Eric Clapton has said that towards the its existence, Cream’s live shows became competitions to see who could outdo one another. For all of the excitement and electricity on display here, the three egos are audibly firing on all cylinders.

Eric Clapton is constantly at war with Jack Bruce, his wah-wahing lead lines fighting for dominance with Bruce’s vocals. Bruce fires back with bass runs and ferocious picking. And Ginger Baker, never one to stay out of a fight (let it be noted that pre-Cream, Baker had once threatened Bruce at knifepoint), can rarely play a measure straight without adding fills galore. It’s exciting to listen to, but it’s hard to listen to without hearing the band tearing at the seams.

And given the live nature of the album, the tension between experimental psychedelia and roaring electric blues leans heavily towards blues. Even the great psych-epics White Room and Tales of Brave Ulysses take turns towards hard blues. Jack Bruce’s roaring voice isn’t as potent as the studio sessions, flattened by the fight against the rest of the band. In the end, its an exciting look at a dynamic band in their creative element, but there are times when it’s best to reign things in and focus on the whole. Sorry purists, but Studio Cream is my favorite Cream.