Notes

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Like Wheels of Fire before it, Goodbye showcases both sides of Cream: that of a late-'60s pop band and that of an unchained blues-rock powerhouse. The live tracks on side one are highly improvised affairs, with even "I'm So Glad" receiving an extended guitar solo from Clapton. How he is able to play such laid-back and tasty blues over the relentlessly aggressive Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker is a mystery. In fact, the real superstar of these recordings is Bruce, whose upfront, distorted bass playing kicks Baker along as much as it challenges Clapton. At times it sounds more like a battle than anything else, battles that Bruce, with his tenacity and pure drive, almost always wins. The ominous neo-blues of "Politician" and the more traditional "Sitting on Top of the World" close out this extraordinary selection of live material. Side two opens with one of Cream's finest pop songs: "Badge." Co-written by George Harrison, this track features more great bass from Bruce as well as some phenomenal singing. The remaining tracks on side two, "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" and "What a Bringdown," aren't quite up to the standards of the other material, but what would a Cream album be without some throwaways? Luckily the other tracks are so strong as to raise it to the status of a must-have. A fitting way to go out, Goodbye captures all that is good about Cream, and is one of the band's proudest moments.