I was watching one of those guys on YouTube who rank various artists ' albums from least favourite to most favourite. He has dozens of videos and the one I watched last night was about Traffic. I'm on the fence about them for the most part. Some of their songs I enjoy very much , others I consider , in the words of John Lennon , Traffic twaddle. I've heard 'em all and by far the best one for me is ' Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.'. That title track is fantastic and the rest of the album is great too. The album I like least is ' Dear Mister Fantasy ' Amazing title song but most of the rest of it is dull and dithering. Traffic is a band I'd argue best served by a solid compilation. One I have is ' Smiling Phases' which hits pretty much all the high points and omits the twaddle.
I love the sound of the band and some of the material but I always felt like they were a bit too reserved. I'm always waiting for them to cut loose and burn. But they never do.
They came into their own with John Barleycorn. I like every song on that. Then upped the game with Low Spark. It's too bad they couldn't keep it up. Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired is very clearly uninspired.
Mr Fantasy, twaddle? For shame! It's a solid LP, considered a classic for a long time (along with the second album). Now the faves seem to be John Barleycorn or Low Spark.
Yeah, I can't imagine finding myself listening to them beyond the first two albums. Those aren't big favorites but at least they're interesting.
Wow, I completely disagree with this. Mr. Fantasy (in its US configuration, not the weaker UK one) is my favorite Traffic album and one of my favorite albums from that period in rock history. Rather like the recently discussed The Notorious Byrd Brothers, it's an album you have to take as a whole and let kind of wash over you. Yeah, a couple of songs such as "Hole in My Shoe" are a little dated, but overall I think the album is well-written, well-played and certainly well-sung.
Personally, I've always loved them--the musicianship, the songwriting, the whole vibe of their material. I find something to enjoy on all of their albums. Their early stuff is obviously more geared towards psychedelia and some of the material from the first album in particular hasn't aged that well, but they hit their stride as they went along, shifting over more to progressive jamming with John Barleycorn and Low Spark. I also enjoy their original swansong, When The Eagle Flies, an underrated gem. Somehow I always find their stuff to be soothing after a stressful day, like musical comfort food for me.
Best are Mr Fantasy , Self Titled and John Barleycorn imho. High Heel and after are good but more meandering somewhat smooth jazzy jamming stuff. Gods but least interring songwriting.
Twadle. My fave band. They did no wrong. Now Lennon eh 50 50 on his stuff. That boring last billy joel thing and very disappointing cover album. Traffic have no bad records.
Winwood's vocals on Freedom Rider and Shanghai Noodle Factory give me chills every time. There's a video on YouTube of Winwood, aged 17 or so, singing Georgia On My Mind. If you close your eyes, you'd swear you were listening to Ray Charles.
