John Barleycorn Must Die

Traffic

album cover

The High Spark of Jazz-Rock

After a turbulent year in the spotlight as part of the supergroup Blind Faith, Steve Winwood began 1970 disillusioned with the music business and facing an all-too-common reality: He and Traffic, the band that broke up when Blind Faith came knocking, owed United Artists two more records. The keyboardist and singer, then twenty-two, went into the studio right away, composing songs for what he expected would be his first solo album (working title: Mad Shadows). A few songs in, wanting more musical energy than he could generate himself, Winwood asked two of his old cronies from Traffic, drummer and sometime singer-lyricist Jim Capaldi and woodwind player Chris Wood, to stop by. Before long, Traffic was reborn.

John Barleycorn Must Die collects the music the three made during a feverish round of sessions; there are long expanses of jamming punctuated by brief sections featuring Winwood's searing vocals, a template Traffic would use on later works. Barleycorn retains the crusading spirit of the band's first two albums while moving into even more improbable realms—among them old English balladry (the title cut), jazz-rock fusion (the instrumental "Glad," a most original appropriation of New Orleans–style piano), existential rock ("Empty Pages"), and an introspective shade of soul ("Stranger to Himself ").

The band's range is impressive, as is its unconventional instrumentation—at times Winwood supplies bass on the organ, and is accompanied by just drums and saxophone. Still, the salient characteristic of John Barleycorn, and what separates it from everything else of its day, is its earthy, unpressured feel. The tunes, most written by Winwood and Capaldi, sound like they sprouted during superfriendly jam sessions. Though they're built on strong fundamentals—old-fashioned verse-chorus discipline—they're ruled by a marvelous wildness, a sense that the ad-libbed explorations are as important as the hooks. Later, Traffic and others got snarled in brain-cramping attempts at prog-rock wonkery. Here, though, the band sounds utterly grounded. As the grooves percolate effortlessly along, it becomes clear that unity, not any technical skill, is what makes the music levitate.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1970, Island
Key Tracks: "Glad," "Freedom Rider," "Empty Pages," "Stranger to Himself."
Catalog Choice: The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Next Stop: Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow
After That: Caravan: Cunning Stunts
Book Pages: 784–785