Eric Clapton said Cream’s 1967 album *Disraeli Gears* was “incredibly good”, but felt it was immediately overshadowed by the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s debut, *Are You Experienced*. He believed Hendrix’s innovative, cutting-edge approach to the blues captured public attention so completely that Cream struggled to receive recognition in comparison.

In a 2012 interview, Clapton recalled returning from America after recording *Disraeli Gears* to find that Hendrix’s album had “wiped everybody else out”. He described being “in awe” of Hendrix, whose influence and musicianship made him one of the defining guitarists of the 1960s before his death at 27 in 1970.