Prelude: I'm So Glad 4

"Prelude" is just that, an introductory instrumental to Deep Purple's rendition of this old Skip James blues song that Cream also did on their debut. Those accustomed to the more familiar, louder material that the band did in the 70's might be surprised to learn that in their earliest years, the band were a pop/ psych band with lots of covers, and also classical music , blues, and occasional progressive rock leanings, and some fairly heavy stuff here and there. Clearly, they were most influenced by Vanilla Fudge, Hendrix, and The Doors. I have a friend who actually thinks this version is better than Cream's, I don't think it is, but it's quite good in its own right. It's kind of odd in a way that Deep Purple did this one, as guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, one of the more icy, arrogant, and argumentative rock stars of his era, though he idolized Hendrix, was never very impressed with Clapton, and in fact was rather dismissive of him.