Old Polydor CD "Strange Brew-The Very Best Of Cream" mastered by Dennis Drake. Best sound, cheap!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Dec 25, 2016.

  1. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Got this CD as a kid when I used to be a member of BMG and would get a clutch of really cheap discs (it wasn't quite 10 CD's for a penny or whatever like Columbia House, but they were very cheap).

    I used to love it, it was my introduction to Cream, and I'm sure it's boxed up in my apartment with the rest of my CD's. Going to have to unearth it out now and see which version I have, thanks.
     
  2. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Half Price Books had their big warehouse sale in my area today. All CDs were $1. Found a nice copy of this. Listened to it in the car on the way home. Sounded pretty darned good. Listening now at home with my good headphones & it sounds great! I passed on this a few months ago for $7 - it's worth that much or more. And if you find it cheap, grab it.
     
    CrazyCatz and Chrome_Head like this.
  3. billnunan

    billnunan Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    So, how was the Half Price event, overall?
     
  4. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Not bad. It's crazy how popular it is. There's always a line around the block before it opens. Some people fill shopping carts with stuff. Nothing is more than $2, and the CDs were all $1.
     
  5. billnunan

    billnunan Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    I love that event. I'll be standing in line on Sept 22 when they have the Cleveland event.

    I bought over 100 CDs last year there.
     
    mmars982 likes this.
  6. J.K. Baxter

    J.K. Baxter Forum Resident

    I had this one on tape in high school, but alas, never the CD. I listened to nothing but Cream around 1994, and I don't even remember why I got into them so hard when I was about 15, but I sure played the hell out of every album.
     
  7. TheSeldomSeenKid

    TheSeldomSeenKid Forum Resident

    I just found the BMG Version today in a Record Store for $5 in perfect condition(Disc & Case/Booklet) considering it is Used. When Steve started this thread last December, I had written down the bar code, and kept in my wallet to check in case I would come across a Dennis Drake Mastered copy of 'Strange Brew-The Very Best of Cream' when browsing Used CD Sections.

    I was not sure if I had the correct copy, seeing it was a BMG Club CD version, but since it had Drake in the credits on the back of the inside/insert, I assumed I got one of the correct copies, so thanks for your post mentioning that you own the BMG version to verify, as it must be one of several versions on CD that contain the Drake Mastering. I never owned any Cream CDs before, so this is a great start to get into their music(although, I am familiar with 'White Room' and 'I Feel Free'-based on Bowie's Cover Version).

    On another note, I appreciate the time that you and other Staff Members provide to keep the SH Forum/Threads mostly problem free.
     
    qwerty, tdavis0903 and Jerry like this.
  8. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Found a stone mint copy today. I've been listening to the CREAM GOLD set for years. My STRANGE BREW is a CRC, but matrix has 02. Drake credits. Does indeed sound much more "organic" than the tracks I compared to GOLD. This will no doubt be my go-to from here on out as I'm mostly a casual fan of the group.
     
    billnunan and MikeJedi like this.
  9. Gibson67

    Gibson67 Life is a Magical Mystery Tour enjoy the ride

    Location:
    Diss, UK
    Just spinning my copy that arrived this morning, managed to snare a USA Polydor pressing running time 43:54. Mastered by Dennis M Drake. Sounding amazing!
     
    Headfone likes this.
  10. Duke Fame

    Duke Fame Sold out the Enormodome

    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Reacquired this recently for $2 at a local Goodwill.
     
    wavethatflag and Gibson67 like this.
  11. ledsox

    ledsox Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Found this at the library last week. Great sounding disc. Thanks for the heads up, Steve.
     
    Gibson67 likes this.
  12. Trevor_Bartram

    Trevor_Bartram Senior Member

    Location:
    Boylston, MA, USA
    That's the one I have. How'd a thunk it, I've pulled it out for a listen!
     
  13. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

  14. bobcat

    bobcat Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
  15. awsop

    awsop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Netherlands
    bobcat likes this.
  16. alchemy

    alchemy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sterling, VA
    That was a great store it was next to Earl Mindall's Vitamin Shop, in fact he owned it.

    I spent way too much money in there over the years. My biggest regret was passing over a Special Beatles - Yellow Submarine box set. It had a small but really cool metal replica Yellow Submarine in the box. It was too pricey for me.
     
  17. Just spotted this one in a used CD bin for 50 cents, and remembering the recommendation grabbed it. Thanks!
     
    Tommyboy and wavethatflag like this.
  18. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    I have UK RSO and Polydor vinyl pressings of this LP and the SQ is very solid. In fact, the Drake CD isn’t the automatic choice for me.
     
  19. douglas mcclenaghan

    douglas mcclenaghan Forum Resident

    This all the way. A member here sneered at me for daring to suggest that Dowd did a great job with Cream. Dismissed Dowd as incompetent. Amazing. A notorious pompous ass.
     
  20. Larry B

    Larry B Senior Member

    Location:
    Hollywood
    Mine confirms as the desired mastering but was wondering why it (and others) has a catalog number of P2-11639 (with a -2 matrix suffix) instead of 811639 (-2). Usually the prefix like that indicates a record club but there is no mention of that anywhwere. Just wondering.
     
  21. old school

    old school Senior Member

    Steve said the RSO sucks. Dub of dubs.
     
    hi_watt likes this.
  22. RK2249

    RK2249 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Jersey
    I have this CD and my memory is, while not compressed, it has a very low volume and tons of tape hiss. I'll have to check who mastered it. It is very crankable though.
     
  23. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    The UK pressing of Fresh Cream is NOT a dub of a dub. The master is and was in the UK at the time the LP was pressed and it sounds that way. It sounds better than the US Atco, that’s for sure. And if you doubt me buy a mid seventies pressing and listen for yourself. They’re cheap enough.
     
  24. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    People, what album are you talking about? Please be clear, even I can't figure it out.
     
    old school and audiomixer like this.
  25. old school

    old school Senior Member

    I'm talking about Strange Brew The Very Best of Cream. I never mentioned Fresh Cream! This thread is not about Fresh Cream!
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2018
    RK2249 and Duke Fame like this.

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