# Goodbye (Cream album)
**Goodbye** is the fourth and final album by the British rock band [Cream](https://www.edgepedia.org/cream-band), released on 5 February 1969 on Polydor and Atco Records, after the group had already broken up in November 1968. It is a six-track hybrid: one side of live recordings from the band's farewell tour and one side of new studio songs, one written by each of the three members.[1](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/cream/) • [2](https://musichearts.fm/artists/27-cream/history)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 5 February 1969, Polydor and Atco Records, after the band's November 1968 breakup[1](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/cream/) |
| Format | Six tracks: three live from The Forum, Los Angeles, 19 October 1968, and three new studio songs, one by each member[2](https://musichearts.fm/artists/27-cream/history) |
| Chart peak | No. 1 in the UK for four non-consecutive weeks (first charted 15 March 1969); No. 2 in the United States[3](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151) |
| UK chart run | 21 weeks on the Official Albums Chart, 13 in the Top 10[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/cream-goodbye/) |
| Best-known song | "Badge", co-written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison; released as a single and reached No. 18 in the UK[3](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151) • [5](https://www.showrock.com/timeline/cream-were-eventually-persuaded-to-do-one-final-album-appropriately/) |
| Notable continuity | "I'm So Glad" is the only song to appear on both Cream's first album, *Fresh Cream*, and its last[2](https://musichearts.fm/artists/27-cream/history) |
| Length | About 30 minutes (30:22)[6](https://www.senscritique.com/album/goodbye/5722596) |
## Background: the breakup
Cream, the trio of [Eric Clapton](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-clapton), Jack Bruce, and [Ginger Baker](https://www.edgepedia.org/ginger-baker), had decided to split in May 1968 during a US tour, and in July an announcement was made that the band would break up after a farewell tour.
The band was eventually persuaded to record one final album. Ginger Baker later explained the motive: "We wanted to go out on an up note. That's why we did the album and the show at the Albert Hall."[7](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-story-of-cream) A double album in the mold of *Wheels of Fire*, half live and half studio, was originally considered, but there was not enough new or leftover studio material to fill two sides, so a single LP was released instead.[1](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/cream/)
## Recording and content
The six tracks were all recorded in October 1968. The live side captures the band's performance at The Forum in Los Angeles on 19 October 1968, about a month before its final gig: extended versions of "I'm So Glad" (9:13), "Politician" (6:20), and "Sitting on Top of the World" (5:04).[1](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/cream/) • [6](https://www.senscritique.com/album/goodbye/5722596) The nearly ten-minute "I'm So Glad" shows how far the band had stretched the song since its studio version on their 1966 debut *Fresh Cream*; it is the only Cream song to appear on both the first and last albums.[2](https://musichearts.fm/artists/27-cream/history)
The studio side follows the reverse rule of *Wheels of Fire* and gives each member one song. It opens with "Badge" (2:43), co-written by Eric Clapton and [George Harrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-harrison), who also played rhythm guitar on the track under the credit "L'Angelo Misterioso". It is followed by [Jack Bruce](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-bruce)'s "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" (3:18), written with lyricist Pete Brown, and closes with Ginger Baker's "What a Bringdown" (3:57).[5](https://www.showrock.com/timeline/cream-were-eventually-persuaded-to-do-one-final-album-appropriately/) • [1](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/cream/) • [8](https://glidemagazine.com/298939/55-years-later-after-four-albums-cream-says-farewell-with-impactful-goodbye-album/)
| Track | Length | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1. I'm So Glad (live) | 9:13 | Recorded at The Forum, Los Angeles, 19 October 1968 |
| 2. Politician (live) | 6:20 | Same concert |
| 3. Sitting on Top of the World (live) | 5:04 | Same concert |
| 4. Badge | 2:43 | Studio |
| 5. Doing That Scrapyard Thing | 3:18 | Studio |
| 6. What a Bringdown | 3:57 | Studio |
Track lengths and order as listed on the album release.[6](https://www.senscritique.com/album/goodbye/5722596)
## Commercial performance
Goodbye was released on 5 February 1969 by Atco Records in the United States and about a month later in Europe by Polydor. It debuted at No. 1 in the UK on 15 March 1969 and spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top, while peaking at No. 2 in the United States. Interest in the now-defunct group was strong enough that the album's release pushed the band's earlier albums *Fresh Cream* and *Disraeli Gears* to both peak at No. 7 on the UK chart in late February 1969. The single "Badge" was released a month after the album and reached No. 18 in the UK.[3](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151) • [4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/cream-goodbye/)
## Critical reception
In his retrospective AllMusic review, senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Goodbye a work of "hard, heavy rock" and an album of "strong moments" rather than cohesiveness, judging the live side better overall than that of *Wheels of Fire* and finding the studio side also at "something of a peak", making it a "good and appropriate final bow".[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/goodbye-mw0000193429) [Robert Christgau](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-christgau)'s *Consumer Guide* rated the album A−.[3](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151) A less favorable retrospective verdict came from J.D. Considine in *The Rolling Stone Album Guide* (1992), who deemed it an incomplete record with "exquisite studio work" but mediocre live performances.[3](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151)
Contemporary coverage was positive: New Musical Express's Nick Logan devoted an article-length review to the album, praising the live "I'm So Glad" for musicianship that was "stunning" and calling "Badge" "compelling listening".[3](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151) Apple Music's editorial retrospective describes the album as Cream's farewell, lacking the impact of *Disraeli Gears* and *Wheels of Fire* but a fitting tribute, with "Badge" as the obvious highlight of a studio half that displays one track from each member.[10](https://music.apple.com/us/album/goodbye/1443256252)
## Afterward
Every member moved on to other projects immediately: Jack Bruce to a solo career, Clapton to Derek and the Dominoes, and Ginger Baker to [Blind Faith](https://www.edgepedia.org/blind-faith).[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/goodbye-mw0000193429) In the studio half, AllMusic hears a band pointing toward poppier melodies rather than the psychedelic blues and hard rock of previous albums, a glimpse of where Cream might have gone had they stayed together.[11](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r4732)
## References
1. [Cream – JazzRockSoul.com](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/cream/)
2. [Band history: Cream – MusicHeartsFM](https://musichearts.fm/artists/27-cream/history)
3. [1969 \| Goodbye \| Cream – Rockalia](https://rockalia.com/en/component/muscol/C/1-cream/388-goodbye?Itemid=151)
4. [GOODBYE – CREAM \| Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/cream-goodbye/)
5. [Cream were eventually persuaded to do one final album, appropriately titled Goodbye – Showrock](https://www.showrock.com/timeline/cream-were-eventually-persuaded-to-do-one-final-album-appropriately/)
6. [Goodbye – Cream, SensCritique](https://www.senscritique.com/album/goodbye/5722596)
7. [Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker recount the wild story of Cream – Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-story-of-cream)
8. [55 Years Later: Cream Says Farewell With 'Goodbye' – Glide Magazine](https://glidemagazine.com/298939/55-years-later-after-four-albums-cream-says-farewell-with-impactful-goodbye-album/)
9. [Cream: Goodbye Tracks & Reviews – AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/goodbye-mw0000193429)
10. [Goodbye – Album by Cream – Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/goodbye/1443256252)
11. [Cream: Goodbye User Reviews – AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r4732)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Psychedelic and garage albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license