I highly recommend anyone reading this who isn’t familiar to start with Welcome to the Canteen. This past weekend I picked up a copy of John Barleycorn Must Die (1970) along with The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971), so I’m well on my way into the rabbit hole that is Traffic. There is something quite special about Steve Winwood’s vocal and Jim Capaldi’s drumming.Īs a Floyd fan, there were elements of their work that transported me in the same way but with more rock. From the first day I brought it home and played it, I was hooked. The condition of the rekkid was poor, you can listen to it, but it’s definitely seen better days. Like all vinyl collectors, this was a crate digging discovery starting with Welcome to the Canteen, 1971 a live album recorded in London. This band is a recent discovery for me, and I’ve now added 2 of their studio albums to my collection, with a live album as the 3 rd. You can argue that the short-lived life of Traffic is perhaps why they’re not as well-known as their fellow English counterparts of the era, but the artistic burst of energy that went into their albums is not to be underestimated. Steve Winwood, the most famous member of Traffic was in another band at the time, the Spencer Davis Group and it was after leaving that Traffic was born. As often the case, the guys met at a Birmingham club where they used to jam on weekends, The Elbow Room. Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason formed Traffic in 1967, the same year as Pink Floyd as it happens. It’s easy to see how they filled the gap in British music when people were yearning for something less sanitized than The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Traffic, formed in England in the late 1960’s came on to the music scene with their flavour of psychedelic rock. It’s an underrated charmer with some hidden jewels.I wasn’t even born when this band had broken up for the second time in 1974. While not a commercial success, “Refuges of the Heart” is a must-listen for Winwood fans. Most of the songs were co-written with Will Jennings, who provided lyrics for some of Winwood’s classic tunes like “Valerie,” “Higher Love” and “While You See a Chance,” the musician’s first big solo hit. While that song stands above the rest, there are other smooth selections, such as the funky tunes “Another Deal Goes Down” and “Come Out and Dance.” The sentimental ballad “I Will Be Here” is another solid composition. Reminiscent of Traffic’s glory days, it easily is the album’s best track – although a love song of sorts about a man who is secretly in love with a woman who is being badly mistreated by her current romantic partner isn’t exactly popular material. It was the duo’s first contribution to appear on a Winwood solo LP since his self-titled album in 1977. It also produced a hit single in “One and Only Man,” which was co-written by the pair of musicians. In 1990, Winwood hit music-store shelves with “Refuges of the Heart.” Capaldi was back on board, and the album ultimately would set the stage for a Traffic reunion album and tour four years later. The LP spawned several hit singles and finally established the former Traffic, Spencer Davis Group and Blind Faith frontman as a bona fide solo artist. Winwood’s solo breakthrough, though, came in the form of 1985’s “Back in the High Life,” a record that included contributions from Joe Walsh, James Taylor, Chaka Khan and others. For a while, Winwood largely did the same, but as one of rock’s most versatile musicians with a top-notch voice, he did have a minor hit with “Talking Back to the Night” in 1982 and enjoyed more success with works such as “Arc of a Diver” (’80) and “Roll With It” (’88). Throughout the mid-1960s and early ‘70s, Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi were the driving artistic forces behind the psychedelic-rock/jazz-fusion band Traffic.Ĭapaldi toiled in obscurity after the band split for a second time.
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