Page Two

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Saturdav Mav 13. 1972

Pag T oHEyI AN DALrIT, G,

m

secret Ceremony Live Cream 2: High-energy rock reprise

_

By HERB BOWIE
Live Cream. There was simply
nothing like it. It was phyche-
delia taken one step further. Not
like those early days, with the
Grateful Dead playing raucous
rhythm and blues and gently in-
tertwining their riffs, not like
the Jefferson Airplane, soaring
gracefully miles above the strict
confines of the Top-40 airwaves.
Cream's psychedelia wasn't the
style slowly fermented under
California's summer skies, but a
hard-core, inner-city schizo-
phrenic brand. Like Neal Cas-
sady in The Electric Kool-Aid
Acid Test, flipping his hammer,
cathching it . . flipping it .
catching ., .or driving the day-
glo crazy Prankster bus down
the road, dodging trucks, driving
through gas stations at 60.
Everything their detractors
said about them was true: Bruce
was a terrible blues singer, his
live performances being little
more than uninspired shouting;
their jams were formless, mostly
based on a single chord, and
monotonous in a sense.
What their critics invariably
missed, though, because they
weren't looking for it, was the

group's incredible energy in con-
cert.
They were starting a whole
new branch of pop music -
high-energy rock.
In the hands of less inspired
imitators high-energy rock may
be all Cream's critics claim It
is - after all, a form of music
inherently formless is a little
hard to fake - but as perform-
ed by three of rock's greatest
virtuosos it was throbbing with
energy, intensely exciting at its
best, valiantly fumbling at other
times.
So much for history. Cream
disintegrated over three years
ago, giving a few perfunctory
farewell concerts and leaving us
with a posthumously released
album called Goodbye.
** * s
And now Live Cream H (Atco
SD 7005.) It would have seemed
that Live Cream contained the
very last of the Cream tapes,
since Atco sank so low on that
album as to include an earlier
version of "Strange Brew" near-
ly identical to the already re-
leased cut, here's a brand new
live album with Cream in all
its . . .

Glory? Well, not quite. "Poli-
tician" appears for the third
time, pretty much similar to the
live cut on Goodbye, a little in-
ferior if anything.
A few "Blasts from the Pst"
are here, "White Room" a n d
"Tales of Brave Ulysses" being
weak echoes of their magnifi-
cent studio versions. "Deserted
Cities of the Heart" is better,
the quickened tempo and Clap-
ton's biting chords played on
electric guitar changing t h e
mood from desolation and des-
pair to desperation.
"Sunshine of Your Love" is a
minor classic, not full-blown
Cream but half-and-half. A
couple verses of the song . . . a
brief, tightly controlled jam,
Baker maintaining a strict rhy-
thm on drums, Bruce growing
more experimental as the jam
progresses, Clapton absolutely
wailing! . . . a few more verses
... a brilliant finale with Baker
thrashing his drums, Bruce play-
ing -a series of descending phras-
es, Clapton flashing briefly . . .
they wind it down and it's over.
"Hideaway," a thirteen min-
ute cut, promises to be Cream
at its best. Unfortunately it's a

false alarm.
Ah, wouldn't it be nice to hear
a really new Clapton album?
The Michigan Daily, edited and man-
aged by students at the University of
Michigan. News phone: 764-0562. Second
Class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Mich-
lgan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor,
Michigan 48104. Published daiy Tees-
day through Sunday morning Univer-
sity year. Subscription rates: $10 by
carrier, $11 by mail.
Summaer Session published Tuesday
through Saturday morning. Subscrip-
tion rates: $5.50 by carrier (campus
area); $6.56 local madl (in Mich. or-
Oh o);750H nan-local mail (other states
and foreign).
iru
diassfied

7:30 & 9:30 $1 free cider
Conspiracy
330 Maynard

This summer
you can afford to
go to A erica.
Introducing the Hostel Pan
for students who fly Armerican.

Anytime
of the month
cane
vacation time

You've been planning and
packing for weeks, without
a worry about whether your
period would interfere with
your vacation. Because
you're counting on Tampax
tampons..
With internally worn
Tampax tampons, you're
comfortably protected, free
to swim, tour and sight-see.
And they couldn't be easier
to pack.
So see all the sights and
do everything you've been
waiting a whole year to do.
With Tampax tampons
along, it doesn't matter
what time of the month you
take your vacation.
Safari jacket by The Huntihg World
Our only interest Is protecting you.
Ow sEVELOY Amu Or OOTO
4A"C O NLY BY TAMPAX Il'CORPORATED, PM.MSM, MASS

Go European without leaving
the country. Fly with us. And stay
with us too. For only $4 to $8 a night.
In student kinds of places. At student
kinds of prices. With your kind of
people: students. The kids in Europe
have been doing it for years.
Now you can do it here on the
American Airlines Hostel Plan. For
students who fly (naturally) American
Airlines. If you're headed to any of
our six biggest east and west coast
cities, you'll find clean, conveniently
located spots to hang your hat. At a
cost that won't hang you up.
The fun is that you'll find them at
some of the largest universities in
America. In Boston, Washington,
D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles,

San Diego, and New York City.
You'll get fresh linens when you
check in. A comfortable double
room. And, depending on the school,
air conditioning, pools, tennis courts,
lounges. Movies, concerts, theater,
whatever's happening on campus.
To help you get around, we'll fly
your bike whenever you fly for just
$7. Or tell you where to rent a Ford
Pinto for only $5 a day, 50 a mile (if
you're over 21).
This summer, get a Youth Fare
card if you're under 22 and fly for less
with American Airlines. To go all the
way and stay for less too, call an
American Airlines reservations
office. And ask about the universities
on the Hostel Plan.

Amercan Airlines
Our passengers get the best of everything.