Fresh Cream
Fresh Cream is the debut studio album by the British rock band Cream, consisting of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. The album was released in the UK on 9 December 1966, as the first LP on the Reaction Records label, owned by producer Robert Stigwood. It was released in both mono and stereo versions, at the same time as the release of the single "I Feel Free". The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was released in a slightly different form in January 1967 by Atco Records in the US, also in mono and stereo versions.
| Fresh Cream | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 December 1966 | |||
| Recorded | July–November 1966 | |||
| Studio | Rayrik & Ryemuse (London) | |||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 37:48 (LP version), 40:39 (CD version) | |||
| Label | Reaction | |||
| Producer | Robert Stigwood | |||
| Cream chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fresh Cream | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| BBC Music | (Highly Positive) |
| Robert Christgau | A− |
| Uncut | |
| Daily Express | (Positive) |
| The 1000 Best Pop-Rock Albums | |
| Ultimate Classic Rock | (Positive) |
| MusicHound | |
The mono versions were deleted not long after release and for many years only the stereo recordings were available. The UK mono album was reissued on CD for the first time in Japan, by Universal Music, in late 2013 as part of a deluxe SHM-CD and SHM-SACD sets (both editions also contain the UK stereo counterpart).
In January 2017, the album was again reissued, by Polydor, in a 4-CD box-set containing mono and stereo versions of the original UK and US release along with singles and B-sides.