If Disraeli Gears was the album where Cream came into their own, its successor, Wheels of Fire, finds the trio in full fight, capturing every side of their multi-faceted personality, even hinting at the internal pressures that soon would tear the band asunder. A dense, unwieldy double album split into an LP of new studio material and an LP of live material, it's sprawling and scattered, at once awesome in its achievement and maddening in how it falls just short of greatness. It misses its goal not because one LP works and the other doesn't, but because both the live and studio sets suffer from strikingly similar flaws, deriving from the constant power struggle between the trio. Of the three, Ginger Baker comes up short, contributing the passable "Passing the Time" and "Those Were the Days," which are overshadowed by how he extends his solo drum showcase "Toad" to a numbing quarter of an hour and trips upon the Wind & the Willows whimsy of "Pressed Rat and Warthog," whose studied eccentricity pales next to Eric Clapton's nimble, eerily cheerful "Anyone for Tennis." In almost every regard, Wheels of Fire is a terrific showcase for Clapton as a guitarist, especially on the first side of the live album with "Crossroads," a mighty encapsulation of all of his strengths. Some of that is studio trickery, as producer Felix Pappalardi cut together the best bits of a winding improvisation to a tight four minutes, giving this track a relentless momentum that's exceptionally exciting, but there's no denying that Clapton is at a peak here, whether he's tearing off solos on a 17-minute "Spoonful" or goosing "White Room" toward the heights of madness. But it's the architect of "White Room," bassist Jack Bruce, who, along with his collaborator Peter Brown, reaches a peak as a songwriter. Aside from the monumental "White Room," he has the lovely, wistful "As You Said," the cinematic "Deserted Cities of the Heart," and the slow, cynical blues "Politician," all among Cream's very best work. And in many ways Wheels of Fire is indeed filled with Cream's very best work, since it also captures the fury and invention (and indulgence) of the band at its peak on the stage and in the studio, but as it tries to find a delicate balance between these three titanic egos, it doesn't quite add up to something greater than the sum of its parts. But taken alone, those individual parts are often quite tremendous.
The album was also released as Wheels of Fire (In the Studio) and Wheels of Fire (Live at the Fillmore) as two single albums, released together, with similar cover art except: In the UK, the studio album was black print on aluminium foil, while the Live at the Fillmore album was a negative image of the studio cover. In Japan, the studio album was black on gold foil, while the live album was black on aluminium foil. In Australia, both covers were laminated copies of the Japanese releases (it was never released as a double album in Australia). In 2003, the album was ranked number 203 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The sleeve was designed by Australian pop artist and cartoonist Martin Sharp, and it won the New York Art Directors Prize for Best Album Design in 1969.
White Room
Cream Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Black roof country, no gold pavements, tired starlings
Silver horses ran down moonbeams in your dark eyes
Dawnlight smiles on you leaving, my contentment
I'll wait in this place where the sun never shines
Wait in this place where the shadows run from themselves
You said no strings could secure you at the station
Platform ticket, restless diesels, goodbye windows
I walked into such a sad time at the station
As I walked out, felt my own need just beginning
I'll wait in the queue when the trains come back
Lie with you where the shadows run from themselves
At the party, she was kindness in the hard crowd
Consolation for the old wound now forgotten
Yellow tigers crouched in jungles in her dark eyes
She's just dressing, goodbye windows, tired starlings
I'll sleep in this place with the lonely crowd
Lie in the dark where the shadows run from themselves
Cream's song White Room is a poetic and enigmatic song that carries a surreal and dreamlike quality. The song paints a vivid picture of a white room with black curtains near a train station, in a country with no gold pavements and where starlings are tired. A woman with dark eyes and a smile that leaves contentment in the singer's heart is mentioned. However, the sense of sadness and loneliness permeates the lyrics, as the singer waits in this place where the sun never shines and the shadows run from themselves. He is bound to this place and will wait here until the train comes back.
The lyrics also tell the story of meeting a woman at a party who provides consolation for an old wound. She is like a yellow tiger crouched in the jungles with dark eyes that seem to hold secrets. However, the mood of the lyrics is still melancholic and disillusioned, and the singer is resigned to sleep in this place with the lonely crowd and in the dark where the shadows run from themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
In the white room with black curtains near the station
I was surrounded by emptiness - white walls, black curtains, nothingness, and it was near the train station.
Black roof country, no gold pavements, tired starlings
There was no beauty or luxury, no fortune or richness, and even the birds were too weary to fly.
Silver horses ran down moonbeams in your dark eyes
I saw a glimpse of your imagination, where all the beautiful things in life flowed like silver horses on a river of moonbeams.
Dawnlight smiles on you leaving, my contentment
As you left, the first light of day came, and it made everything brighter, happier... but you left contented and carefree.
I'll wait in this place where the sun never shines
I'm stuck in a place where there's no warmth, no light, not even hope. I'm here, waiting.
Wait in this place where the shadows run from themselves
In this place, the darkness is so complete it scares the shadows themselves. There's no escaping it, it's all-consuming.
You said no strings could secure you at the station
You wanted freedom, you didn't want anyone or anything holding you back. You said nothing could keep you at the station.
Platform ticket, restless diesels, goodbye windows
You left on a train, with only a ticket to show for it. I watched the train leave, as the engines roared and the windows rolled by. You never looked back.
I walked into such a sad time at the station
When I arrived at the station, it was like entering a time of mourning. Everyone was sad, and everything seemed to be hanging over time. It was a bleak place.
As I walked out, felt my own need just beginning
As I walked away from the station, I felt something inside of me stir. A need, a longing for something I didn't even know yet. I was restless and searching.
I'll wait in the queue when the trains come back
I'll be here when the trains return, waiting patiently in line. I'll be ready to board, to leave, to escape this place.
Lie with you where the shadows run from themselves
If I could lie next to you in a place where the darkness is afraid of the shadows themselves, I'd be happy. I'd finally be free from this place, these feelings inside of me.
At the party, she was kindness in the hard crowd
She was different than everyone else at the party - she had a gentle kindness that was rare in such a rough crowd. She was comforting, a bright spot in the darkness.
Consolation for the old wound now forgotten
She gave comfort for a wound that had been hurting for a long time. It was forgotten, healed, by the gentleness she possessed.
Yellow tigers crouched in jungles in her dark eyes
There was a wildness and a danger in her eyes, like yellow tigers crouching in the jungle. It was both alluring and terrifying.
She's just dressing, goodbye windows, tired starlings
At the end of the party, she was just putting on a show. The windows were closing, the starlings were tired - it was time to end the night.
I'll sleep in this place with the lonely crowd
I'll spend the night here, surrounded by people who are all just as lonely as I am. We'll all be alone, together.
Lie in the dark where the shadows run from themselves
We'll be lying in the darkness, where even the shadows fear the nothingness. We'll be lost, alone, and afraid, but at least we'll be together.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jack Bruce, Pete Brown
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ralph Signorelli
on Spoonful
First time I heard Cream I was stoned out of my mind on LSD lying of the floor between two very large speakers, for 8 hours. These guys are the best musicians England ever produced. All Rock music after this was just was just imitation.