Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
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Music CD Cover
Artist: TrafficEdition: LP Record
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2008-09-23
Music Label: Universal (ECM & Island)
Soundtracks:
- Hidden Treasure
- Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
- Rock and Roll Stew
- Many a Mile to Freedom
- Light Up or Leave Me Alone
- Rainmaker
Free Music Notes for The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Free Music Review: Traffic at a crossroads
Hit: 4 Stars
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, proved to be, in some ways one of Traffic's most successful albums , partially because it was one of the few Traffic albums that was able to mix both intrigueing melodies from their earlier years and at times creative improvisations. The Low Sparks of High Heeled Boys combined simple pop/rock tunes such as the famouse " Rock and Roll Stew" and " Light Up or Leave Me Alone" with moderatly complex melodies more charecteristic of their later albums, such as " Hidden Treasure" and " Rain Maker".
The first tune on this album is " Hidden Treasure" . The lyrics to this song are inspiring without being too preachy ( as they often are on " Shoot out at the fantasy factotry"). Chris Wood contributes beatifully on this piece, the flute giving a truely natural and crisp feel to the bluesy melody and Steve Windwood's mysteriouse echoeing vioce. This tune is a rare accomplishment for Traffic where there is not too much, and not too little. The effect of this is astonishing, since Traffic is full of wonderful musicians, who just had some trouble getting their sound to be exatly right. The second tune on this album ( as well as its namesake) , and in my opinion, the most over appreciated tune on this album, is " The low spark of high heeled boys". When first released, it became a FM radio classic. It seems to me, however, that what Traffic trys to accomplish with this moderatly pleasant melody is just simply unnesseraey. I am personally a large fan of jazz and blues, and perhaps that is why the imporvisations and experiments that are done in this piece seem unsuccessful to me. The musicians in Traffic are not capable of leading an improvisational jam, in a jazzy style for over 5 minutes, and it feels as if they just do not even want to do it in the first place. This hit could have been relatively good, if traffic had not tried to be something that they are not. The third tune on this album is titled " Rock and Roll Stew". This tune's immeadiate appeal is due to the mixture of both funk and blues to portray the life of a rock and roll musician. Though this is not one of my favorite tunes of Traffic, this song earned them a bit of fame and radio play. It is in some ways, the opposite of the title track. " Rock and Roll Stew" is one of Traffic's more simple tunes, reminding me, surpiringly of " Feeling Alright" from traffic's album titled Traffic. Though it is immeadiatly appealing due to it's simple groove that is hard not to appreaciate, there is some depth missing to the song. The fourth tune on this recording is " Many a mile to freedom", one of my favorites on this album. The melody is intrigueing and catchy ( not to an annoying degree) , and it seems almost exotic, in the way it takes you away. The lyrics are wonderful, and are full of the unknown. A way to make this tune better would be to add even more imporvisation from Chris Wood, an often underestimated woodwinds musician. The fifth tune on this recording is " Light up or leave me alone", which is a rather slow tempo, average rocker. It does not seem to lead anywhere however, and it is all on the same note. The tune is quite uncharecteristic of Traffic, who like to compose long, intricate melodies. However, in some ways it is not so bad, considering the fact that the song is a transistion point between the more complex " Many a mile to freedom" and " Rainmaker". " Rainmaker" is the last tune on this recording and the most abstract. Traffic combined elements of folklore and jazz, to create a mysteriouse jazzy tune, marked by Chris Wood's distinct melody, which repeats throughout, creating an almost haunting effect. " Rainmaker" reminds me of some of Traffic's future recordings, with intricater melodies that seem useless at first but can turn to something magical when you listen closer. Although the improvisations in " Rainmaker" are quite creative, it gets to be a bit repetitive, because the improvisations consist for the most part of repeating the melody in many variations.However, as you listen deeper into this tune, you began to realize how meaningful it can really be.
Overall, this recording feels like a transistion album between the more scattered tunes of the past and the intricate and complex tunes of the future. The variety of styles and melodies is not overwhelming, partially due to the fact that there are only six songs ( which is for this specific traffic album, a realtively good thing) . The largest reason, perhaps is that it is actuelly rather exciting and engaging. Steve Winwood trys new things vocal wise. Chris Wood makes some of his largest contributions to date in this album, in beatiful tunes about nature, which fit his mysteriouse sound perfectly such as Hidden treasure and Rainmaker.At times however, the tunes seem a bit too shallow for Traffic's normally multileveled melodies, such as on " Rock and Roll Stew" and " light up or leave me alone", which seems qite odd considering the fact that Traffic tends to overdevelop and try a bit too hard to make the songs as complex and as difficult to listen to as possible ( although that is probabley not Traffic's goal in the first place) At other times however, we see a glimpse of Traffic's often unsteady musical future filled with long, deliberate ideas that have potential but are never quite able to completely play themselves out, such as in " The low sparks of high heeled boys" and " Rainmaker" , ( in my opinion, one of their best jazzy tunes). This recording is a way to see all the sides of Traffic, and although it is at times a rocky ride, this album successeds in showing that however unstable and controversial Traffic's legacy may be, there is something about this band that is and always will be timeless and most of all unique. The Low Sparks of High Heeled Boys is one of the best examples of that.
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