Wheels of Fire

Infobox Album
Name = Wheels of Fire
Type = studio
Artist = Cream


Released = July 1968
Recorded = July 1967 – April 1968 at Atlantic Studios, New York City
Genre = Blues-rock, psychedelic rock
Length = 84:23
Label = Polydor (UK) Atco (US)
Producer = Felix Pappalardi
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:rq6ftr59kl6x link]
*"Rolling Stone" [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/123302/review/6067815?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview link]
Last album = "Disraeli Gears"
(1967)
This album = "Wheels of Fire"
(1968)
Next album = "Goodbye"
(1969)

"Wheels of Fire" is the name of a double album recorded by Cream. The release was largely successful, scoring the band a #3 peak in the UK and a #1 in the US, and became the world's first platinum-selling double album. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A425774 Cream - the Band] , The BBC.]

The album was also released as "Wheels of Fire (In the Studio)" and "Wheels of Fire (Live at the Fillmore)" as two single albums, released together, with similar cover art except:In the UK, the studio album was black print on aluminium foil, while the Live at the Fillmore album was a negative image of the studio cover.In Japan, the studio album was black on gold foil, while the live album was black on aluminium foil.In Australia, both covers were laminated copies of the Japanese releases (it was never released as a double album in Australia).RS500|203 [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598890/203_wheels_of_fire "Wheels of Fire"] , The Rolling Stone.]

The sleeve was designed by Australian pop artist and cartoonist Martin Sharp, and it won the New York Art Directors Prize for Best Album Design in 1969.

Track listing

Disc one: "In the Studio"

ide 1

# "White Room" (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) – 4:58
# "Sitting on Top of the World" (Howlin' Wolf) – 4:58
# "Passing the Time" ref|1|1 (Ginger Baker, Mike Taylor) – 4:37
# "As You Said" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:20

ide 2

# "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (Baker, Taylor) – 3:13
# "Politician" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:12
# "Those Were the Days" (Baker, Taylor) – 2:53
# "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Booker T. Jones, William Bell) – 3:09
# "Deserted Cities of the Heart" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:38
# "Anyone for Tennis" ref|2|2 (Eric Clapton, Martin Sharp) - 2:39

Performers are "the Cream quartet" consisting of Clapton, Baker, and Bruce together with Felix Pappalardi, who plays many different instruments and is also credited with production.

Some pressings of this album contain an alternative version of "Passing the Time". This "long version" is extended by 67 seconds, but also differs from the "extended version" included on "Those Were the Days", which is longer by a further 8 seconds.

"Anyone for Tennis" is a bonus track on the CD release and does not appear on this or any other original albums

Disc two: "Live at the Fillmore"

ide 3

#"Crossroads" (Robert Johnson, arr. Clapton) – 4:14
#"Spoonful" (Willie Dixon) – 16:48

ide 4

#"Traintime" ref|3|3 (Bruce) – 6:52
#"Toad" (Baker) – 16:16

Although listed as four tracks and pressed with a track separation between the songs, this album consists of only two recordings, with the audio signal continuing intact between the tracks as the band segues between the songs.

While the disc is labeled "Live at the Fillmore", only "Toad" was recorded at Fillmore West. The other tracks were recorded live at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ["The Very Best of Cream" (liner notes).]

"Traintime" was written by Jack Bruce, but the inner cover notes of original album copies show a "John Group" as the writer

Chart positions

Personnel

*Jack Bruce – lead vocals, bass, cello, harmonica, calliope, acoustic guitar, recorder
*Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
*Ginger Baker – drums, percussion, bells, glockenspiel, vocals

Additional personnel

*Felix Pappalardi – viola, brass instruments, bells, organ

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ginger-baker.com/pages/Baker_disco_LP2.htm#WHEELS%20OF%20FIRE Double and single album releases]

succession box
before = "The Beat of the Brass"
by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years = August 10 - September 6 1968
after = "Waiting for the Sun" by The Doorssuccession box
before = "The Graduate (soundtrack)"
by Various artists
title = Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
years = December 7 - December 20 1968
after = "The Beatles (The White Album)"
by The Beatles