101) Fresh Cream

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The instrumental pedigree of Eric Clapton (the Yardbirds, John Mayall), Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (both from the Graham Bond Organisation) did not prepare audiences for Fresh Cream's inspired pop spin on the blues. In "I Feel Free" and "N.S.U.," Clapton's guitar work is taut and melodic; Bruce sings in a high torrid tenor, like a raving choirboy. The trio's blues purism is here in covers of Muddy Waters' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and Skip James' "I'm So Glad." But these performances were only a blueprint of what was to come: Many of these tight numbers turned into quarter-hour jams when Cream hit the American acid-ballroom circuit.

Total album sales: 500,000

Peak chart position: 39

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