Those Were the Days is a retrospective compilation of music recorded by the British rock band Cream, released on 23 September 1997. It comprises four compact discs and includes almost every studio track released during the band's active lifetime, with the exception of the original "Passing The Time" from Wheels of Fire, and all but three tracks from the live material recorded in 1968 and released on Wheels of Fire, Goodbye, and the two Live Cream volumes of 1970 and 1972. The title is taken from the song written by Ginger Baker and Mike Taylor, released on Wheels of Fire in 1968.
Track listing
Disc one: In the Studio
Non-album single (1966) 1. "Wrapping Paper" (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) – 2:22 Fresh Cream (1966) 2. "I Feel Free" (Bruce, Brown) – 2:51 3. "N.S.U." (Bruce) – 2:43 4. "Sleepy Time Time" (Bruce, Janet Godfrey) – 4:20 5. "Dreaming" (Bruce) – 1:58 6. "Sweet Wine" (Ginger Baker, Godfrey) – 3:17 7. "Spoonful" (Willie Dixon) – 6:30 8. "Cat's Squirrel" (Traditional, arr. by Baker, Bruce, Eric Clapton) – 3:03 9. "Four Until Late" (Robert Johnson, arr. by Clapton) – 2:07 10. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (Muddy Waters) – 4:42 11. "I'm So Glad" (Skip James) – 3:57 12. "Toad" (Baker) – 5:11 Studio outtake (1967) 13. "Lawdy Mama" version 1 (Traditional, arr. by Clapton) – 2:00 Disraeli Gears (1967) 14. "Strange Brew" (Clapton, Gail Collins, Felix Pappalardi) – 2:46 15. "Sunshine of Your Love" (Bruce, Brown, Clapton) – 4:10 16. "World of Pain" (Collins, Pappalardi) – 3:02 17. "Dance the Night Away" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:34 18. "Blue Condition" (Baker) – 3:29 19. "Tales of Brave Ulysses" (Clapton, Martin Sharp) – 2:46 20. "SWLABR" (Bruce, Brown) – 2:31 21. "We're Going Wrong" (Bruce) – 3:26 22. "Outside Woman Blues" (Blind Joe Reynolds, arr. by Clapton) – 2:24 23. "Take It Back" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:05 24. "Mother's Lament" (Traditional, arr. Baker, Bruce, Clapton) – 1:47
Disc two: In the Studio
Studio disc of Wheels of Fire (1968) 1. "White Room" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:58 2. "Sitting on Top of the World" (Walter Vinson, Lonnie Chatmon; arr. Chester Burnett) – 4:58 3. "Passing the Time" alternate version (Baker, Mike Taylor) – 5:53 4. "As You Said" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:20 5. "Pressed Rat and Warthog" (Baker, Taylor) – 3:13 6. "Politician" (Bruce, Brown) – 4:12 7. "Those Were the Days" (Baker, Taylor) – 2:53 8. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Booker T. Jones, William Bell) – 3:09 9. "Deserted Cities of the Heart" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:38 Non-album single (1968) 10. "Anyone for Tennis" (The Savage Seven theme) (Clapton, Sharp) – 2:38 Studio tracks from Goodbye (1969) 11. "Badge" (Clapton, George Harrison) – 2:44 12. "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" (Bruce, Brown) – 3:14 13. "What a Bringdown" (Baker) – 3:58 Miscellaneous tracks 14. "The Coffee Song" (Tony Colton, Ray Smith) – 2:44 15. "Lawdy Mama" version 2 (Traditional, arr. Clapton) – 2:46 16. "You Make Me Feel" demo version (Bruce, Brown) – 2:39 17. "We're Going Wrong" demo version (Bruce) – 3:49 18. "Hey Now Princess" demo version (Bruce, Brown) – 3:31 19. "SWLABR" demo version (Bruce, Brown) – 4:30 20. "Weird of Hermiston" demo version (Bruce, Brown) – 3:12 21. "The Clearout" demo version (Bruce, Brown) – 3:58 22. "Falstaff Beer Commercial" (Baker, Bruce, Clapton) – 1:00