Traffic
Traffic formed in 1967 (after Steve Winwood left The
Spencer Davis Group) and were the first act signed to the new
Island Records label (label boss Chris Blackwell also served as
their manager). The group achieved immediate success with the
singles Paper Sun - which hit the Top 5 in June
- and Hole In My Shoe, which peaked at number two.
Three weeks after its release, Traffic played their first live
show on Sunday 24 September 1967 at London's Saville
Theatre. The band attracted many celebrity fans, and Jimi
Hendrix even recruited Winwood, Mason and Wood to play
on Electric Ladyland.
All the members of Traffic moved (at the suggestion of Winwood)
into a former gamekeeper's cottage at Aston Tirrold in Berkshire.
Hidden away in a copse of hazelnut and pine trees, Sheepcott Farm
was a quarter of a mile from the nearest house.
All-night jams took place on a specially-built outdoor stage
(pictured below), and when guests such as Pete
Townshend, Stephen Stills, Eric
Clapton and Eric Burdon arrived they
would hold parties that lasted for days, complete with late-night
trips across the downs in Mason's jeep.
Friction between Winwood and Mason saw the latter depart from
the band in December 1967, even before their debut album, Mr
Fantasy, was released. The LP was a hit in the UK album
charts, and Traffic embarked on a tour of America as a trio with
Winwood doubling up on guitar.
While the attitude was commendable, the results were mixed.
"As a trio they would either be the best band you'd ever seen
or, on a bad night, the worst," reflected Chris Blackwell.
Mason subsequently re-joined Traffic for their self-titled
second album in 1968. Recorded in just 10 days by Jimmy Miller, Traffic
was proof that all those months of groovy mysticism in
Berkshire weren't wasted. The band channelled the vibe of
Sheepcott Farm straight into their music. Featuring stand-out
tracks Feelin' Alright and You Can All Join In,
the album embraced R&B, psychedelia, jazz and folk. For many
it remains their greatest achievement.
Despite the success of the album, old rifts soon re-emerged and
Winwood fired Dave Mason and announced he was breaking up the
band. With the future looking bleak, Island released the ominously
titled Last Exit at the end of 1969. Steve Winwood
then formed Blind Faith with Eric
Clapton, Ginger Baker and Rick Grech, but the new band lasted less
than a year.
Winwood called up Wood and Capaldi in 1970 to help him on a
solo recording project called John Barleycorn Must Die. The
album was ultimately released under the Traffic moniker and the
band were back in action again (sans Mason) with their most
successful album to date.
Their next album, 1971's The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys came
draped in ambiguities. Housed in a ground-breaking cube-effect
sleeve, the title was inspired by actor Michael J Pollard who had
been carousing with Capaldi in Morocco.
US audiences regarded Traffic as an English Grateful
Dead - stoned voyagers seeking out new sounds - and the
re-born group began a gruelling touring schedule, occasionally
augmented on stage by Rick Grech on bass and violin and Jim Gordon
on drums. Muscle Shoals sessionmen David Hood (bass) and Roger
Hawkins (drums) played with Traffic in the studio for their 1973
album, Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory.
After Traffic's return to England following their January 1973
US tour the seven-member band toured Europe and recorded the
live On The Road album in Germany. Winwood
then pared the band down, keeping Reebop on congas. The
changes forced the cancellation of another US tour and
inhibited promotion of the now obsolete live album.
Winwood then contracted a serious stomach ailment which
confined him to bed for a lengthy period of time while Reebop
headed for Ghana and the others retired to a cottage in Wales for
a month of jamming and discussion.
When Reebop returned, the band did some recording and decided
to add Jamaican Rosko Gee on bass. The five-man Traffic toured
Europe again and started touring England, but they lost both money
and Reebop. "He just split in Reading", Winwood
explained. "The band was having some outside problems and
Reebop was not getting personal fulfilment. You could say the
reason behind his going was not musical".
Touring continued but problems within the band eventually
saw Traffic call it a day after their When The Eagle Flies LP
(recorded mostly at Winwood's eight-track home studios).
Winwood pursued a solo career while Capaldi moved to Brazil (he
had married a Brazilian woman), delivering the odd hit (notably a
cover of The Everly Brothers' Love
Hurts) in a run of groovy solo albums.
Winwood and Capaldi reunited under the Traffic name in 1994 for
a one-off tour and an album of new material (Far From Home).
Sadly, Chris Wood did not take part - He had died on 12 July 1983
from alcohol-related liver failure at the age of 39.
Plans for a further reunion were cut short by Capaldi's death,
aged 60, on 28 January 2005.
A celebration for Capaldi - called Dear Mr Fantasy -
took place at the Roundhouse in Camden Town, London on Sunday 21
January 2007. Guests included Steve Winwood, Paul
Weller, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh
and many more. Dave Mason wasn't invited to attend.
|
