Clapton) – 2:2423. "Take It Back" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:0524. "Mother's Lament" (Traditional, arr. Bruce, Brown, Clapton) – 1:47

Disc two: In the Studio

Tracks taken from Wheels of Fire (1968)

1. "White Room" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:582. "Sitting on Top of the World" (Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon; arr. Chester Burnett) – 4:583. "Passing the Time" alternate version ¹ (Baker, Mike Taylor) – 5:534. "As You Said" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:205. "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (Baker, Taylor) – 3:136. "Politician" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:127. "Those Were the Days" (Baker, Taylor) – 2:538. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Booker T. Jones, William Bell) – 3:099. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:38

Non-album single (1968)

10. "Anyone for Tennis" (The Savage Seven theme) (Clapton, Sharp) – 2:38

Tracks taken from Goodbye (1969)

11. "Badge" (Clapton, George Harrison) – 2:4412. "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:1413. "What a Bringdown" (Baker) – 3:58

Miscellaneous tracks

14. "The Coffee Song" ⁶ (Tony Colton, Ray Smith) – 2:4415. "Lawdy Mama" version 2 ⁴ (Traditional, arr. Clapton) – 2:4616. "You Make Me Feel" demo version ¹ (Bruce, Brown) – 2:3917. "We're Going Wrong" demo version ¹ (Bruce) – 3:4918. "Hey Now Princess" demo version ¹ (Bruce, Brown) – 3:3119. "SWLABR" demo version ¹ (Bruce, Brown) – 4:3020. "Weird of Hermiston" demo version ¹ (Bruce, Brown) – 3:1221. "The Clearout" demo version ¹ (Bruce, Brown) – 3:5822. "Falstaff Beer Commercial" ¹ (Baker, Bruce, Clapton) – 1:00

Disc three: Live

1. "N.S.U." unedited version ¹ (Bruce) – 12:38Recorded 9 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California2. "Sleepy Time Time" ⁴ (Bruce, Godfrey) – 6:48Recorded 9 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California3. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" ⁴ (Waters) – 6:29Recorded 7 March 1968 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, California4. "Crossroads" ² (Johnson, arr. Clapton) – 4:24Recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California5. "Spoonful" ² (Dixon) – 16:39Recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California6. "Tales of Brave Ulysses" ⁵ (Clapton, Sharp) – 4:43Recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California7. "Sunshine of Your Love" ⁵ (Bruce, Brown, Clapton) – 7:25Recorded 9 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California8. "Sweet Wine" ⁴ (Baker, Godfrey) – 15:08Recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California

Disc four: Live

1. "White Room" ⁵ (Bruce, Brown) – 6:21Recorded 4 October 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California2. "Politician" ⁵ (Bruce, Brown) – 5:08Recorded 4 October 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California3. "I'm So Glad" ³ (James) – 9:32Recorded 19 October 1968 at The Forum, Inglewood, Los Angeles, California4. "Sitting on Top of the World" ³ (Vinson, Chatmon; arr. Burnett) – 4:55Recorded 19 October 1968 at The Forum, Inglewood, Los Angeles, California5. "Steppin' Out" ⁵ (James Bracken) – 13:29Recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California6. "Traintime" ² (Bruce) – 7:02Recorded 8 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California7. "Toad" extended version ¹ (Baker) – 17:35Recorded March 7–8, 1968 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, California8. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" ⁵ (Bruce, Brown) – 4:14Recorded 4 October 1968 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California9. "Sunshine of Your Love" ¹ (Bruce, Brown, Clapton) – 4:44Recorded May 1968 at CBS Studios, Los Angeles for the Glen Campbell Show

Release notes

^1 Previously unreleased^2 Originally released on Wheels of Fire (1968)^3 Originally released on Goodbye (1969)^4 Originally released on Live Cream (1970)^5 Originally released on Live Cream Volume II (1972)^6 Originally released on Fresh Cream (Polydor UK reissue, 1974)

Omitted from this collection

"Passing the Time" – studio version from Wheels of Fire (1968)

"Toad" – live version from Wheels of Fire (1968) – Recorded 7 March 1968 at Filmore West, San Francisco, California

"Politician" – live version from Goodbye (1969) – Recorded 19 October 1968 at The Forum, Inglewood, Los Angeles, California

"N.S.U." – live version from Live Cream (1970) – Recorded 10 March 1968 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California

Songs

1Wrapping Paper2:25
2I Feel Free2:53
3NSU2:45

References

Those Were the Days (Cream album) Wikipedia

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