It also changed the music industry in the sense that all of the original songs were in excess of four minutes. In the day, to get radio time, the general thought was that your singles had to be less than four minutes, really around three. It was from bands like Traffic that the new "Album Oriented" stations came about in the late 60s to early 70s and would eventually lead to the acceptance of songs like Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Skynard's "Freebird" to reach the airwaves.
As an added note, Chris Wood died in 1983 of Pneumonia; some say it was related to his drinking. He was 43. Jim Capaldi died in 2005 of stomach cancer at age 60. Dave Mason went on to a terrific solo career as well as joining Fleetwood Mac on one album (Time) and currently performs with The Dave Mason Band. Steve Winwood continues to work on new material; About Time was released in 2003 as well as a possible album this year He has also been working on session sets with the likes of Sam Moore and Christina Aguilera.
If you are in the mood for some freeform fun and to get a better feel for what made music Winwood and company so great, pick up a copy of John Barleycorn Must Die. You'll be glad you did.
John Barleycorn Must Die song listing
Glad (Winwood) 6:59
Freedom Rider (Winwood/Capaldi) 5:35
Empty Pages (Winwood/Capaldi) 4:47
I Just Want To Know (Winwood/Capaldi) 1:32 – Previously Unreleased
Stranger To Himself (Winwood/Capaldi) 4:02
John Barleycorn (traditional-arr. Winwood) 6:20
Every Mother's Son (Winwood/Capaldi) 7:05
Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love (Winwood/Capaldi) 3:24 – Previously Unreleased
Article comments
1 - JC Mosquito
Traffic was a pretty good group but never seemed to make it off the B list to the A list. Maybe their music was too subtle to sell to an audience that wanted everything simple & loud? I dunno - as a kid, I had one album of theirs I bought in a cutout bin - I enjoyed it, but never bought another.
2 - T. Michael Testi
Thanks for the comments JC.
While every group wants people to like the music that they create, there are some groups that would rather make music in their own way and if it clicks fine, if doesn't they will either go on doing or do something else.
Neil Young is a perfect example. He has had some hits, but when you compare to the number of albums he has put out, the hit ratio is minuscule.
I guess my point of the review is that from a musicians stand point, Traffic was a group that should be examined for the change in style that they created at the time and the influence the made in the industry. From a music historians perspective, they were one of the groups that lead the way for groups like Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Rush, Kansas and Emerson, Lake and Palmer and if you want to follow a style, you have to examine the direction it came from.
T.
3 - JC Mosquito
Actually, I found at the public library one of those "Essential...." 2 CD sets of Traffic - pretty good overview of the band.
Yeah, influences......... fun to track down, but not always possible.
4 - d alper
Traffic was a big influence on my musical tastes growing up. They were important,at least to these ears, in that they brought rock into a more multi dimensional mode at the time of such British peers like Led Zep and the Who. Shootout at the Fantasy Factory was inspiring for its legendary studio jams with instruments like the congas and alto sax. Wow, rock never sounded so good without someone needing to belt out a primal scream!
5 - T. Michael Testi
While I liked the conventional music of the time, I found that I was constantly drawn to the more musically innovative music that was going on. The stuff not generally found on the radio.
Growing up just outside of Chicago, I listened to WXRT which at the time was listed as a "Progressive Rock Experiment" and only came on at night. It was great as we would tune in and they would play all of these groups that never made it on the regular radio.
So it was here that I would get exposed to Traffic, King Crimson, Eno, Gentle Giant etc. First thing I would do on Friday is run off to Hegewisch Records; a discount record store in a Chicago suburb, to get these albums. All records were $3.25. It was great!
T.
6 - ohiojerry
Traffic was one of the greatest '60s bands - check out Blind Faith as well if you love Traffic ... I NEVER get tired of this band's music, so much better than what Winwood has done in recent years.
So I guess Blind Faith is going to reform for one concert in Chicago this summer at Eric Clapton's Crossroads guitar fest - sold out, of course.