#0108: Traffic

An eponymous debut from Steve Winwood and the gang.  Whether it's his band or not, I have no idea but he's the only one I've heard of.  That's cuz I'm a teen of the 80s and his Back In The High Life solo effort was a big fave.  Always meant to visit his back catalogue and this is me finally getting round to it.  Cuz I have to.  Heh.

You Can All Join In introduces Traffic as a Kinks analogue.  Mason's voice sounds a lot like Ray Davis and the acoustic stomp underneath those every man lyrics doesn't do anything to distinguish them.  That's said, it's a good song, well executed.

Pearly Queen is a complete change of pace, tho and we get treated to a Hammond-littered, funky blues that quickly shows the band has range.   Whether that range is between two derivative extremes remains to be seen.  Don't Be Sad reminds me of Whiter Shade of Pale in its feel tho it shares very little in terms of melody.   

The album takes a very funky turn with Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring.  Winwood is  showing his soul side with some great vocal ad-libs and the keyboard work is superb.  That's followed by another groovy tune in Feelin' Alright.  It's not sparkling with originality but it's certainly demonstrating a level of proficiency well above average in their chosen forms.

Then Vagabond Virgin comes along and this feels kinda Kinksy again.  Rimshot on the one with latin percussion, acoustic guitars and piano lend this the kooky, throwaway feel but there's a melancholy air introduced in the change that, while setting this song apart from others of its ilk also jars and I'm not sure the incongruity is right for the song.

Our first foray into 60s weirdness comes with 40,000 Headman.  It begins with a load of flute work that becomes progressively more chaotic, which was disappointing.  There's a steady groove underpinning this but it lacks the dexterity of earlier tracks. 

Cryin' To Be Heard is saved by the chorus swooshing in with the keyboards to create crescendo support for the multi-layered vocals.  Too bad the ad-libs at the end are hit and miss and the verses lack conviction so they become this waiting room you have to sit in until the chorus comes back.

What exactly is No Time To Live trying to achieve?  The melodramatic piano and whiny lyrics are punctuated by squeaky sax and eventually gain support from timpani before the already miserable progression collapses in a discordant heap.  It's not really a big ballad.  It's not long enough to be an epic, not enough mood changes.  All I'm left with is a feeling of not wanting to hear it again.

It's a bit of a shame the second half deteriorated.  The final track is back to groovy but by that point I was worn out with all the artsy bollocks.  Let's face it.  That's what it was.  They were going for credibility. 

Whatever.  3 stars.