Spoonful

Cream, 1968, from Wheels of Fire. Solo by Eric Clapton.

The live Wheels of Fire track stretches a Willie Dixon blues into a sixteen-minute group improvisation.

On the live half of Wheels of Fire, Cream take Willie Dixon's Spoonful and stretch it into a long, heavy group improvisation. Eric Clapton's playing here is loud, sustained and aggressive, built from blues phrasing pushed through an overdriven tone that lets notes bloom and hold. He, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker often solo at the same time, with bass and drums answering rather than simply supporting. It helped define the late-'60s power trio approach, for better and for worse, and influenced a wave of hard rock jamming. Listen for the stretches where Clapton hammers a single phrase over and over, slowly bending it higher, while Bruce's bass pushes against him with its own restless line.

Spoonful by Cream is featured in our Jam (#18) list. The solo is played by Eric Clapton and the song was released in 1968.

In our lists

• The 25 Greatest Jam Band Guitar Solos — #18
• Best of Eric Clapton — #9
• The Best Cream Guitar Solos — #2
• The Best Eric Clapton Guitar Solos — #16

Sources

• Far Out Magazine: From Jimi Hendrix to Jimmy Page: The 10 greatest live guitar solos of all time — #1