Cream – N.S.U.

Looking through my index…I can’t believe I’ve never posted this one by Cream before. I’m rectifying that mistake today! The song was born from a riff they played in their first rehearsal.

You probably will ask yourself…what did NSU stand for? That would be courtesy of Eric Clapton. He had a venereal disease at the time that was called Non-Specific Urethritis. They thought it would be fun to name the song with the initials.

How this band must have sounded to ears when they first got played. Compared to what was going on it must have sounded like aliens. I would also include Jimi Hendrix with this wash of hard rock psychedelic music.

Cream was formed in 1966 and consisted of Eric Clapton (guitar, vocals), Jack Bruce (bass, vocals), and Ginger Baker (drums). They were one of the first supergroups, with members already having successful careers. Eric had played with The Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers,  John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Powerhouse, and more. Jack Bruce played with Manfred Mann,  Blues Incorporated, and helped form The  Graham Bond Organisation. Ginger Baker played with Blues Incorporated, Johnny Burch Octet, and The  Graham Bond Organisation before Cream.

The song was on their debut album Fresh Cream released in 1966. The album peaked at #39 on the Billboard Album Charts and #6 in the UK. I can’t find a reliable source but one source has it peaking at #39 in Canada.

This song was written by bassist Jack Bruce.

N.S.U.

Driving in my car, smoking my cigar,
The only time I’m happy’s when I play my guitar.

Singing in my yacht, what a lot I got,
Happiness is something that just cannot be bought.

I’ve been in and I’m out, I’ve been up and down,
I don’t want to go until I’ve been all around.

What’s it all about, anyone in doubt,
I don’t want to go until I’ve found it all out.

…

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

44 thoughts on “Cream – N.S.U.”

  3. If I’d known of the song, I probably would have wondered what the title meant! No questioning their playing ability, but outside of the biggies like ‘Badge’, it always seems to me like the songwriting itself took a bit of a backseat with them.

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    1. It’s more of the feel and overall sound in some of their songs… personally I love the break where Eric kicks in.

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  4. Great song. I’ve really come to love Cream. If I recall it correctly, I first heard “N.S.U.” while seeing a Cream tribute band perform the song.

    Cream were something else. It also borders on a near miracle they lasted as long as the did and everyone made it out alive, especially Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce who were infamous for their bad and oftentimes physical fights.

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    1. You can feel tension at times when seeing them live on film…they seemed to use that agression to the music.
      I’m glad they regrouped at the end before Ginger and Jack passed…

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      1. Agree, and based on the clips I’ve seen and the live album, these reunion gigs at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 were fantastic.

        There’s a tribute band called Sons of Cream, featuring Ginger’s son Kofi Baker (drums), Jack’s son Malcolm Bruce (bass) and Clapton’s nephew Will Johns (guitar). I saw them once in Oct 2018. At the same, they were still performing as “Music of Cream” – anyway, it was a great show!

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      2. Oh wow! I didn’t know about that tribute band…that is really cool dude! I’ll have to look them up. Now that is awesome that they have ties to the original band.

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  6. This is the first song I heard by Cream. My older brother and cousin had this album when it first came out. I’ve said this before , this music set the table for my listening to long play albums. What a great tune. CB is going driving in his car and will be smoking a cigar today.

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    1. I’ve always like this song. It gets lost with their other songs, but yeah, I can see how this would influence you.
      Come pick me up CB and I’ll smoke one with you.

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      1. Just finished reading a Clapton biography. So I’m heaving into revisiting his music mostly the solo stuff. Newc ears are turning up some good stuff. Pretty hard to beat him, Jack and Ginger.
        I’ll be by this afternoon.

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  7. I’ve heard this but I never knew the title. Just as an aside NSU was a geman brand of motorcycle back then too. Imagine if Eric had wanted to rename the sang ‘Clapton Gets A’clapping?’ ‘Clap Along With Eric?’

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    1. Oh thanks obbverse…Clap along with Eric… I needed a laugh! I’m sore and tired.
      We put in 73 hours in the past 5 or so days… a lot of manual labor…which we are not used to lol.

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      1. Yeah, too much work makes Obb a damned pissed off boy. I recall putting in three months of twelve hour shifts and by then they could not have paid me double for every hour I worked to do any more than that three months. They finally hired another guy… But I didn’t get that me-time back even though half of it was double-time. More money means jackspit when you look act and feel like a robot. After three months the bloody place felt like Folsom Prison, the bleak, unending thankless hours I was spending there.

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      2. lol…exactly how I feel.
        Yea you have me beat on that 3 months deal…but yea…my assistant is 26 years old but I proudly kept up with him but I’m paying for it now.
        All we did was get up, go to work, and then go to the place we stayed…and went to bed. One night…Wednesday I believe…we went out and got a couple of the good gummies and we laughed all night long… both of us needed that lol.

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  10. These 3 musical powerhouses generated a chemistry few other bands have. Bruce is the guy who made me appreciate letting bass have its voice in rock music. Jazz knew it a long time before. You know how much I love this band. Happy you featured them today. There can never be too much Cream in my book. I was able to pick up the BBC Sessions Live, when they were just starting out, which includes the host interviewing Eric between cuts.

    That said, sorry you and your helper have been so overworked lately. Bosses love to put people on salary and then exploit the workers. Hoping things will lighten up for you guys soon?

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    1. Yes hopefully it will lighten up now…we have to go back but it’s not as bad. Lisa, I hate saying this but it was the manual part that got to me lol…60 computers and telephones…going in and the old ones coming out to the van in the Atlanta HOT.

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      1. I cannot imagine how hot Atlanta gets. 60!?!? oh no. Manual labor in the hot sounds challenging and dangerous. Hope you were replacing fluids/electrolytes all along. Happy it will be lightening up for you.

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      2. Yea…Zach my system admin is 26 but with a body of a 50 year old lol…I kept up with him so I was happy about that…but I’m paying now! I’m sore but it’s getting better.
        I try to walk everyday Lisa…at least 5000-7000 steps…I was getting around 15,000 steps every day there.

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      3. lol on poor Zach. I heard someone say just yesterday (Jerry on OFR) “it’s not the age, it’s the mileage.” Glad you kept up with him, that’s saying something.

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      4. I’m not Mr Atlas either believe me but I was happy with myself. He bought a 10 story building in Buckhead Georgia…and we have to do the IT in that…that is why we are going back…so that will be interesting. I’ll email later and tell you about where we stayed…it’s really cool.

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