Customer Reviews

Traffic

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If Dave Mason could have stuck around and worked things out, who knows where they could have gone with this and hereafter?

This is what Traffic could have been, and was, for an all-too brief moment, a very dynamic, creatively tense and peculiar balance between the divergent talents of Mason and Steve Winwood. This is an important album, even with Mason's ownership of half the credits for this dark masterpiece, for those following the artistic development and history of Stevie Winwood, too; particularly on the soul-stunning "No Time To Live", thankfully not over- compiled in the retrospect too much. So thus avoid the the chopped up compilations and buy the original albums like this one first. I only wish the future re-emerged Traffic (which had broken up after this recording) had been as consistent in quality as this, but sometimes fearless leader had his "So Uninspired" moments. But this is a great moment in music. In this work, thus a "House For Everyone", even more than the first outing, a quickly matured act. Even though with the pessimism this one predicts it ends up a bit dated in that respect, musically still, it holds up. A must for fans of the late '60's counter-culture scene, as well as rock musical possibilities.

Traffic had one of the most original (and interesting) sounds in British rock, and not only because of their eclectic musical influences, which embraced psychedelia, folk, jazz, soul, R&B, and even classical. Their unique sound was also the result of their unusual instrumentation. While the group went through a number of personnel changes, its constant core members were Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, guitars), Chris Wood (sax, flute, and organ), and Jim Capaldi (drums & percussion). With no regular bass player, Winwood often filled in with the bass pedals on his organ. And, while there is no lack of guitars on most Traffic recordings, the guitar is not emphasized or particularly important to the group's sound. Dave Mason came and went in their early years and, on other recordings, Steve Winwood would switch to guitar, with Chris Wood taking over organ duties. In short, Traffic was anything but your typical guitar-bass-drums rock outfit. And, with "white Ray Charles" prodigy Winwood at the helm, and with their willingness to experiment with virtually any sound or musical style, they cut some of the most distinctive and important records in British rock.

Their sophomore album, "Traffic," perfected the band's sound, and stands as one of the best albums in British rock. Psychedelic influences were still evident, but gone was the silly "Sgt. Pepper"-style trippiness of "Mr. Fantasy." Instead, Winwood and Capaldi perfected their jazzy take on psychedelic-soul, while Dave Mason turned in by far his best contributions with the group. Mason's "You Can All Join In" and "Feelin' Alright" (later popularized by Joe Cocker) are folk-rock gems, while Winwood's genius shines through on the whimsical but very funky "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" and the swampy jungle-rock epic "40,000 Headmen." Furthermore, in contrast with the cut-n-paste nature of Traffic's other LPs with Dave Mason, here there is real collaboration, as when a Mason folk-rocker climaxes with Winwood's soulful wailing on the refrain or the bridge ("Don't Be Sad," "Cryin' To Be Heard"). The overall result is a delicious paradox: a recording that is wildly eclectic, yet artistically cohesive.

If you haven't heard "Traffic," all I can say is, you don't know what you're missing.

Though I'm also partial to John Barleycorn, this gets the nod as my favorite Traffic album. The added dimension Dave Mason brings with his songwriting, vocals and guitar just gives this album more diversity, though Barleycorn is a close second. Brilliantly written, played and produced

This '68 all time Rock masterpiece Traffic was Traffics' second release and has been given the ultimate overhaul by Mofi.
Now issued by Mofi on a gold CD you can really hear every little sonic. This release contained a number of Traffic tunes that
went on to become instant Rock classics. "Feelin' Alright," "40,000 Headmen," "You Can All Join In" & " Pearly Queen" are
the cream de le creme here! This album still included the original line up and it's too bad it didn't last. Mason's tunes on this gold
CD show just how a great his contributions to the band were as a writer and player. (checkout the clarity of his acoustic work
on "You Can All Join In" ). The musical stampede of interplay amongst the band is all brought to the front line on this CD
(checkout Chris Wood's flute & sax work!) and everything single notes tone & dynamics are right where they should have been
on all the muddy LP issues over the years and even on the regular CD issue. Everything is finally cleaned up and all the original
art & liner notes have been faithfully restored. Worth every $$$.

Traffic had one of the most original (and interesting) sounds in British rock, and not only because of their eclectic musical influences, which embraced psychedelia, folk, jazz, soul, R&B, and even classical. Their unique sound was also the result of their unusual instrumentation. While the group went through a number of personnel changes, its constant core members were Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, guitars), Chris Wood (sax, flute, and organ), and Jim Capaldi (drums & percussion). With no regular bass player, Winwood often filled in with the bass pedals on his organ. And, while there is no lack of guitars on most Traffic recordings, the guitar is not emphasized or particularly important to the group's sound. Dave Mason came and went in their early years and, on other recordings, Steve Winwood would switch to guitar, with Chris Wood taking over organ duties. In short, Traffic was anything but your typical guitar-bass-drums rock outfit. And, with "white Ray Charles" prodigy Winwood at the helm, and with their willingness to experiment with virtually any sound or musical style, they cut some of the most distinctive and important records in British rock.

Their sophomore album, "Traffic," perfected the band's sound, and stands as one of the best albums in British rock. Psychedelic influences were still evident, but gone was the silly "Sgt. Pepper"-style trippiness of "Mr. Fantasy." Instead, Winwood and Capaldi perfected their jazzy take on psychedelic-soul, while Dave Mason turned in by far his best contributions with the group. Mason's "You Can All Join In" and "Feelin' Alright" (later popularized by Joe Cocker) are folk-rock gems, while Winwood's genius shines through on the whimsical but very funky "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" and the swampy jungle-rock epic "40,000 Headmen." Furthermore, in contrast with the cut-n-paste nature of Traffic's other LPs with Dave Mason, here there is real collaboration, as when a Mason folk-rocker climaxes with Winwood's soulful wailing on the refrain or the bridge ("Don't Be Sad," "Cryin' To Be Heard"). The overall result is a delicious paradox: a recording that is wildly eclectic, yet artistically cohesive.

If you haven't heard "Traffic," all I can say is, you don't know what you're missing.

Traffic's self titled album is exceptional. Traffic has such a cool sound that few other bands had. They are hust fun to listen to. This album contains some of their best songs, such as You Can All Join In, Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring, Feelin' Alright, and Cyin' To Be Heard. Buy this album, you won't regret it.

i think this is their greatest album;vagabond virgin kinda bores me but the rest is phenomenal. pearly queen is among their greatest tracks, 40,000 headmen is great lyrically, as is feelin' all right, means to an end, and don't be sad, a quite underrated masterpiece from this record. traffic were really among the first 'do it all ' combos, this record features wonderful songwriting and tight, amazing playing. there is hard rock, jazz, folk,blues west indian music, psychedelia,and soul to be found here,among other genres i always felt the pre- barleycorn material tended to be much better.it;s too bad the 2 cd anthology smiling phases appears to be out of print, it was a fine introduction to this incredible band. any kids out there who think of steve winwood only as the composerof overplayed aor boredom should buy this record. its funny how such great talents of the day got so bland so quick after starting out with such a bang( see contemporaries chicago, jethro tull, santana, etc.)

Though Mr. Fantasy has a psychedelic charm, this is a better album, mature and assured, with excellent songwriting. It does seem to veer sharply between the Mason and Winwood-Capaldi cuts, which is why Mason split shortly thereafter. But if you want to get the best idea of what this quartet was really capable of, this is your ticket.

La rivalidad entre Mason y Winwood se nota a flor de piel. Sin embargo, es para bien. Ambos genios creativos están al máximo de sus capacidades. La mente de Mason fue capaz de producir un clásico de siempre como "Feelin' Alright" y Winwood, una joya roquera como "Pearly Queen" y otra de gran profundidad como "Forty Thousand Headmen" (entendiendo que cada tema de este disco es espectacular, claro). "Traffic" es para escucharlo mil veces de pies a cabeza. Perderse un segundo de él sería un crimen.

The best Traffic album is also the one least heard on the radio. After producing this one, Jimmy Miller went on to do "Let it Bleed" for the Rolling Stones, which should tell you how much they admired his work here.