(Soundboard FLAC)
NEW MIX (centered vocals)
Cream: "Creme de la Cream"
Recorded live at the Grande Ballroom
Sunday evening October 15th,[?] 1967 in Detroit, MI
Remixed version with centered vocals of the old PA/stage source (see notes below).
Jack Bruce - bass, lead vocals, harp
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Ginger Baker - drums
REEL #1: [47:15]
1. Tales of Brave Ulysses (Clapton, Sharp) [4:25]
2. N.S.U. (Bruce) [16:34]
3. Sitting on Top of the World (Vinson, Chatmon / Burnett) [4:20]
4. Sweet Wine (Baker, Godfrey) [14:26]
5. Rollin' and Tumblin' (Morganfield) [7:31]
REEL #2: [68:30]
1. Spoonful (Dixon) [21:53]
2. Steppin' Out (Bracken) [10:57]
3. Traintime (Bruce) [7:31]
4. Toad (Baker) [17:53]
5. I'm So Glad (James) [10:16]
NOTES:
Source lineage: PA mixer [left channel] + guitar mike (Sennheiser MD421?) [right channel] > reel-to-reel (Revox?) > (digital clone?) > "Sun Vanishes" bootleg CD [Mid Valley 031/2] > FLAC
Remix summary: hiss reduction, demixing (stem & percussion separation) > remixing & mastering (32 bit) > dither to 16 bit FLAC
Often cited as the live Cream recording with the best combination of perfomance and audio quality. While the latter is very good for a non-professional, direct to stereo tape from 1967, the stereo image of the original is arguably not as good as it could be. The show was reportedly taped by Jim McCarty (of Cactus) with Cream's permission; legend has it that in exchange, the band was given a bag of crystal meth... Be that as it may, the perfomance is in any case superb. The date is apparently that of the Sunday evening's concert, although this is not absolutely certain. (There were also shows at the same venue on the Friday and Saturday nights, October 13-14, 1967.)
There is a reel change before 'Spoonful' (a test tone has here been edited out just before it kicks off); it has been reported that the recording speed was dropped from 7.5 to 3.75 ips during the song to capture the rest of the perfomance on the second reel, and this may well be the case, as the hiss level seems to go up somewhat. The quality also drops a bit particularly towards the end (during 'I'm So Glad'). The first reel fades out on the source after 'Rollin' and Tumblin', and it has also been speculated that an incomplete song ('Sunshine of Your Love'?) has been left out of the transfer.
As written, the quality of the source is near excellent for live tapes of this vintage (although the bass is a bit poorly defined) but still it seemed that it could be improved upon using software tools now available. Different demixing techniques were first used to partially separate the bass, drums, guitar, and vocal "stems", after some initial high frequency hiss reduction to improve the separation process.
Using the stems, it was then possible to rebalance the instruments in the stereo field up to a point, while also evening out some jumps in relative volume levels. The general aim was to move the vocals more to the center, while keeping the bass and guitar left and right, respectively. As far as possible, the drums were also pulled together a bit more to the center. The result is hopefully a slightly more cohesive and easier listening experience, where the guitar does not dominate too much and the rest of the band (the PA mix) is not crammed to the side.
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