Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005

Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 is a live album by the British rock band Cream, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 during the band's reunion tour. As the title implies, the recording includes songs from their four reunion shows on 2, 3, 5, and 6 May 2005.

Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005
Live album by Cream
Released	4 October 2005 (2005-10-04)
Recorded	May 2-3-5-6, 2005.
Venue	Royal Albert Hall, London, England
Genre	Blues-rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock
Length	115:35
Label	Reprise
Producer	Simon Climie
Cream chronology
Cream Gold (2005) Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 (2005)

Within five months of these performances, this collection of recordings was released as separate double Compact Disc and double DVD sets. Two months later in December, a triple LP set was also released,[1] containing tracks identical to the CD set. A Blu-ray version also exists.[2]

The album reached No. 59 on the Billboard 200 album chart on 22 October 2005.[3]

Reception

Critical

In his review for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the shows at the Royal Albert Hall did not live up to Cream's concerts in the past, including their 1993 induction performance for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, not necessarily all because of their age, but primarily having not played together for quite some time.[4] J. D. Considine spoke much more highly of the shows because Cream were not as fixated with psychedelic jam sessions and sounded better than before.[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Blender	[5]

Compact Disc track listing

Disc one

1. "I'm So Glad" (Skip James)  – 6:18
2. "Spoonful" (Willie Dixon)  – 7:29
3. "Outside Woman Blues" (Blind Joe Reynolds, arr. Clapton)  – 4:33
4. "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (Ginger Baker, Mike Taylor)  – 3:21
5. "Sleepy Time Time" ¹ (Jack Bruce, Janet Godfrey)  – 6:08
6. "N.S.U." (Bruce)  – 6:02
7. "Badge" ¹ (Eric Clapton, George Harrison)  – 3:59
8. "Politician" (Bruce, Pete Brown)  – 5:08
9. "Sweet Wine" (Baker, Godfrey)  – 6:28
10. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (Hambone Willie Newbern)  – 5:02
11. "Stormy Monday" ² (T-Bone Walker)  – 8:09
12. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" (Bruce, Brown)  – 3:56

Disc two

1. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (William Bell, Booker T. Jones)  – 5:31
2. "We're Going Wrong" (Bruce)  – 8:26
3. "Crossroads" (Robert Johnson, arr. Clapton)  – 4:25
4. "White Room" ¹ (Bruce, Brown)  – 5:39
5. "Toad" (drum solo) ² (Baker)  – 10:07
6. "Sunshine of Your Love" ¹ (Bruce, Clapton, Brown)  – 8:46
7. "Sleepy Time Time" ¹ (Alternate) (Bruce, Godfrey)  – 6:07

DVD track listing

Disc one

1. "I'm So Glad" (James)
2. "Spoonful" (Dixon)
3. "Outside Woman Blues" (Reynolds; arr. Clapton)
4. "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (Baker, Taylor)
5. "Sleepy Time Time" ¹ (Bruce, Godfrey)
6. "N.S.U." (Bruce)
7. "Badge" ¹ (Clapton, Harrison)
8. "Politician" (Bruce, Brown)
9. "Sweet Wine" (Baker, Godfrey)
10. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (Newbern)
11. "Stormy Monday" ² (Walker)
12. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" ¹ (Bruce, Brown)
13. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Bell, Jones)
14. "We're Going Wrong" (Bruce)

• "Sleepy Time Time" (Alternate Take) (Bruce, Godfrey) (Extra feature)
• "We're Going Wrong" (Alternate Take) ¹ (Bruce) (Extra feature)

Disc two

15. "Crossroads" (Johnson; arr. Clapton)
16. "Sitting on Top of the World" (Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon; arr. Chester Burnett)
17. "White Room" ¹ (Bruce, Brown)
18. "Toad" ² (Baker)
19. "Sunshine of Your Love" ¹ (Bruce, Clapton, Brown)

• "Sunshine of Your Love" (Alternate Take) (Bruce, Clapton, Brown) (Extra feature)
• Interviews with Baker, Bruce and Clapton (Extra feature)

Notes

• Although the title mentions all four dates Cream played in May 2005, these releases contain no performances recorded 2 May. However, there is a brief clip shown on the DVD of Clapton speaking to the crowd recorded on the first night.
• ^1 These tracks recorded 3 May.
• ^2 These tracks recorded 5 May.
• All other tracks recorded 6 May.

The recording of "Sitting on Top of the World", the alternate takes of "We're Going Wrong" and "Sunshine of Your Love" and the interviews are exclusive to the DVD set. All other tracks are identical to the CD release.

Credits

Cream

• Jack Bruce – vocals, bass guitar, harmonica
• Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
• Ginger Baker – drums, cowbells, vocals

Production

• Simon Climie – audio production
• Mick Guzauski – audio mixer
• Alan Douglas – Recording Engineer

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Australian Top 40 Music DVDs[6]	3
Austrian Top 10 Music DVDs[7]	1
Belgium (Flanders) Top 10 Music DVDs[8]	10
Belgium (Wallonia) Top 10 Music DVDs[9]	7
Danish Top 10 Music DVDs[10]	5
Hungarian Top 20 DVDs[11]	4
Italian Top 20 Music DVDs[12]	3
Japanese DVDs Chart[13]	8
Netherlands Top 30 Music DVDs[14]	6
Norwegian Top 10 DVDs[15]	3
Spanish Top 20 Music DVDs[16]	10
US Top Music Videos[17]	1

Certifications

Album Region Certification Certified units/sales Germany (BVMI)[18] Gold 100,000^^ Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[19] Gold 10,000^* Macao (IFPI Macao)[20] Gold 15,000^* ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Video Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[21] 2× Platinum 30,000^^ France (SNEP)[22] Gold 10,000^* Germany (BVMI)[23] Gold 25,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Platinum 50,000^^ United States (RIAA)[25] 5× Platinum 500,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. https://www.amazon.com/Cream-Live-Royal-Albert-Hall/dp/B00C1CHOK4/ref=tmm_vnl_title_0/183-3611860-5174322
2. https://www.amazon.com/Cream-Royal-Albert-London-2-3-5-6/dp/B0009WFFS6
3. "Cream Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. United States. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
4. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Royal Albert Hall: London May 2-3-5-6 > Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
5. J.D. Considine (10 April 2010). "Live at Royal Albert Hall". blender.com. Alpha Media Group Inc.
6. "The ARIA Report (Issue 817)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. p. 22. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
7. "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVD Top 10" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
8. "Ultratop 10 Muziek-DVD" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
9. "Ultratop 10 Musicaux" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
10. "Musik DVD Top-10: Uge 42 – 2005". Hitlisten (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original (ASP) on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
11. "Archivum: DVD Top 20". MAHASZ (in Hungarian). Retrieved 17 August 2011.
12. "Archivio: DVD Musicali: Settimana 42, 2005" [Archive: Music DVDs: Week 42, 2005]. Federation of the Italian Music Industry (in Italian). Archived from the original (PHP) on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
13. "Artist Ranking DVD". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 August 2011.
14. "GfK Dutch DVD Music Top 30" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
15. "Topp 10 DVD Audio: 2005 – Uke 43". VG-lista (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
16. "Top 20 DVD Musical: Semana 40, 2005" (PDF). Productores de Música de España (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
17. "Music Video: Top Music Videos". Billboard. 117 (43): 93. 22 October 2005. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
18. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Cream; 'Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
19. "Hong Kong album certifications – Cream – Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005" (in Chinese). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
20. "Macao album certifications – Cream – Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005" (in Chinese). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Macao. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
21. "The ARIA Report". Australian Recording Industry Association. Australia: Pandora Archives. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
22. "French video certifications – Cream – Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Cream; 'Royal Albert Hall London')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
24. "British video certifications – Cream – Royal Albert Hall". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 December 2015. Select videos in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Royal Albert Hall in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
25. "American video certifications – Cream – Royal Albert Hall: London May 2-3-5-6 2005". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 December 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Video Longform, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Official site – Cream2005.com (broken link)