Track Listing

1. Glad
2. Freedom Rider
3. Empty Pages
4. I Just Want You to Know [#]
5. Stranger to Himself
6. John Barleycorn
7. Every Mothers Son
8. Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love [#]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2433 in Music
• Released on: 2001-02-27
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
Traffic's third studio album is also its third best, ranking below the band's superb second record (1968's Traffic) and its psychedelic debut (1968's Mr. Fantasy). The depth of those albums came from having two superior songwriters, Steve Winwood and Dave Mason; by John Barleycorn, Winwood was leading a trio that included Chris Wood on horns and Jim Capaldi on drums. Winwood now supplied guitar as well as keyboards, and songs such as "Glad" and "Freedom Rider" reflected the trio's fondness for instrumental jams. But the 1970 album is remembered most for the title tune, a traditional folk song blessed with one of the finest vocals of Winwood's long career. --John Milward

Customer Reviews

A Traffic Gem
Times had changed by 1970 ... Dave Mason was off to a full solo career, Chris Wood had joined Ginger Baker's Airforce, and Capaldi was not so sure what he wanted to do, but had not yet decided to quit the drums and be a singer.
This is how this album begins, with only Stevie Winwood in the studio, having already penned a couple of songs -"Every Mothers Son" and, only included in this remastered version, "Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love"- and ready to record a solo album.
Anyway, that was the plan but was not what ended up happening. Instead, whatever the real reason was -several stories are told- soon enough Capaldi and Steve's brother, Chris Wood, joined him and this became Traffic third studio album.
Although Mason was gone -his contribution to Traffic's original sound and the two gems they recorded together can never be acknowledged enough- Winwood had enough music, feeling and ideas to carry the load and make "Barleycorn ..." a classic in its own right.
It can be said that although this is very much a Traffic album, it is more heavily dominated by Winwood's musical vision and playing than its predecessors.
There are two strong musical courses, running through Winwood's veins, coming naturally to a crossroads here, the ever-present Jazz/R&B that Winwood had been feeding off since the Spencer Davis Group's days, and his connection to the English Folk tradition.
Actually, when you think that it was recorded over thirty years ago, it is even a more astounding example of how "ahead-of -its-times" Traffic was and, even more conclusively, what a tremendous composer Winwood had already become at 22.
Traffic, as a whole, and this album in particular are, to this day, one of the beacons of popular music that has ever been recorded, even today.

A Lost Classic
Traffic had one of the most original (and interesting) sounds in British rock, and not only because of their eclectic musical influences, which embraced psychedelia, folk, jazz, soul, R&B, and even classical. Their unique sound was also the result of their unusual instrumentation. While the group went through a number of personnel changes, its constant core members were Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, guitars), Chris Wood (sax, flute, and organ), and Jim Capaldi (drums & percussion). With no regular bass player, Winwood often filled in with the bass pedals on his organ. And, while there is no lack of guitars on most Traffic recordings, the guitar is not emphasized or particularly important to the group's sound. Dave Mason came and went in their early years and, on other recordings, Steve Winwood would switch to guitar, with Chris Wood taking over organ duties. In short, Traffic was anything but your typical guitar-bass-drums rock outfit. And, with "white Ray Charles" prodigy Winwood at the helm, and with their willingness to experiment with virtually any sound or musical style, they cut some of the most distinctive and important records in British rock.

"John Barleycorn Must Die" is the only recording by just the Traffic "core" trio, and it is also one of their strongest. With Dave Mason only a memory, and the Blind Faith experiment with Eric Clapton over, Steve Winwood returned to the studio to record his first solo album, originally titled "Mad Shadows." Needing a little musical support, he soon enlisted Capaldi and Wood, and Traffic was reborn with "John Barleycorn." However, the radio-friendly 3-minute song structures were abandoned, as Winwood & Co. stretched out into extended jazz-rock compositions. The instrumental "Glad," in particular, with Winwood's unforgetable piano riff and Wood's fat sax, may be the finest jazz-rock composition ever put to vinyl. In addition, early Traffic's folk-rock was updated by reaching back to medieval England for the title track. With limited, but extremely talented and complementary, personnel, "John Barleycorn" is probably Traffic's most cohesive and focused artistic statement.

To summarize: buy this record!

Amazing what three legends pulled off in one small band
Traffic made its debut around 1967 in the U.K. with the album "Heaven is in your Mind" which was later released in the U.S. as "Dear Mr. Fantasy". The band consisted of Steve Winwood (of Spencer Davis Group fame), Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. Their second album titled "Traffic" followed shortly after. "John Barleycorn Must Die" was scheduled, apparently to be a solo album by Steve. Traffic members, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood joined him on John Barleycorn and subsequently went on tour. The title track, John Barleycorn is a traditional English Folk Song richly presented with superb vocal harmonies from Steve and Jim; beautiful acoustic guitar work by Steve, and exquisitely crafted flute accompaniments by Chris Wood. Steve's keyboard work; Chris' sax and flute; and Jim's percussion are tight on Glad; Freedom Rider and Empty Pages. I especially like Steve's electric piano work on Empty Pages. Both "Stranger to Himself" and "Every Mother's Son" strike a deep but meaningful introspective chord in me. I had the good fortune of seeing Steve, Chris and Jim during this tour in the summer of 1970 at the Fillmore East midnight show. It was one of the most memorable concerts I had the good fortune to attend. Whether in the studio or live, these three legendary musicians are totally in sinc with one another and together they produced a rich album with jazz, blues, and folk influences. For me, John Barleycorn Must Die stands out among the several incarnations of Traffic's music.