Customer Reviews

Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

LOW SPARK was Traffic's best album, and one of the best of the whole great '65-'75 period. I know there are those partial to JOHN BARLEYCORN, but it's not as consistent. What you have here is perhaps the most purely realized expression of the counterculture's dream -- a glimpse of utopia, through the haze, at twilight, or late at night...

"Hidden Treasure" is the gateway, complete with mystical flute from Chris Wood. The brilliant title track is the first vision, and it ruled the underground airwaves for months with piano and spacey organ! There's an element of tension with the mainstream -- "the man in the suit has just bought a new car with the profit he's made on your dreams" -- but the Man loses! He's done in by "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," the power of the dreamers, who are building a new world in the ruins of the old. The other two visionary tracks are "Many a Mile to Freedom," with ringing guitar ("together we flow like the river -- and together we melt like the snow") and "Rainmaker" with a long instrumental coda, and all four are by the Winwood/Capaldi songwriting team. The drummer and bass player actually team up for a fine funky number, "Rock & Roll Stew," with Winwood on wicked guitar and the refrain "I'm gone, gone, gone!" Capaldi's "Light Up" got lots of airplay, and it's a great song, but it doesn't really fit in the album -- I often program it first, or out, so as not to disrupt the flow.

I find it hard to imagine exactly what a young person hears in LOW SPARK nowadays, hearing it for the first time. For me, it takes me back to 1971/72, and through that door to an alternative and much better future! "Spirit is something that no one destroys..." The dream lives on...

REST IN PEACE, JIM CAPALDI! YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED!

First released in November 1971: "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" is the most popular release by this great band. Centered by the nucleus of: Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi & Chris Wood and with the assistance of: Ric Grech, Jim Gordon & Reebop Kwaku Baah. The opening cut: "Hidden Treasure", is a acoustic gem with the flutes of Chris Wood gliding over Steve's heartfelt vocals. 'Treasure' is an most amazing tune that crosses lines between folk & jazz. "Low Spark" sounds much better on this remaster, the bass is more fully defined than the LP, and other instruments spring forth out of the mix with new sound clarity.

The title cut, might be the best merger of rock & jazz, featured on ANY record. The piano explores many moods and discovers much color and textures. The percussion and sax, just seem to soar here above the rest of the instruments. "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" is an mature piece of music that got the most attention on FM Radio of all the tracks on this record, and it deserves all of the praise it has gotten of the years.

"Light Up" is Jim Calpaldi's, showcase and it is the closest thing here to R & B. Jim, is in fine voice here and this was popular in dance clubs in the UK, back in the 80's (in a much longer mix.) "Rock N' Roll Stew" was a single (and the full single version can be found here as a bonus track, with the seldom heard part 2 included.) Again, this one features Jim on vocals and is considered the 'rock' number of the bunch, it's punchy & pulsating. "Many a Mile To Freedom" is almost a return to the band's sound of 67-69, gentle guitars and Chris Wood's flutes set the tone, and Steve shines again on an fantastic vocal here. "Rainmaker" wraps things up, and like the opener: "Treasure" due to it's dreamlike quality. This amazing record, closes out the way it began with folk and more than a touch of jazz and lot's of style. To list the best records of the 1970's: "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" would rank high in the Top-20.

This record is one of the great ones. Newly remixed, and sounding much better than ever before.
Five Stars !!!

If only there was one! This 1971 release from Traffic does everything right without ever once becoming overbearingly heavy. From the very first track, "Hidden Treasure" which is driven by Chris Wood's winsome flute and Steve Winwood's plaintive wail, you know you're in for something extraordinary.

And extraordinary it is! The title track is nearly twelve minutes of a blissful cool jazz/rock jam with just enough hipness to keep anyone listening to it from looking like a total coffee house beatnik. "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" is the late Jim Capaldi's excellent bluesy rocker with catchy pop riffs and some great keyboard fills, while "Rock 'n' Roll Stew" is one of the best pure rave rockers ever written and laid down in a studio. It stands as one of my two favorite staples on this classic album. My absolute favorite would be "Many a Mile to Freedom," which has a sweetness and vulnerability all its own without ever catering to whimpiness. "Rainmaker" is my least favorite track, but it's still a good one, and a vital part of the whole enchilada.

LSOHHB is an album you should have in your collection if you are a fan of great classic rock. With a mixture of jazz, blues, soul, and pop influences, it's as potent as a molotave cocktail without the nasty explosion, and there's no bitter aftertaste. Now that's what I call a rock 'n' roll stew.

It's hard to think of another album so redolent of its era, and yet so completely ageless. Traffic's seamless amalgam of rock, jazz, funk and folk, mixing complex multipart rhythms, extended improvisational odysseys, and topped with Steve Winwood's brilliant voice is every bit as hypnotic as the day it was issued in 1971. It's all the more impressive for having predated similar cross-genre excursions by Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan and others.

As a band whose personnel and direction changed with nearly every album, it's difficult to call this the band's high point (though certainly it represents their greatest U.S. commercial success). Having shed the overt psychedelia of their earlier incarnations, the band stretched out their songs to provide more room for improvisation. The preceding studio album, "John Barleycorn Must Die," included several six-minute-plus compositions, but "Low Spark" goes even father, with a pair of seven-minute tracks, and the sublime eleven minutes and forty-one seconds of the title cut. It's an album designed for the underground FM radio of its day (not to mention dorm rooms and other hangouts).

The core of Traffic's sound is formed around Winwood's voice and organ, Chris Wood's flute and sax, and the multilayered rhythm work of Jim Capaldi, Jim Gordon and Reebop Kwaku Baah. It's a surprisingly non-traditional rock sound for the times, with only Capaldi's "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" and Rick Grech & Jim Gordon's "Rock & Roll Stew" featuring Winwood's funky electric guitar playing. Both of these, along with the title track, lay out the physical and mental wear of life on the rock 'n' roll road. Bookending this trio of showbiz songs are nature-themed numbers that open and close the album on acoustic notes.

Island's reissue of this landmark LP provides a crisp new remaster, contemporary liner notes (the original album had none), and a bonus U.S. single version of "Rock & Roll Stew" that adds nearly two-minutes of instrumental jamming to the album track. The sonic upgrade is worth a repurchase for those who bought earlier CD editions, and certainly worth the upgrade from crackly original vinyl. It goes without saying that this is a must-have for those just starting to explore this period of popular music.

Those who own earlier CD issues of this title should note that this disc presents the album's tracks in their original running order, as found on the original vinyl. This differs from previous CD issues (starting with the first in the mid-80s) which were mistakenly produced from the master created for tape releases (cassette or 8-track). Due to the limitations of tape media, tracks were rearranged to fit, and no one associated with CD production noticed until this remastering.

Please see my full review below.

Always a pleasure to listen to. This is an album which ages gracefully, and the instrumentals are always a pleasure. Those guys really were wonderfully musical and extremely talented.

Hey... it's back in print - and the sound is much better than the old one, or _Smiling Phases_, or that hideously echo-drenched Winwood box. Plus, reappearing after 30 years is the long-forgotten extended version of "Rock and Roll Stew", which originally appeared in two parts on the single.

This is the best "traffic jam" you'll ever encounter. Good old get-up-on-your-feet rock and roll. This could be one of the best albums of the early '70's. Excellent musicians, great music, well produced.

1971 was a fine year in music, indeed. "sticky fingers," by the rolling stones, the fourth led zepplin album, rod stewart's "every picture tells a story," "who's next," by the who, gene clark's white light album, john prine's debut, the doors "LA woman," and this great album, traffic's "the low spark of high-heeled boys." folk-rock, prog-rock, prog-folk, this album is hard to categorize. there's some jazz fusion in here, too. in fact, several musical passages have a feeling that's similar to the textures employed by miles davis on his classic albums "in a silent way," and "bitches brew." the album starts off with the haunting enchantment of acoustic guitar and flute on "hidden treasure." it's a beautiful folk melody and sets much of the tone for what will follow. the title track is an epic prog-rock piece with surreal lyrics that starts with a saxophone intro and builds steam slowly, intently. piano chords and notes drop in on this track that very much resemble the miles davis work i mentioned. dreamy instrumental passages stretch out the landscape, making this a long, gorgeous song. great music. track 3, "light up or leave me alone," is a song with a funky beat and some hot guitar. it's followed by the bluesy rocker, "rock & roll stew." "many a mile to freedom," is a folk-rock anthem, sporting an outstanding percussion track, on which flute and some more great guitar drift. "rainmaker," has a hypnotic percussion track that the rest of the instruments ride on, as well. it's an entrancing song, and a great finish to a great album. a must have for all rock and roll collections.

Traffic began recording Low Spark of High Heeled Boys in September of '71. Dave Mason had briefly rejoined the band for some live shows. However, when the band went back into the studio, personalities began to clash again. Add to this, the fact that the band was also now having problems with Ric Grech and Jim Gordon were now beginning to wear on the band. The album was finished fairly quickly and hit the stores in November of '71. Jim Capaldi had recorded his first album "Oh How We Danced" around this time with Ric Grech and Jim Gordon being replaced by David Hood and Roger Hawkins.

The opening song Hidden Treasure is a beautiful song with a nice folksy feel and plenty of flute from Chris Wood. Low Spark of High Heeled Boys has a nice jammed out feel and is quite spacey. the first half of the album ends with Jim Capaldi's high energy Light Up Or Leave Me Alone. The second side actually opens with a song by both Ric and Jim G. called Rock & Roll Stew and is also sung by Capaldi. the album returns to a laid back groove with the pretty Many A Mile To Freedom co written by Steve and Anna Capaldi. The album originally ended with the pretty and dreamlike Rainmaker. The bonus song on the disc is the extended single version of Rock & Roll Stew. This is a classic album and belongs in any music lover's collection.