Cream – Disraeli Gears (1967)

Fabulous logo by Sarca @ caughtmegaming

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[Album 534/1001]

“1 and 1 and 1 is 3, got to be good looking ‘cause he’s so hard to see”
– The Beatles, Come Together

At this time of year, NHL player faces are getting harder to see.

Whether it’s due to them being ridiculously good looking is debatable; it’s more likely a case of playoff beard ubiquity.

For the coaches, it’s also a time of line-juggling, striving to find the optimal combinations.

Creating those forward lines where 1 and 1 and 1 is no longer 3.

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Scenario A: 1 and 1 and 1 is 2.
“The Anti-Synergy”

In the fall of 2015, the Pittsburgh Penguins were expected to be off-the-charts-amazing, thanks in part to their star off-season acquisition, Phil Kessel.

However, regardless of the forward line he played with, the results were underwhelming.

Expectations were nowhere near met, the on-ice team performed well below their on-paper potential.

That is until…

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Scenario C: 1 and 1 and 1 is 4.
“The Synergy”

…the spring of 2016, when Kessel was placed on a forward line with Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin.

From that point onward, the HBK line was dominant, performing well above any possible off-ice expectations, 3 forwards combining for the expected output of 4 (or more), playing an instrumental role in the team’s Stanley Cup victory.

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Scenario B: 1 and 1 and 1 is 3.
“The Expected Value”

In the spring of 2017, I’m finally exploring Cream’s Disraeli Gears.

I gather the band is considered to be one of the first successful super-groups.

And when I hear the term super-group, I automatically start doing the math: is the whole less than/greater than/or equal to the sum of its parts?

In Cream’s case, I think the Beatle math applies: on Disraeli Gears, 1 and 1 and 1 is indeed 3.

It doesn’t feel like a disappointing combination of the trio’s individual talents, nor does it seem unfathomable that performers could reach even greater heights with subsequent projects.

Overall, Disraeli Gears met my expectations, which I recognize is a bit of a careful assessment, as it depends on the level of my initial expectations.

Fortunately for Cream, my initial expectations were high.

Fortunately for me, they delivered.

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Verbalize the Positive

On the subject of beards (no playoff beard for me this year), the track, SWLABR, has perhaps my favourite beard lyric ever, “but the rainbow has a beard.”

After my initial befuddled reaction (a bearded rainbow you say?), I remembered that I’d read about that line previously in this fine post courtesy of 1537, a post in which he references an equally fine/bearded-rainbow-explaining post by VinylConnection.

That being said, the lyric still surprises me every time!