Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 88

Thread: Just heard Traffic for the first time

  1. #26
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    small town in ND
    Posts
    6,432
    I cut my teeth on the Smiling Phases compilation and then started picking up the albums. John Barleycorn, Low Spark, and Traffic are the best of the lot. Lots of timeless music and the great contrast between the styles of Winwood and Mason.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  2. #27
    I got to see these guys on the reunion tour. Excellent show. Wildwood is a great guitarist.

    My fav early Traffic tunes are Mr. Fantasy and Medicated Goo.

  3. #28
    Progga mogrooves's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    The Past
    Posts
    1,900
    Quote Originally Posted by zumacraig View Post
    I got to see these guys on the reunion tour. Excellent show. Wildwood is a great guitarist.
    Caught them on the '71 Low Spark tour. Will see Winwood next month (opening for Steely Dan); fingers crossed.
    Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes

  4. #29
    Member nosebone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Stamford, Ct.
    Posts
    1,528
    Quote Originally Posted by mogrooves View Post
    Caught them on the '71 Low Spark tour. Will see Winwood next month (opening for Steely Dan); fingers crossed.
    They'll be calling out bingo numbers!
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  5. #30
    Winwood continues to show that he can still bring it home. His recent shows with Clapton were amazing. I am convinced that he will always be able to hit the notes. A massive talent.
    "The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"

  6. #31
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    small town in ND
    Posts
    6,432
    Quote Originally Posted by ronmac View Post
    Winwood continues to show that he can still bring it home. His recent shows with Clapton were amazing. I am convinced that he will always be able to hit the notes. A massive talent.
    Yeah. Out of all the British rock gods, his voice has held up the best. Maybe McCartney or Paul Rodgers are a distant second. Aging sucks for singers. Add in smoking, blowing out your voice when you were in your prime, endless touring, there's a lot of rock singers that are but fragments of what they used to be. But not Winwood.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  7. #32
    Member interbellum's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Xymphonia-city
    Posts
    4,603
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    All of the recommendations so far are good but my favorite Traffic album remains "When The Eagle Flies" (1974). I happen to think it's also their most Caravan-like, if that helps.
    Mine as well, together with John Barleycorn Must Die (which is as far as I know the only one that got a deluxe-double CD edition). A box-set with all albums would be welcome.

    Maybe strange, but I started listening to Steve Winwood's music (Traffic, solo, Blind Faith, even Spencer Davis)after I was very much impressed by his work on "Go" from Stomu Yamashta.
    So if you're into Winwood check that one out too.

  8. #33
    Member StevegSr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Brexit Empire
    Posts
    91
    John Barleycorn. So good, it will never die.
    To be or not to be? That is the point. - Harry Nilsson.

  9. #34
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,765
    Quote Originally Posted by interbellum View Post
    Maybe strange, but I started listening to Steve Winwood's music (Traffic, solo, Blind Faith, even Spencer Davis)after I was very much impressed by his work on "Go" from Stomu Yamashta.
    So if you're into Winwood check that one out too.
    An odd entree for someone much better known for his other work, but I agree, excellent album.

  10. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    Yeah. Out of all the British rock gods, his voice has held up the best. Maybe McCartney or Paul Rodgers are a distant second. Aging sucks for singers. Add in smoking, blowing out your voice when you were in your prime, endless touring, there's a lot of rock singers that are but fragments of what they used to be. But not Winwood.
    I don't think McCartney's voice has held up anywhere near as good as Rodgers'. Rodgers still sounds like he used to. Mac sounds old, although still better than most his age.

    But, I digress.
    "The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"

  11. #36
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,765
    Paul Rogers is 66, Steve Winwood is 67 and Paul McCartney is 74.

    Of the three, McCartney's probably taken the best care of himself.

  12. #37
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091
    Quote Originally Posted by mogrooves View Post
    Caught them on the '71 Low Spark tour. Will see Winwood next month (opening for Steely Dan); fingers crossed.
    Last time I saw him (two years ago), it was a stellar concert... Started with his SDG and moved on chronologically with Traffic, BF Traffic, than his solo career (he didn't overdo that part, thankfully)... for the encores, he returned to Traffic days.

    His best solo albums (IMHO) are the debut (77 and sounding still like Traffic) and About Time (03 and sounding a bit Santana-esque)
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  13. #38
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    ^About Time is a contender for his best solo album. Lots of Hammond, and a great vibe throughout.
    Actually, if the Hammond disappeared tonally for the AoaD and TBttN albums, it was already back (albeit fairly discreetly) for 86's High Life album >> namely in the album's only good track Freedom Overspill.

    But he even toured that year with the Hammond (mostly for the SDG and one BF track, as he had played nothing from Traffic)
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  14. #39
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    If you can find it, the 2-CD set "Smiling Phases" has all the best tracks from all their albums. And singles.
    Best starting point.
    John Barleycorn Must Die is their best regular album.
    I always felt their material would have been better with another lead guitarist (after Dave Mason left) rather than Chris Wood's abysmal winds.
    He proved that Coltrane didn't belong in Rock.

  15. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Jubal View Post
    Best starting point.
    John Barleycorn Must Die is their best regular album.
    I always felt their material would have been better with another lead guitarist (after Dave Mason left) rather than Chris Wood's abysmal winds.
    He proved that Coltrane didn't belong in Rock.
    I don't know what the Coltrane connection is, other than they both played sax. Personally, I thought Chris Wood's sax work was brilliant.


    It would have been nice if Winwood had played more guitar, because he's demonstrated that he's actually a real good lead player. Listen to (Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired. And I remember on the Live At Santa Monica Civic video (which VH-1 showed occasionally back in the 80's, with a commercial break preempting the Glad/Freedom Rider segue!), he wails pretty mightily on Dear Mr. Fantasy, as well.

  16. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Jubal View Post
    He proved that Coltrane didn't belong in Rock.
    What's that supposed to mean? At the very least about 1/4 or so of artists regularly discussed in these quarters feature(d) winds - various saxes or otherwise - have you somehow raised enough of a perspective on all of these to write that type of instrumentation out of the game altogether?

    And why on earth would Bach or Mozart or Stockhausen or Shankar or Segovia or Subotnick or whoever "belong in Rock" if Coltrane couldn't?
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  17. #42
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Florida (temporarily)
    Posts
    635
    Thanks for all the recommendations. I guess Barleycorn is on deck.

  18. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    What's that supposed to mean? At the very least about 1/4 or so of artists regularly discussed in these quarters feature(d) winds - various saxes or otherwise - have you somehow raised enough of a perspective on all of these to write that type of instrumentation out of the game altogether?

    And why on earth would Bach or Mozart or Stockhausen or Shankar or Segovia or Subotnick or whoever "belong in Rock" if Coltrane couldn't?
    I was referring to his particular style, which tried to mimic Coltrane. The issue here is style, NOT the particular woodwinds being played. I would say the same thing if it had been a guitarist who mimicked Coltrane in his improvising. Rock music is primarily Blues based. It does not lend itself well to dissonant honking about, which is pretty much what Wood did on much of his output with Traffic.
    Also, I'm not saying that Coltrane couldn't have sounded better, but his style simply does not fit well into Blues based Rock.
    I'm not sure what your point is with all the other musicians mentioned. I believe that quote is from someone else.

  19. #44
    Member hippypants's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    2,134
    Quote Originally Posted by mogrooves View Post
    Traffic
    JBMD
    Last Exit
    Yep I'd agree with those.

  20. #45
    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Tejas
    Posts
    1,065
    remind me - Traffic has a strong Jazz thing going right? I recall listening and not particularly being impressed, because it sounded a little jazzy - was that just one song or is my 30 year old memory correct? I cant recall anything about traffic other than my brother loved it, and I tried, and failed.

  21. #46
    Member interbellum's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Xymphonia-city
    Posts
    4,603
    Quote Originally Posted by interbellum View Post
    Maybe strange, but I started listening to Steve Winwood's music (Traffic, solo, Blind Faith, even Spencer Davis)after I was very much impressed by his work on "Go" from Stomu Yamashta.
    So if you're into Winwood check that one out too.

    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    An odd entree for someone much better known for his other work, but I agree, excellent album.
    I guess so, but I was only 16 in '76 when I discovered "Go", so that was before his glorious first solo-recording!

  22. #47
    Moderator Sean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    2,934
    Quote Originally Posted by Yodelgoat View Post
    remind me - Traffic has a strong Jazz thing going right?
    Not really straight up jazz, no. So not really so much, though had a sax

  23. #48
    Quote Originally Posted by Jubal View Post
    The issue here is style, NOT the particular woodwinds being played. I would say the same thing if it had been a guitarist who mimicked Coltrane in his improvising. Rock music is primarily Blues based. It does not lend itself well to dissonant honking about, which is pretty much what Wood did on much of his output with Traffic. [...] his style simply does not fit well into Blues based Rock.
    Well, although this is simply your subjective impression of things, at least the argument makes it easier to discern your position. "Dissonant honking about" was/is still a not-so-rare ingredient in much non-mainstream ("progressive") rock music (I can think of dozens, if not hundreds of artists doing this more or less successfully), give or take the stressing of a blues element, so I'd still take a different position from yours. Whether the "dissonant honking about" is well or poorly executed is another matter entirely.

    As for my point with those other musicians mentioned, the overall influence of their respective domains seems to be an accepted asset with so much stuff being discussed in here - so I was simply asking whether the position on Coltrane was that of unwanted idiomatic interference. After all, the general influx of information from modern jazz was one of the main defining components of what essentially made progressive rock from the very start.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  24. #49
    John Barleycorn Must Die is unlike most of their other CDs. It's the one where everything seems to work. Most of their other catalog is good, but JBMD is a classic.

  25. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    Got to admit I never personally found Chris Wood particularly dissonant or even Coltrane-influenced. Isn't that a baritone saxophone on things like 'Freedom Rider'?
    Indeed it is. As for contemporaries, I'd get the attemptive Coltrane-comparison much more clearly with performers like Ron Caines (East of Eden), Jim King (Family) or indeed the awesome Dick Heckstall-Smith (Colosseum). All of which were profoundly "rock hard" in terms of stylistic origins.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •