Goodbye | ||||
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Studio album / Live album by | ||||
Released | 5 February 1969 | |||
Recorded | October 1968 | |||
Venue | The Forum, Los Angeles | |||
Studio | IBC, London [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 30:30 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Producer | Felix Pappalardi [1] | |||
Cream chronology | ||||
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Singles from Goodbye | ||||
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Goodbye (also called Goodbye Cream) [2] is the fourth and final studio album by Cream, with three tracks recorded live, and three recorded in the studio. It was released in Europe by Polydor Records and by Atco Records in the United States, debuting in Billboard on 15 February 1969. [3] It reached number one in the United Kingdom and number two in the United States. A single, "Badge", was released from the album a month later. The album was released after Cream disbanded in November 1968. [4]
Just before Cream's third album, Wheels of Fire , was to be released, the group's manager Robert Stigwood announced that the group would disband after a farewell tour and a final concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November. [5] Just before the start of their farewell tour in October 1968, Cream recorded three songs at IBC Studios in London with producer Felix Pappalardi and engineer Damon Lyon-Shaw. [1] The songs "Badge" and "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" featured Eric Clapton using a Leslie speaker, [5] while all three recordings featured keyboard instruments played by either Jack Bruce or Felix Pappalardi. [1] The group started their farewell tour on 4 October 1968 in Oakland, California [5] and 15 days later on 19 October the group performed at The Forum in Los Angeles where the three live recordings on Goodbye were recorded with Felix Pappalardi and engineers Adrian Barber and Bill Halverson. [1]
In a 1969 Rolling Stone interview, producer Phil Spector told a possibly apocryphal story about how Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegun caused the album to happen: "Like the Cream are breakin’ up, and he said, 'like man you have to do a final album for me.' They said, 'Why man, we hate each other,' or somethin’ like that. Ahmet said, 'Oh no man, you have to do one more album for me. Jerry Wexler has cancer, and he’s dyin’ and he wants to hear one more album from you.' So they go in, make the album and he says, 'Like man, Jerry Wexler isn’t dyin’, he’s much better, he’s improved.'” [6]
The original plan for Goodbye was to make it a double album, with one disc featuring studio recordings and the other with live performances, like Wheels of Fire. With a lack of quality material on hand, however, the album was only one disc with three live recordings and three studio recordings. [5]
The original LP release of the album was packaged in a gatefold sleeve with art direction handled by Haig Adishian. The outer sleeve featured photography by Roger Phillips with a cover design by the Alan Aldridge ink Studios, while the inner sleeve featured an illustration of a cemetery by Roger Hane that had the song titles on tombstones. [7] A Compact Disc reissue of the album for the Cream Remasters series in 1998 featured an inlay photograph and had the inner-sleeve illustration in the liner notes of the album. [1]
Retrospective reviews | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A− [10] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone , music critic Ray Rezos felt Cream deserved to depart with a better album. He wrote that most of the live songs sounded inferior to the original recordings and that the studio tracks were marred by the same flaw as on Wheels of Fire, namely the presence of blues playing on songs whose compositions were not blues in his opinion. [12] Nonetheless, Goodbye was voted the 148th best rock album of all time in Paul Gambaccini's 1978 poll of 50 prominent American and English rock critics, issued as the book Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums . [13]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Goodbye a work of "hard, heavy rock" and "strong moments" rather than cohesiveness, with live music that is generally better than on Wheels of Fire and a side of studio recordings that also found Cream "at something of a peak". [8] Robert Christgau also reacted favourably to the album, citing it as his favourite record from the group. [10] J. D. Considine was less impressed in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), deeming Goodbye an incomplete record with "exquisite studio work" but mediocre live performances. [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocal(s) [1] | Length |
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1. | "I'm So Glad (Live)" | Skip James | Jack Bruce, with Eric Clapton | 9:13 |
2. | "Politician (Live)" | Bruce, Pete Brown | Bruce | 6:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocal(s) [1] | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
3. | "Sitting on Top of the World (Live)" | Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon; arr. Chester Burnett | Bruce | 5:01 |
4. | "Badge" | Clapton, George Harrison [14] | Clapton | 2:44 |
5. | "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" | Bruce, Brown | Bruce | 3:15 |
6. | "What a Bringdown" | Ginger Baker | Clapton, with Bruce | 3:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocal(s) | Length |
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7. | "Anyone for Tennis" ( The Savage Seven theme) | Clapton, Martin Sharp | Clapton | 2:37 |
Notes:
Cream
Additional musicians
Recording
Chart (1969-1970) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [15] | 6 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [16] | 5 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen Virallinen) [17] | 3 |
French Albums (SNEP) [18] | 3 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [19] | 9 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [20] | 7 |
UK Albums (OCC) [21] | 1 |
US Billboard 200 [22] | 2 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [23] | Gold | 35,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [24] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [25] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Cream were a British rock band formed in London in 1966. The group consisted of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. Bruce was the primary songwriter and vocalist, although Clapton and Baker contributed to songs. Formed by members of previously successful bands, they are widely considered the first supergroup. Cream were highly regarded for the instrumental proficiency of each of their members.
Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has become a classic rock radio staple. Originating in the eclectic music scene in New York's Greenwich Village, he became closely attached to the British power trio Cream, writing, arranging, and producing for their second album Disraeli Gears. As a producer for Atlantic Records, he worked on several projects with guitarist Leslie West; in 1969 their partnership evolved into the band Mountain. The band lasted less than five years, but their work influenced the first generation of heavy metal and hard rock music. Pappalardi continued to work as a producer, session musician, and songwriter until he was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins in 1983.
Fresh Cream is the debut studio album by the British rock band Cream, consisting of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. The album was released in the UK on 9 December 1966, as the first LP on the Reaction Records label, owned by producer Robert Stigwood. It was released in both mono and stereo versions, at the same time as the release of the single "I Feel Free". The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was released in a slightly different form in January 1967 by Atco Records in the US, also in mono and stereo versions.
Wheels of Fire is the third album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in the US in June 1968 as a two-disc vinyl LP, with one disc recorded in the studio and the other recorded live. It was released in the UK on August 9. It reached number three in the United Kingdom and number one in the United States, Canada and Australia, becoming the world's first platinum-selling double album. In May 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 205 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was voted number 757 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
Disraeli Gears is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart., and No. 1 on the Swedish and Finnish charts. The album was also No. 1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the No. 1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the United States. The album features the singles "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love", as well as their respective B-sides "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "SWLABR".
"Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock and psychedelia, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive bass riff he developed after attending a Jimi Hendrix concert. Guitarist Eric Clapton and lyricist Pete Brown later contributed to the song and drummer Ginger Baker plays a distinctive tom-tom drum rhythm.
"White Room" is a song by British rock band Cream, composed by bassist Jack Bruce with lyrics by poet Pete Brown. They recorded it for the studio half of the 1968 double album Wheels of Fire. In September, a shorter US single edit was released for AM radio stations, although album-oriented FM radio stations played the full album version. The subsequent UK single release in January 1969 used the full-length album version of the track.
"Badge" is a song written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison, and recorded by British rock music group Cream on their final album, Goodbye. Also issued as a single in March 1969, "Badge" peaked at number 18 in the UK Singles Chart and number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The History of Eric Clapton is a compilation double LP, released in 1972 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom, and Atco Records in the United States. It features Eric Clapton performing in various bands between 1964 and 1970, including The Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos.
Live Cream is a live compilation album by the British rock band Cream, released in 1970. This album comprises four live tracks recorded in 1968 and one studio track "Lawdy Mama" from 1967. The instrumental track for "Lawdy Mama" is the same as heard on "Strange Brew" with a different vocal and guitar solo by Eric Clapton.
Live Cream Volume II is the second live album by the British rock band Cream, released in March 1972 by Polydor Records. This album contains six tracks recorded at various performances from 9 March to 4 October 1968.
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.
Gold is a two-disc compilation album by the British rock band Cream, released in 2005 to help celebrate the band's reunion at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a part of the larger Gold series.
Heavy Cream is a compilation album of material recorded by the British rock band Cream from 1966 to 1969.
"Cross Road Blues" is a song written by the American blues artist Robert Johnson. He performed it solo with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues style. The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for musical genius. This is based largely on folklore of the American South that identifies a crossroads as the site where Faustian bargains can be made, as the lyrics do not contain any references to Satan.
The Cream of Clapton is an Eric Clapton compilation album released in 1995. Additionally, the European and U.S.-versions have a different track listings. The European version had already been released as The Best of Eric Clapton in 1991, though without the track "I Can't Stand It".
Songs for a Tailor is the 1969 debut solo album by the Scottish musician, composer and singer Jack Bruce, who was already famous at the time of its release for his work with the supergroup Cream. Originally released on the Polydor label in Europe and on Atco Records in the U.S., Songs for a Tailor was the second solo album that Bruce recorded, though he did not release the first, Things We Like, for another year.
Best of Cream is a compilation album of material recorded from 1966 to 1968 by the rock band Cream, and released shortly after their disbanding. The album was originally released by Cream's U.S. label Atco (Atlantic) Records, and was available on that label during the years 1969–1972. The album was briefly reissued in the U.S. in 1977 by RSO/Polydor Records, to whom U.S. distribution rights for Cream's recordings had reverted by that time. A re-release was pressed in 2014 by Polydor on 180g vinyl.
"Anyone for Tennis (The Savage Seven Theme)" is a song by the British rock band Cream. It was used as the theme song for the 1968 film The Savage Seven.
"Doing That Scrapyard Thing" is a song from British group Cream's 1969 farewell album, Goodbye. Composed by the band's bassist, Jack Bruce, with lyrics by Pete Brown, the song, alongside Eric Clapton's "Badge" and Ginger Baker's "What a Bringdown," was one of Cream's final studio recordings.
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