Rocktober '60s Song #9: "SWLABR" by Cream (1967)

The first power trio and supergroup is probably the best in either category.  Eric Clapton.  Ginger Baker.  Jack Bruce.  Together, they are the Cream.  

Formed in 1966, they chose their band name because that's what they were:  the cream of the crop.  Clapton was the best guitarist in the world that anyone knew about (Hendrix wouldn't appear for another year).  Ginger Baker was the best drummer in the world, and it wasn't close.  (By the way, if you get the chance, check out the documentary Beware of Mr. Baker.  It's amazing.  The guy is nuts.)  Bruce was a great bassist who could sing and write, and he and Baker had been the rhythm section in the Graham Bond Organisation.  On a completely unrelated note, while typing the last sentence, I realized the perfect name for a transgender female named Graham whose kids have kids:  Grahama.

A little more than two years after they formed, they had broken up, but in that span, they recorded four albums, all of which were classics and loaded with a blistering combination of blues, psychedelic rock, proto-metal, and hard rock.  So many great songs.  "White Room" is a classic rock radio stalwart.  "Sunshine of Your Love" is one of the first songs I learned how to play on the bass.  "Crossroads" introduced a generation (and the generation after them) to Robert Johnson, even if Cream's version sounded nothing like the original.  "I Feel Free" might be my favorite Cream song.  Their cover of Albet King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" was fantastic.  I could go on, but I won't, since I could say something nice about pretty much every Cream song, even "Pressed Rat and Warthog."

The song I'm going with is "SWLABR," off of the band's 1967 sophomore effort Disraeli Gears -- which has one of the best psychedelic album covers.  It was the B-side to "Sunshine of Your Love."  I think it's an underrated song, with nonsensical lyrics, but a great groove and, of course, great guitar work.  Apparently, it stands for "She Walks Like a Bearded Rainbow," which is why the final lyric make a little more sense.