Although neither side completely emerges on Fresh Cream, it's easy enough to see the shape of things to come. "I Feel Free" and "I'm So Glad" were slick and tuneful, handily showing off the group's ability to pull pop from the blues. 

 Things on the pop side tightened up considerably when producer Felix Pappalardi came aboard; not only did he dress up Disraeli Gears with odd instruments and exotic sounds, but he kept the band's instrumental interplay in check. 

 Wheels of Fire brought further refinements in Pappalardi's pop eclecticism. It added such exotic sounds as cello, marimba, and tonette, expanded his studio role from producer to player, and offered the first recorded example of Cream's live act. 

 Goodbye, recorded in the band's death throes, balances some of the band's most exquisite studio work ("Badge" in particular) with so-so concert recordings; it barely seems a complete album.  

 Strange Brew is essentially a singles compilation and holds up well to repeated listening, but the two volumes of Live Cream are muddled leftovers released solely to cash in on the band's enduring popularity.  

 Strange Brew is essentially a singles compilation and holds up well to repeated listening, but the two volumes of Live Cream are muddled leftovers released solely to cash in on the band's enduring popularity.  

 Strange Brew is essentially a singles compilation and holds up well to repeated listening, but the two volumes of Live Cream are muddled leftovers released solely to cash in on the band's enduring popularity.  

 Those Were the Days is a box set that compiles all of Cream's output, both live and in the studio.  

 In 2005, Cream reunited for a series of concerts in London and New York; Royal Albert Hall collects highlights from the London gig, showing a band that could still improvise well but didn't rock with the fury of yore.