SWLABR
"SWLABR" | ||||
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Single by Cream | ||||
from the album Disraeli Gears | ||||
A-side | "Sunshine of Your Love" | |||
Released |
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Recorded | April–May 1967 | |||
Studio | Atlantic, New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:30 | |||
Label | ||||
Composer(s) | Jack Bruce | |||
Lyricist(s) | Pete Brown | |||
Producer(s) | Felix Pappalardi | |||
Cream US singles chronology | ||||
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Cream UK singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
29-second verse segment |
"SWLABR" is a song by British rock band Cream. Recorded in 1967, it first appeared on the album Disraeli Gears (1967). Later, the song was included as the B-side to Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" single.[a]
Background
The song was a collaborative writing effort between poet Pete Brown and bassist Jack Bruce, with Brown providing the lyrics and Bruce the music. Bruce sings and plays bass guitar, with Eric Clapton on guitars, and Ginger Baker on drums. The title is an initialism for "She Walks Like a Bearded Rainbow".[2] Bruce later commented that the W stood for "Was" rather than "Walks".[3] This alternative title was also referenced by Brown in a 2006 interview.[4]
A live version of "SWLABR" was released on BBC Sessions and the Deluxe Edition of Disraeli Gears. A four-minute demo version also appeared on the Disraeli Gears Deluxe Edition. The studio version appears on several Cream compilation albums, including Best of Cream, Heavy Cream, Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream, The Very Best of Cream, Those Were the Days, and Gold.
Notes
- ^ a b Although several music writers indicate a January 1968 or 1968 release, including Bobby Owsinski, Riley Haas, Chris Welch, and Bob Leszczak, the single entered the Cash Box Looking Ahead chart dated 30 December 1967, precluding the possibility of a January 1968 release.[1]
References
- ^
Cash Box (30 December 1967). "Looking Ahead". Cash Box. 29 (23): 18.
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(help) - ^ "Lyrics: Disraeli Gears". JackBruce.com (official website). Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ Interview with disc jockey Steven Seaweed at San Francisco radio station KRQR in the mid-1990s
- ^ "Cream: Disraeli Gears", Classic Albums on VH1, 3 November 2006
Sources
- Clapton, Eric (2007). Clapton: The Autobiography. New York, United States: Broadway Books. pp. g. 74. ISBN 978-0-385-51851-2.
- Hjort, Christopher (2007). Strange Brew: Eric Clapton & the British Blues Boom, 1965–1970. London, UK: Jawbone Press. pp. g. 29. ISBN 978-1-906002-00-8.
- Ertegün, Ahmet (2006). Classic Albums: Cream – Disraeli Gears (DVD). Eagle Rock Entertainment.