Cream: Goodbye Tour – Live 1968

Jeff Tamarkin on June 18, 2020
Cream: Goodbye Tour – Live 1968

Cream didn’t last very long for a band with such an enormous impact—formed in 1966, they were done before 1968 closed out. When they did pack it in, they did so in style, with a series of shows in the United States and, famously, at London’s Royal Albert Hall that November. But you’d never know that from Goodbye, the album released in early 1969 that commemorated their demise; something of a shabby affair, it included just three live tracks cut in Los Angeles and three studio tracks (among them the luscious “Badge”), hardly the sort of presentation that furthered the trio’s reputation as the musicians moved on to other things. (In Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker’s case, that would be Blind Faith.) Goodbye Tour attempts to right the wrong perpetrated by the band’s label a half-century ago, compiling four complete sets: three from America (Oakland Coliseum, The Forum, San Diego Sports Arena) and finally the London show from Nov. 26, 1968. Of the package’s 36 tracks, 19 are previously unreleased; another 10, the entirety of the Albert Hall show, has been on DVD but never CD. Musically, there is no denying that Cream still had much to give: From the opening blast of vocal harmony, bashing drums and wah-wah guitar that introduces “White Room,” it’s apparent that Clapton, Baker and Jack Bruce were still growing, expanding beyond their roots toward something more progressive and song-oriented. While there is still plenty of blues to be had (“Crossroads,” “Spoonful”), and the jams are as fiery as ever (what they do with “I’m So Glad” is eyebrow-raising), Cream undeniably ended prematurely. Now, finally, we get to hear what their goodbye to their fans really sounded like.