Traffic - "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" (1971) - Island Records
Hello Friends,
Its a soupy Saturday night at ol' Tiki Bar and we've got a Rock N Roll Stew brewing courtesy of the English band, Traffic. The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys is Traffic's sixth album and although not considered a traditional Prog Rock band in the same vein as Yes, Genesis, EL&P, etc. Traffic had a couple of albums that leaned heavily on complex, meandering arrangements; extended instrumental jams; strange & otherworldly lyrics; Steve Winwood's elfin vocals; and flute!
(In case you were wondering kids, Traffic founding member and guitarist, Dave Mason, is not on this album. His last LP with the band would be on the previous release, Welcome to the Canteen.)
Some songs on the album, including the opener and closer, "Hidden Treasure" and "Rainmaker" are complex, folksy and jammy numbers that could pass for Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. In Winwood's "Many a Mile to Freedom" he calls upon his reindeer to "graze here" and all of his "grain to grow", flow like a river, melt like the snow, blah, blah, blah. Its like a laid-back, boring "Misty Mountain Hop".
Founding member and percussionist, Jim Capaldi, contributes two sets of leads vocals on two of the more upbeat songs: the sleazy and Rod Stewart-sounding, "Light up or Leave Me Alone" and the ode to life on the road, "Rock & Roll Stew"-- the latter becoming a minor FM Radio hit.
The 12-minute title track, however, is the album's (and perhaps the band's) apex. A slow-building epic based on a simple, repeated piano riff that features key changes from minors (the verses) to majors (the choruses); extended keyboard and piano solos between verses; and Winwood's shrill vocals telling us about fame, the music business, Vietnam, aliens, drugs, or perhaps, a combination thereof. Also an FM radio hit and an early 70's classic.
Overall TLSOHHB is an interesting record that combines elements of prog, jazz, fusion and rock into something that is very much of its time in 1971. Its laid-back and unprovocative approach is the perfect soundtrack for this swampy and sultry evening. Our drinking glasses are beaded with sweat and we haven't felt the breeze for what seems like days, another Prog Rock Saturday is drawing to its close! Here's hoping for a little Rainmaker of our own!
RATING: 4.5 something that looks like a star and it's shooting out of the ground out of 5
(In case you were wondering kids, Traffic founding member and guitarist, Dave Mason, is not on this album. His last LP with the band would be on the previous release, Welcome to the Canteen.)
Founding member and percussionist, Jim Capaldi, contributes two sets of leads vocals on two of the more upbeat songs: the sleazy and Rod Stewart-sounding, "Light up or Leave Me Alone" and the ode to life on the road, "Rock & Roll Stew"-- the latter becoming a minor FM Radio hit.
The 12-minute title track, however, is the album's (and perhaps the band's) apex. A slow-building epic based on a simple, repeated piano riff that features key changes from minors (the verses) to majors (the choruses); extended keyboard and piano solos between verses; and Winwood's shrill vocals telling us about fame, the music business, Vietnam, aliens, drugs, or perhaps, a combination thereof. Also an FM radio hit and an early 70's classic.
Overall TLSOHHB is an interesting record that combines elements of prog, jazz, fusion and rock into something that is very much of its time in 1971. Its laid-back and unprovocative approach is the perfect soundtrack for this swampy and sultry evening. Our drinking glasses are beaded with sweat and we haven't felt the breeze for what seems like days, another Prog Rock Saturday is drawing to its close! Here's hoping for a little Rainmaker of our own!
RATING: 4.5 something that looks like a star and it's shooting out of the ground out of 5
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