Cream - Wheels of Fire 1968
Wheels of Fire 1968
Wheels of Fire was Cream's third LP release - after Fresh Cream (1966) and Disraeli Gears (November 1967). It was issued by ATCO (Atlantic Record Company) in the United States during August 1968 as a double album with gate-fold cover, and through Polydor in the United Kingdom as two single albums - one in the studio, and another live.
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| Disc and Music Echo, London, 10 August 1968. |
Most other countries followed the UK model, issuing separate albums rather than a double, though a Japanese gate-fold is also known for the single Live at the Fillmore LP. Martin Sharp's art featured on the front and rear covers of the majority of original releases, and within the inner gate-fold section of the American release and later special re-releases. The inner gatefold is a multicoloured work entitled Abraxas, and a variant of the image on the album's rear cover (described below).
The tour
Cream announced the end of the band in May 1968, due to tensions between Bruce and Baker. Wheels of Fire was released in August of that year and the band undertook a final United States and European tour during October-November to promote the album, with two final concerts at London's Albert Hall on 25 and 26 November.
They also undertook a series of additional studio recordings, some of which appeared the following year in the Goodbye Cream LP. In connection with the Wheels of Fire album release, the single Crossroads was issued in the US during early 1969.
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| Promotional advertisement, 1969. |
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The releases
Since the initial release of Wheels of Fire in August 1968 the recording has appeared in a variety of physical and online forms - LP, reel-to-reel tape, 8 track tape, cassette tape, CD and streaming. Recently a vinyl reissue has also taken place.
1. US text pressings, 21 May 1968
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| Front cover - US release, double album. |
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| Rear cover - US release, double album. |
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| Inner gate-fold sleeve, US release. |
The cover image was printed in black ink on silver foil-coated board for the US release, in line with some of his posters for Big O. It is very similar to his Live Give Love poster of early 1968, featuring the art of Michelangelo and black ink on silver foil. The art of Wheels of Fire is undoubtedly the most psychedelic and fluid of all Sharp's work, and evidence of his use of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, hashish and mushrooms during the period 1967 through 1968. An associated songbook, featuring music from both Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire, and with the latter album's art, appeared during the late 1960s. Sharp noted the following in regards to the album artwork:
The original release was a fold-out. A black line drawing printed on silver foil. The inside was two large flourescent eyes surrounded by the titles of the songs and production details. The idea of the three heads in one was inspired by my visit to Ankor Thom, a town near Angkor Wat. The original drawing was done at the same size, 12" x 24" in black ink on white paper at The Pheasantry (Hathaway & Nadel, Electric Banana, 2011, 51).
3. US 8-track cartridge 1968
Part 1 - In The Studio, circa 1968. The Martin Sharp LP cover image is reproduced in blue for the Part 1 cartridge cover. The Part 2 cover was printed in red. ATCO 4-track stereo.
4. US Reel to Reel tape 1968
Single, double-sided tape in a box, with both live and studio tracks. ATCO.
5. US store promotional LP 1969
6. UK double album cover 1968
Similar to the US double album, with a silver coil on card gate-fold. Polydor 583 031/2.
7. UK black cover 1968
A number of caver variants appeared with the initial release, including a reverse print (black for silver : silver for black) for the British studio album. Polydor mono and stereo versions 582 032 / 582 040 / 583 031 / 583 040.
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| UK original release, front cover. |
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| UK original release, rear cover. |
8. Australian covers
A mix of cover colours were used on overseas releases. For example, in Australia the studio album was black ink on gold, whilst the live album was black on silver. This was also used for Asian releases. The studio cover includes the words Wheels of Fire and In The Studio in a print similar to the rest of Martin Sharp's art. Polydor International 583031.
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| Australian studio LP front cover - black on gold. |
9. Japanese gate-fold cover
This appears to be gold on the outside, with an inner section of red and pink. It is a single release of the Live at the Fillmore LP, with a gate-fold cover. Polydor, SMP 1417.
10. Argentina cover
A blue ink on silver cover was used for the Argentine release of the live in the studio LP. It featured the original Martin Sharpe artwork. Polydor 5672.
11. The Canadian In the Studio cover
Artwork by Clint Day. Single disc only. Polydor, Canada.
It seems obvious that psychedelia had not come to Taiwan by 1969.
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| Taiwan original release, double album, 1969. |
13. Chilean release 1970
Double album in single sleeve. Title: Ruedas de Fuego, Polydor.
14. US CD circa 1980s
Box set in black ink on silver foil on card. ATCO.
15. CD and cassette US release 1992
The CD box set release appears to have a purple cover.
The cassette box set included part of the rear Martin Sharp image.
16. The Japanese promo box set 2007
This included mini-CD versions of the original Cream albums and album covers. The Wheels of Fire cover did not include any text, apart from the Polydor logo and album title.
17. Vinyl Lovers reissue 2008
180 gram reissue in vinyl of original US gate-fold version.
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References
Bigham, Julia, Day-Go Mind Blow, Eye: The International Magazine of Graphic Design, volume 11, number 42, 2001, 32-43.
Evans, Mike, The Art of British Rock: 50 years of rock posters, flyers and handbills, Frances Lincoln, London, 2010. Illustrated page 67.
Farren, Mick, Get on Down! A Decade of Rock and Roll Posters, Demsey & Squires, London, 1976.
For the World's End: Selections from Jonathan Gill's flatter stuff, Catalogue 1465, Maggs Counterculture, Maggs, London, 2013. Auction sale catalogue. Illustrated cat. nos 33-34.
Gleeson, James, Interview with Martin Sharp, National Gallery of Australia, 1979, 90m 43s. Audio plus transcript. Available URL: http://nga.gov.au/Research/Gleeson/pdf/Sharp.pdf.
Grunberg, Christopher, ed., Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era, Tate Gallery, London, 2005, 239p.
Gunn, Anthea, A-changin' times: the art of Martin Sharp in the 60s, Journal of Australian Studies, 34(2), June 2010, 179-93.
Hathaway, Norman and Nadel, Dan, Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art, Damiani, Bologna, 2011, 208p. Illustrated page 60.
Neville, Richard, Hippie Hippie Shake: the dreams, the trips, the trials, the love ins, the screw ups, the sixties, William Heinmann, Melbourne, 1995.
Owen, Ted, High Art: a history of the psychedelic poster, Sanctuary Publishing, 1999, 176p. Illustrated page 140.
Psychedelic Posters of the 1960s [website], accessed 21 January 2014.
Poyner, Rick, Martin Sharp: From Satire to Psychedelia, Observatory: Design and Visual Culture [blog], 12 December 2013. Accessed 26 January 2014. URL: http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/martin-sharp-from-satire-to-psychedelia/38242/.
Walding, Murray and Vukovic, Nick, Plastered: The Poster Art of Australian Popular Music, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2005.
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| Wheels of Fire / Disraeli Gears / Fresh Cream, ATCO Records poster, c.1968. |
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Cream: Disraeli Gears 1967 | Meet Me in the Bottom 1966 | Tales of Brave Ulysses 1967 | The Fool Gibson SG | Videos & Live 1966-68 | Wheels of Fire 1968
Last updated: 5 August 2023
Michael Organ, Australia
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