Traffic - Mr. Fantasy
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Music CD Cover
Artist: TrafficEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1990-06-15
Music Label: Polygram Records
Soundtracks:
- Heaven Is in Your Mind - Traffic, Capaldi, Jim
- Berkshire Poppies - Traffic, Winwood, Steve
- House for Everyone - Traffic, Mason, Dave [1]
- No Face, No Name, No Number - Traffic, Capaldi, Jim
- Dear Mr. Fantasy - Traffic, Winwood, Steve
- Dealer - Traffic, Winwood, Steve
- Utterly Simple - Traffic, Mason, Dave [1]
- Coloured Rain - Traffic, Winwood, Steve
- Hope I Never Find Me There - Traffic, Mason, Dave [1]
- Giving to You - Traffic, Capaldi, Jim
- Paper Sun - Traffic, Winwood, Steve
- Giving to You - Traffic, Capaldi, Jim
- Hole in My Shoe - Traffic, Mason, Dave [1]
- Smiling Phases - Traffic, Winwood, Steve
- Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush - Traffic, Capaldi, Jim
Free Music Notes for Mr. Fantasy
Free Music Review: the first fantasy
Hit: 3 Stars
There is another version of this disc floating around out there, a ten track replica of the original vinyl release. I suppose the version I have is a 1980's release, since the version you've clicked on here is from 1990, and includes some interesting bonus tracks, which I'm missing. I'll be mentioning those bonus tracks here, but I won't be incorporating them into my review, or taking into account in my rating.
'Traffic' was formed when Steve Winwood decided to exit 'The Spencer Davis Group'. He took along with him Dave Mason, who had earned some recording credits by adding to the din of percussion instruments on Spencer Davis classics such as 'I'm a Man' and 'Gimme Some Lovin'. 'Mr. Fantasy' was the band's debut album, released in December of 1967. The band however had been front-and-center since their May of 1967 release of 'Paper Sun', which didn't crack the Top 40 in the states, but topped out at number 5 on the UK charts. Oddly enough that tune, along with two other Top 10 UK hits for the band, 'Hole In My Shoe' (#2) and 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush' (#8) were not included on the original vinyl release. 'No Face No Name No Number', which does appear on the vinyl version, hit number 40 on the UK charts in March of 1968.
It's easy to see why Island Records found it appropriate to include these UK single releases on reissues of 'Mr. Fantasy'. The album has not aged well, with it's psychedelic underpinnings, unlike those of The Beatles 'Sgt. Peppers', now sounding superficial and cheesy. This is particularly true of the Dave Mason tracks, 'House For Everyone', 'Utterly Simple', and 'Hope I Never Find Me There'. These songs are devoid of meaningful melody and lyrical message, relying on sound effects and sitar meanderings that come off as stereotypes of psychedelia. It's really a wonder that Winwood would allow inclusion of these tracks rather than filling out the disc with some of their single successes. Luckily, Mason's mimicing of others would give way in the later part of the decade to some of the finest rock composing of the era, but he certainly had a long way to go, and some baggage to dump along the way. Unfortunately, 'Mr. Fantasy' was his first landfill.
The compositions by Winwood, percussionist Jim Capaldi, and jack-of-all-trades Chris Wood fare better. 'Heaven Is In Your Mind' (also released as a single in 1968), a song better known to many by the 'Three Dog Night' cover, along with the title track, are classic psychedelia. 'Coloured Rain' and 'Giving To You' are also worthwhile compositions, especially notable for Mason's extraordinary guitar work and Winwood's instantly recognizable organ stylings. 'No Face No Name No Number' is the only love ballad, this one of the unrequited variety. 'Berkshire Poppies' is a miss however, for the same reasons Mason's fare failed, and 'Dealer', the only composition entirely Capaldi's, is an odd mix of Spanish calypso sounds merged with an anti-drug dealer message. Steppenwolf's 'The Pusher' does a much better job of getting the mood right.
'Mr. Fantasy' is the left-hand bookend to two "fantasy" albums that serve as touchstones for Traffic's most productive years. 'Shoot Out At the Fantasy Factory', the right-hand bookend, was released in 1973 as the sequel to the band's tour-de-force, 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys'. Ironically, these two "fantasy albums" are probably the band's weakest studio efforts, but time has proven that anything by Steve Winwood and Dave Mason will have quality written all over it. The sound of this disc and the liner notes could be poster boys for what many people imagine the psychedelic era was all about, so if you enjoy that musical niche... go for it!
Mr. Fantasy Poster
Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) paper sleeve pressing of this classic album from the British Rock band led by Steve Winwood, originally released in 1967. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Includes five bonus tracks. Universal. 2008.In 1967, when still teenaged keyboardist Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group (for whom he'd sung lead on hits like "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man") to start a new band with guitarist Dave Mason, few observers thought their idea of blending pop, rock, and jazz would work. Immediately, though, Traffic scored giant UK hits with Winwood's east-meets-west "Paper Sun" and Mason's acid-jazzy "Hole in My Shoe." Between those songs, the smoking-guitar driven title track, the swinging instrumental "Giving to You" and the haunting ballad, "No Face, No Name, No Number," Traffic's debut established both players as elite members of the new guard of late 60s British rock. --Billy Altman
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