Cream was a band from England that existed for a very short time in the late 1960's. Consisting of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, they were an explosive part of the British Invasion. As is obvious by their songs, blues heavily influenced their music. They blended this genre along with jazz and psychedelic rock, making Cream unique and somewhat hard to classify into one style. On Sept. 28, the trio re-released their most famous album Disraeli Gears, chock full of demos, outtakes and BBC sessions. Disraeli Gears is not only a distinct album for Cream; but also a landmark album for rock and roll. Cream's time as a band was a whirlwind with lots of fighting, creativity and inspiring concerts. Still they created four albums in their two years together (1966-1968) an incredible speed for any band. Amazingly, Disraeli Gears was recorded in a total of six days. All members of the band contributed to the writing, singing and other creative aspects of the album. Jack Bruce once said "Eric, Ginger and I wanted to turn each other on. The only good music is when good musicians play for each other."

The first single to come off of Disraeli Gears was "Sunshine of Your Love," a song that is still well known. Nowadays there are very few people who do not recognize that commanding opening riff.

"Sunshine of Your Love," with its trademark commanding riff, didn't reach prominence when it was first released in 1966, reaching a mediocre 36. When the track was re-released in 1968, the song climbed into the top five on the charts.

There's something incredibly forceful about Cream's most famous single. Clapton's opening chords are powerful and unforgettable, leaving them embedded in your mind. Furthermore, the lyrics are catchy but not corny and make it easy to sing along.

One other strong song to come off of this album is "Swalbr." Few people know how to pronounce it, including the DJ on the BBC version. "Swalbr" is a perfect example of the psychedelic element that Cream incorporated into its music in Disraeli.

While there is a strong foundation of guitar - provided by Clapton at some points the lyrics are just insane. For example, "So many fantastic colors makes me feel so good/You've got that rainbow feel, but the rainbow has a beard." The song just sounds like an acid trip, but that was the beauty of the 60's.

The reissue of Disraeli Gears may be a little disappointing to Cream fans when it comes to extras. The album contains all the songs from the original in stereo recording as well as mono. There are some outtakes where the listener discovers that the opening progression of "Strange Brew" was going to be used for a song called "Lawdy Mama."

Also included are several Cream songs that never made it on their albums, such as "Weird of Hermiston," "The Clearout," and "Hey Now Princess." The second disc contains nine songs from Cream's BBC recordings and interviews.

Cream surely left its mark on rock 'n' roll, but as amazing as they were, they could not hold it together. Bruce and Baker did not get along, and their constant fighting led to the eventual break-up of the group.

However, if one thinks of all that Cream accomplished in their two years of existence, it's incredibly impressive. Not only did they make four albums, but they wrote a song that is still widely known almost 40 years later.

Even though the band was short-lived, they are still well known among today's young classic rock fans. Some people give Eric Clapton's fame the credit for Cream's notoriety since he first stretched his creative muscle while with the band. But the group was also comprised of two other individually talented musicians.

With the reissue of Disraeli Gears the public is reminded of Creams greatness and all of their achievements. They revolutionized rock by creating heavy foundations in their music.

It can be said that they paved the way for harder rock and heavy metal. While the extras aren't supremely impressive, it never hurts to bring Cream back into our lives and remind us of a rock 'n' roll legend.