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CR_BBC_IN

Cream - BBC Sessions 1966-1968 {Remastered & Complete} [A Prof. Stoned Comp 2021]
16bit/44.1khz (CD Quality) 

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Session #1 

01) 'The new fave rave trio'
02) Sweet Wine
03) 'Eric Clapton interview'
04) Wrapping Paper
05) 'We're into our finale'
06) Steppin' Out
07) Sleepy Time Time
08) Rollin' And Tumblin' (incomplete)
09. I'm So Glad
10) Rollin' And Tumblin' (complete but poor sound)

Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Tuesday 8 November 1966 between 2PM & 4:30PM
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 12 November 1966
Producer: Bill Bebb
Sources: 01-06 transcription disc; 07-10 off-air recordings

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Session #2

01) Crossroads
02) Steppin' Out

Recorded: Aeolian Hall studio 2, Bond Street, London UK; Monday 28 November 1966 between 2:30PM & 4:30PM
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Guitar Club'; Friday 30 December 1966
Producer: Bernie Andrews
Sources: off-air recordings

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Session #3

01) I Feel Free
    
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Wednesday 21 December 1966
Broadcast: BBC TV 'Top of the Pops'; Thursday 29 December 1966
Source: off-air recording

Note: band sings over remixed studio version which omits Jack's original vocals.

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Session #4

01) 'Tops with British blues fans'
02) Cat's Squirrel
03) 'More music the TOTP way'
04) Traintime
05) 'Last one comin' up'
06) Hey Lawdy Mama
07) I'm So Glad

Recorded: Maida Vale studio 4, Delaware Road, London UK; Friday 9 December 1966 between 3PM & 6:30PM
Broadcast: BBC World Service Radio 'Alexis Korner's Rhythm & Blues'; Monday 9 January 1967
Producer: Jeff Griffin
Sources: transcription disc

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Session #5

01) 'Eric Clapton interview'
02) I Feel Free
03) Four Until Late
04) N.S.U.
05) Toad
06) Traintime
    
Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Tuesday 10 January 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 14 January 1967
Producer: Bill Bebb
Sources: 01-04 transcription disc; 05-06 off-air recordings

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Session #6

01) Take It Back

Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Monday 20 March 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Monday Monday': Monday 20 March 1967
Source: off-air recording

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Session #7

01) 'Groovy tuned-in turned-on'
02) Strange Brew
03) 'Eric Clapton interview'
04) Tales of Brave Ulysses
05) We're Going Wrong
 
Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Tuesday 30 May 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club': Saturday 3 June 1967
Producer: Bill Bebb
Sources: transcription disc

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Session #8

01. Strange Brew

Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Thursday 15 June 1967
Broadcast (live): BBC TV 'Top of the Pops'
Source: off-air recording

Note: band plays along with unreleased studio recording. Surprisingly good audio for a fan recording this old.

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Session #9

01. Strange Brew
02. Eric Clapton interview

Recorded: BBC Dickinson Road Studios Rusholme, Manchester UK; Tuesday 22 June 1967
Broadcast (live): BBC TV, "Dee Time"
Source: good off-air recording

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Session #10

01) Tales of Brave Ulysses

Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Friday 14 July 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio BBC Radio "Joe Loss Show"; Friday 14 July 1967
Source: poor off-air recording

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Session #11

01) 'Eric Clapton interview'
02) Born Under A Bad Sign
03) Take It Back
04) Outside Woman Blues
05) Sunshine Of Your Love (incomplete)
06) Tales of Brave Ulysses

Recorded: Aeolian Hall studio 2, Bond Street, London UK; Tuesday 24 October 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Top Gear'; Sunday 29 October 1967
Producer: Bernie Andrews
Sources: 01-04 transcription disc; 05-06 off-air recording

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Session #12

01) We're Going Wrong (incomplete)
02) N.S.U. (incomplete)
03) We're Going Wrong (complete)
    
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios (Studio G), Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Sunday 26 November 1967
Broadcast: BBC TV '"Twice A Fortnight"'; Saturday 2 December 1967
Sources: 01 tape; 02-03 off-air recording

Note: Definitive verion of WGW. Ginger collapsed after the recording and was rushed to hospital leading to several cancelled dates.

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Session #13

01) Politician
02) 'Sock it to em Eric'
03) SWLABR
04) 'Fantastic wailing blues'
05) Steppin' Out
06) Blue Condition 
07) We're Going Wrong
08) SWLABR (alternate take)

Recorded: Aeolian Hall studio 2, Bond Street, London UK; Tuesday 9 January 1968
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Top Gear'; Sunday 14 January 1968
Producer: Bev Philips
Sources: 01-05 transcription disc; 06-08 off-air recordings

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Bonus: 'Completist Stuff'

Eric Clapton Interview [1967-05-20]
Outside Woman Blues [1967-10-24] (off-air, no voiceover)
Take It Back [1967-10-24] (off-air, no voiceover)
Sunshine Of Your Love [1967-10-24] (off-air, complete)
Politician [1968-01-09] (off-air, no voiceover)
SWLABR [1968-01-09] (transcription disc, voiceover)

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Total time: 2h08m25s
All tracks are Mono

Research & Mastering: Prof Stoned
Additional Research: Hallucalation
Special thanks to John & Ben, Eugene, SHForum member 'no time', The Johnny Kidd Fan Club, A Lotus On Irish Streams, DocDondy, JacoZappa, "a collector" and also: whereseric.com

v1.0: 01-08-2021
v1.1: 01-08-2021 (sessions 1966-12-21 & 1967-11-26 added)  
v1.2: 27-12-2022 (session #13, Tr 3 replaced with a better source that has no voiceover on intro and outro; 'Completist Stuff' folder added)
v1.3: 27-06-2023 (session #11, Tr 6 added; previously uncirculated and kindly provided by The Johnny Kidd Fan Club)
v1.4: 06-07-2023 (session #11, Tr 6 speed corrected and newly mastered because of pitch difference)
v1.5: 13-07-2023 (session #12, Tr. 2-3 replaced with superior newly discovered source)
v1.6: 11-01-2024 (session 1967-06-15 newly discovered and kindly provided by The Johnny Kidd Fan Club; also session #1, Tr. 9, session #5, Tr. 5-6, session #6, Tr. 1 & session #9, Tr. 1-2 replaced with superior newly discovered sources)

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Note: 

Here's another BBC comp that (hopefully) will rock your world, after having to live with the disappointment of an atrocious official release from 2003 and the subsequent rehashing of the same masters on Deluxe editions of Fresh Cream & Disraeli Gears (off-speed, poor-quality sources, heavy handed use of noise reduction). For the production of this compilation, I was given access to pristine transfers from original BBC Transcription discs and an extensive collection of off-air recordings, the same ones that JWB used for his 2018 fan-compilation 'On The Radio' (Ass Blaster 030). JWB and Laservampire graciously allowed me to do my own version of this material (thx guys). 

This collection is about as complete as it gets. A few things were passed over, such as versions from sessions #9+10 without voice-over in much lesser sound quality. Quite a lot here was recorded off the air by fans. That's because the BBC did ARCHIVE *ONLY* ONE SINGLE CREAM RADIO SESSION ON TAPE of roughly twelve. Four sessions are considered lost and have remained unheard since their airing date. All that survives in excellent quality comes from transcription disc.^ The tracklists here do not appear in chronical order but rather start out with the best quality material.

As for the music, this collection showcases some of the band's best playing. Quite a few tracks here are superior to their studio counterparts. Nearly all songs from their second LP Disraeli Gears appear here and these raw mono recordings demonstrate perfectly what a great album that could have been, if it hadn't been for the horrid production (guitar plugged straight into mixing desk? Aarrgh!) and fairly lackluster performances. Really makes you re-appreciate the group as a proto-hardrock powertrio that brought an interesting mixture of pop, blues & rock with some light touches of jazz.*
 
I have carefully remastered every track in my studio. I am quite pleased with the results, considering how rough some of these direct-to-mono recordings are on the actual source material. Enjoy!

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^ Makes you realize how lucky we are that most of the Hendrix' session tapes were actually saved.

* Let's face it, Clapton has been a disgrace musically for decades, which does not make it easier to remember that he was once an important part of a groundbreaking band and had a guitar sound to die for. The real star for me here, however, is Jack Bruce. His composition skills, musicianship and vocals are a big part of why most of Cream's music has withstood the test of time. RIP Jack and Ginger too.
 
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Sources:

- 'digital transfers from BBC transcription discs'
- Blues Condition (CD, Unofficial) Hiwatt BBC 67 Japan 1999
- 'various fan-made off-air tapes'
- Fresh Cream (CD) Polydor, UMC 571 855-1 Europe 2017 (Session #2)
- All My Loving (DVD) BBC 2007