Fresh Cream

Cream entered Rayrik Studios in Chalk Farm almost as soon as they formed, with their manager Robert Stigwood producing and John Timperley engineering. Clapton later said the budget was tiny and the band ran each song a few times until they had a take, with minimal overdubbing afterward. The bulk of the album was cut at Ryemuse Studios between September and November 1966, split between old blues covers such as Spoonful, Cat's Squirrel, Rollin' and Tumblin', I'm So Glad and Four Until Late, and originals by Bruce. Baker contributed Sweet Wine and the drum showcase Toad.

Bruce said the opening song N.S.U. was written for the band's first rehearsal. The single I Feel Free was recorded in September 1966 and released on the same day as the album, but Stigwood left it off the British LP, and it opened the US edition instead. Reaction, Stigwood's own label, issued the album in Britain on 9 December 1966, and it reached number 6. Atco released a slightly different version in the US in January 1967, where it reached number 39.

Clapton said soon after release that the album could have been better. Melody Maker found it a great record, and the BBC's Sid Smith later wrote that blues, pop and rock start to coalesce into something new on it. Rolling Stone ranked it 102 in its 2012 list of 500 greatest albums.