Cream – I Feel Free

After an unrepresentative and obscure debut single (“Wrapping Paper”), “I Feel Free,” Cream’s second 45 in the UK, was the true unveiling of their originality. Though much of Cream’s early repertoire was blues-based, “I Feel Free” marked their merging of blues-rock with pop and psychedelia, entering a less constricted, indeed freer realm. The song starts with a sustained clangorous chord, an aural equivalent to the table being cleared, before moving into a wholly unexpected segment of breezy a cappella vocals, almost like modern doo wop. The track then glides into a far crunchier full-out rock’n’roll tune, hard rock but not without pop hooks, and given a grace by Jack Bruce’s light vibrato vocals. This was the first of the several songwriting collaborations between Bruce and non-Cream member Pete Brown to be recorded, and Brown’s lyricism gave the tune the right touch of psychedelically-tinged buoyant optimism. The brief bridge detoured into a somewhat tenser, more dramatic rhythm while retaining the liberating feel of the lyrics. The song was decorated by a sweet bee-buzzing guitar solo by Eric Clapton that certainly felt right for the song’s message of free-floating freedom. “I Feel Free” was a hit in Britain, stopping just short of the Top Ten, and a highlight of their first American LP release (which deleted “Spoonful” from the British track listing to make room for it).