Live At Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall is a splendid souvenir of a band who got their vibe back together for love, self-satisfaction and nostalgia. Nowhere is there any attempt to compromise the band's integrity, redefine the formula or extend the hand of friendship to a younger generation by toning down some of the more indulgent extravagances of their original era. You get the blues (in the case of "Stormy Weather" gloriously so, Clapton's fretwork is electric), psychedelia ("NSU"), that leviathan nine minute drum solo (Ginger's "Toad"), a novelty tune (Ginger's Kenneth Grahame on acid ditty "Pressed Rat and Warthog") and anthems of the magnitude of "Badge" and "Sunshine Of Your Love".

For a more comprehensive assessment of Cream's legacy to rock, novices ought to start with the recent I Feel Free: UIltimate Cream compilation but as reunions go Royal Albert Hall gives longstanding fans of Cream plenty to lap up. --Kevin Maidment