After dispensing with his services in December 1967, the remaining members of Traffic reinstated Dave Mason in the group in the spring of 1968 as they struggled to write enough material for their impending second album. The result was a disc evenly divided between Mason's catchy folk-rock compositions and Steve Winwood's compelling rock jams. ...
At only 22 years old, Steve Winwood sat down in early 1970 to fulfill a contractual commitment by making his first solo album, on which he intended to play all the instruments himself. The record got as far as one backing track produced by Guy Stevens, "Stranger to Himself," before Winwood called his erstwhile partner from Traffic, Jim Capaldi, in ...
Reportedly released as an effort to undercut bootleggers following a world tour, Traffic: On the Road was the band's second live album in three years. The album chronicled a late edition of the band in which original members Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood were augmented not only by percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah, but also by a trio of ...
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys marked the commercial and artistic apex of the second coming of Traffic, which had commenced in 1970 with John Barleycorn Must Die. The trio that made that album had been augmented by three others (Ric Grech, Jim Gordon, and "Reebop" Kwaku Baah) in the interim, though apparently the Low Spark sessions featured ...
During their tumultuous existence between 1967 and 1974, Traffic had two distinct phases separated by a year (January 1969 to February 1970) during which the band was temporarily dissolved. In its first phase, Traffic was heavily influenced by the pop psychedelia of its time, but were also developing a distinctive blues-rock jam style. When Steve ...
Though the two-CD set Smiling Phases finally put a comprehensive Traffic compilation on the market in 1991, the only readily available single-disc collection had long been Best of Traffic, originally issued halfway through the band's career. Thus, Feelin' Alright: The Very Best of Traffic, a 77-minute sampler for the CD era, was long overdue. It ...
After spending the majority of his late-teen years being mistaken -- in the realm of audio -- for Ray Charles, the Spencer Davis Group's "little" Stevie Winwood found himself at the helm of one of the most promising and volatile bands of the late '60/early '70s, Traffic. The initial core foursome of Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason, and Chris Wood ...
As a matter of course, one wants to despise records like this. Part of a legendary band reunites 20 years after its dissolution and the death of a founding member (Chris Wood) -- reminiscent of the Who, whose numerous reunions are simply despicable -- and hits the road with audio and video gear in tow for an "historic" tour. In the case of what ...
In January 1968, United Artists Records released a reconfigured American version of Traffic's debut album Mr. Fantasy under the new title Heaven Is in Your Mind, but after the first pressing reverted to calling it Mr. Fantasy. In 2000, Island reissued two CD versions, one titled Mr. Fantasy containing the British track listing in mono, the other ...
At only 22 years old, Steve Winwood sat down in early 1970 to fulfill a contractual commitment by making his first solo album, on which he intended to play all the instruments himself. The record got as far as one backing track produced by Guy Stevens, "Stranger to Himself," before Winwood called his erstwhile partner from Traffic, Jim Capaldi, in ...
Focusing on psychedelic rock, hard rock, and garage rock from the 1960s, this CD is among the many compilations that JCI assembled for its Baby Boomer Classics series in the late '80s. The series was, as its name indicates, aimed at the Baby Boomer generation -- most of the 12 songs on Electric Sixties are songs that anyone who was in his/her ...
Right down to the Roger Dean-designed sleeve, this five-CD box set overview of 1967-1976 progressive rock is as grandiose as the music itself, which is not necessarily an unconditional recommendation. But give the compilation points for diversity and thoughtful selection. The expected superstars (Yes, Genesis, ELP, Procol Harum) are usually ...
It could be argued that, in its most basic form, Traffic was a vehicle for the songs of Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi, who wrote most of the material and on some tracks were the only musicians performing. But the question of whether Winwood and Capaldi could validly constitute Traffic by themselves was not addressed until 1994, 20 years after the ...
Low Spark of High Heeled Boys marked the commercial and artistic apex of the second coming of Traffic, which had commenced in 1970 with John Barleycorn Must Die. The trio that made that album had been augmented by three others (Rick Grech, Jim Gordon, and Reebop Kwaakuh) in the interim, though apparently the Low Spark of High Heeled Boys sessions ...
Unlike its predecessor, which veered away from the title's classifications, the eleven selections on Rebound's Classic Rock: 70's fit squarely into the classic definition of "classic rock." This may be a little predictable for some listeners, but for budget-minded fans of classic rock, this is a good way to acquire such gems as "Every Picture ...
Though Traffic broke up at the start of 1969, the band was on a commercial ascent, which led Island Records, their U.K. label, and United Artists, which licensed their product for the U.S., to assemble a posthumous album, Last Exit, released in April 1969, that, like its predecessor, Traffic, peaked in the American top 20. Meanwhile, former band ...
Traffic's installment of 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection rounds up ten of the group's biggest songs, concentrating heavily on their first two albums, with the first seven coming from Mr. Fantasy or Traffic, which isn't entirely a bad thing, because that's when the band concentrated on individual jams more than long, extended jams ...
After dispensing with his services in December 1967, the remaining members of Traffic reinstated Dave Mason in the group in the spring of 1968 as they struggled to write enough material for their impending second album. The result was a disc evenly divided between Mason's catchy folk-rock compositions and Steve Winwood's compelling rock jams. ...
Rebound Records' Hard Rock Essentials: 1970s is a collection of 12 album rock staples (ten on cassette), of which many are quite familiar through their repeated plays on the radio ("All Right Now," "I Don't Need No Doctor," "The Story in Your Eyes," "Statesboro Blues," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," "Do You Feel Like We Do," "Rock & Roll Stew"). It ...
Since Traffic's debut album Mr. Fantasy has been issued in different configurations over the years, a history of those differences is in order. In 1967, the British record industry considered albums and singles separate entities; thus, Mr. Fantasy did not contain the group's three previous Top Ten U.K. hits. Just as the album was being released in ...
The 1960s edition of Hard Rock Essentials doesn't cut very deep, but it does live up to its name, including such acid-tinged favorites as "Wild Thing" by the Troggs and Blue Cheer's thick and freaky version of "Summertime Blues." There's also some bluesy hard stuff in the form of the Allman Brothers ("Whipping Post") and John Mayall & the ...
The 11 selections on Rebound's Classic Rock: 60's don't necessarily fit into the conventional definition of "classic rock." Sure, there are a number of album rock radio staples ("You Really Got Me," "Feelin' All Right," "Volunteers," Rod Stewart's "Street Fighting Man"), but there's a number of singles ("Monterey," "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet," ...
The double-disc anthology Positively '60s collects 30 of the decade's definitive tunes. The set ranges from psychedelic pop like the Byrds' "Eight Miles High," Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," and Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" to socially conscious songs like Dion's "Abraham, Martin & John," Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," and the ...
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