John Barleycorn Must Die | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 1970 | |||
Recorded | February–April 1970 | |||
Studio | Island and Olympic, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 35:06 | |||
Label |
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Producer | Chris Blackwell, Steve Winwood, Guy Stevens | |||
Traffic chronology | ||||
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Singles from John Barleycorn Must Die | ||||
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John Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth studio album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1970 as Island ILPS 9116 in the United Kingdom, United Artists UAS 5504 in the United States, and as Polydor 2334 013 in Canada. It marked the band's comeback after a brief disbandment, and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, making it their highest-charting album in the US, [2] and has been certified a gold record by the RIAA. In addition, the single "Empty Pages" spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 74. [3] The album was marginally less successful in the UK, reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. [4]
In late 1968, Traffic disbanded, with guitarist Dave Mason leaving the group for the second time prior to the completion of the Traffic album. In 1969, Steve Winwood joined the supergroup Blind Faith, while drummer and lyricist Jim Capaldi and woodwinds player Chris Wood turned to session work. Wood and Winwood also joined Blind Faith's drummer Ginger Baker in his post-Blind Faith group Ginger Baker's Air Force for their first album, Ginger Baker's Air Force (1970). [5]
At the beginning of 1970, after the demise of Blind Faith, Winwood returned to the studio ostensibly to make his first solo album, originally to be titled Mad Shadows. He recorded two tracks with producer Guy Stevens, "Stranger to Himself" and "Every Mother's Son", but yearned for like-minded musicians to accompany, inviting Wood and Capaldi to join him. Thus Winwood's erstwhile solo album became the reunion of Traffic (minus Dave Mason), and a re-launch of the band's career. [6] Mad Shadows would go on to be the title of Mott the Hoople's second album, also produced by Guy Stevens, and the new Winwood/Traffic album took its title from one of its tracks and became John Barleycorn Must Die.
The album featured influences from jazz and blues, but the version of the traditional English folk tune that provided the album's title, "John Barleycorn", also showed the musicians attending to a modern interpretation of traditional folk music in the vein of contemporary British bands Pentangle and Fairport Convention. Whereas previous Traffic albums had been dominated by more concise song structures, John Barleycorn saw the group develop into a looser, jam-oriented progressive rock and jazz fusion style, setting the tone for their subsequent output in the 1970s.
The album was reissued for compact disc in the UK on 1 November 1999, with five bonus tracks, including three recorded in concert from the Fillmore East in New York City. In the US, the remastered reissue of 27 February 2001 included only the two studio bonus tracks.
Steve Winwood oversaw a deluxe edition that was released on 15 March 2011, [7] featuring the original studio album, digitally remastered on disc one, plus a second disc of bonus material, including more of the Fillmore East concert, with alternate mixes and versions of album tracks.
The original LP release of the album had the front cover design on a background consisting of a photograph of burlap. Later LP copies had the design on a grey background. The cover is displayed prominently during a party scene in the 1971 movie by Dario Argento, Four Flies on Grey Velvet .
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
American Songwriter | [9] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C+ [10] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
The Great Rock Discography | 7/10 [12] |
MusicHound | 4.5/5 [13] |
PopMatters | 9/10 [14] |
Record Collector | [15] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
Uncut | [17] |
Retrospective reviews of the album have been mixed. AllMusic criticised the vocal sections as "excuses for Winwood to exercise his expressive voice as punctuation to the extended instrumental sections", but made note of how the album took the band's jazz/rock leanings beyond mere jamming. [8] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said the departure of Mason hurt Traffic's songwriting on the album, leaving the band to depend on Winwood's "feckless improvised rock, or is it folksong-based jazz?" [10]
However, John Barleycorn Must Die was voted number 369 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000). [18] It was also included in The MOJO Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time, which described it as "a magnificent album" that provided "a remarkable showcase" for Winwood's gifts. [19] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [20]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Personnel | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Glad" | Steve Winwood | Personnel:
| 6:59 |
2. | "Freedom Rider" | Winwood, Jim Capaldi | Personnel:
| 6:20 |
3. | "Empty Pages" | Winwood, Capaldi [nb 1] | Personnel:
| 4:47 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Personnel | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
4. | "Stranger to Himself" | Winwood, Capaldi | Personnel:
| 4:02 |
5. | "John Barleycorn (Must Die)" | traditional; arranged by Winwood | Personnel:
| 6:20 |
6. | "Every Mother's Son" | Winwood, Capaldi | Personnel:
| 7:05 |
Total length: | 35:06 |
Previously unreleased studio bonus tracks 4. ("I Just Want You To Know") and 8. ("Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love") are solo demos by Winwood. The live tracks, recorded on 18/19 November at the Fillmore East, comprise what was to have been side one of Live Traffic (ILPS 9142), presumably shelved in favor of Welcome to the Canteen .
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Personnel | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Glad" | Winwood | 6:59 | |
2. | "Freedom Rider" | Winwood, Capaldi | 5:30 | |
3. | "Empty Pages" | Winwood, Capaldi | 4:34 | |
4. | "I Just Want You to Know" | Winwood, Capaldi | Personnel:
| 1:30 |
5. | "Stranger to Himself" | Winwood, Capaldi | 3:57 | |
6. | "John Barleycorn" | traditional; arranged by Winwood | 6:27 | |
7. | "Every Mother's Son" | Winwood, Capaldi | 7:08 | |
8. | "Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love" | Winwood, Capaldi | Personnel:
| 3:33 |
9. | "Backstage and Introduction" (live; introduction by Bill Graham) | Winwood, Capaldi | 1:50 | |
10. | "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" (live) | Capaldi, Winwood, Chris Wood | Personnel:
| 6:56 |
11. | "Glad" (live) | Winwood | Personnel:
| 11:29 |
Island Records 314 548 541-2, also includes the previously unreleased tracks "I Just Want You to Know" and "Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love".
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Glad" | 6:57 |
2. | "Freedom Rider" | 5:29 |
3. | "Empty Pages" | 4:38 |
4. | "I Just Want You to Know" | 1:33 |
5. | "Stranger to Himself" | 3:57 |
6. | "John Barleycorn" | 6:26 |
7. | "Every Mother's Son" | 7:08 |
8. | "Sittin' Here Thinkin' of My Love" | 3:24 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Stranger to Himself" (alternative mix) | Winwood, Capaldi | 4:09 |
2. | "John Barleycorn Must Die" (first version) | traditional; arranged by Winwood | 5:05 |
3. | "Every Mother's Son" (alternative mix) | Winwood, Capaldi | 7:03 |
4. | "Back Stage and Introduction" | 1:44 | |
5. | "Medicated Goo" (live) | Winwood, Jimmy Miller | 4:17 |
6. | "Empty Pages" (live) | Winwood, Capaldi | 4:47 |
7. | "Forty Thousand Headmen" (live) | Winwood, Capaldi | 4:30 |
8. | "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring?" (live) | Winwood, Capaldi, Wood | 5:16 |
9. | "Every Mother's Song" (live) | Winwood, Capaldi | 7:00 |
10. | "Glad" / "Freedom Rider" (live) | Winwood / Winwood, Capaldi | 14:30 |
Tracks 4–10 recorded on 18–19 November 1970 at the Fillmore East.
Traffic
Chart (1970–1971) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [21] | 14 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [22] | 6 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [23] | 5 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [24] | 15 |
UK Albums (OCC) [25] | 11 |
US Billboard 200 [26] | 5 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [27] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Traffic were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. They began as a psychedelic rock group and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards, sitar, and various reed instruments, and by incorporating jazz and improvisational techniques in their music.
Blind Faith were an English rock supergroup that consisted of Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They followed the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton and Baker's former group Cream and Winwood's former group Traffic, but they split after a few months, producing only one album and a three-month summer tour.
Stephen Lawrence Winwood is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his distinctive soulful high tenor voice, Winwood plays other instruments proficiently, including drums, mandolin, bass, and saxophone.
Traffic is the second studio album by the English rock band of the same name, released in 1968 on Island Records in the United Kingdom as ILPS 9081T (stereo), and United Artists in the United States, as UAS 6676 (stereo). The album peaked at number 9 in the UK Albums Chart and at number 17 on the Billboard Top LPs chart. It was the last album recorded by the group before their initial breakup.
Nicola James Capaldi was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co-wrote the majority of the band's material. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Traffic's original lineup.
David Thomas Mason is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic, and went on to play and record with many notable pop and rock musicians, including Paul McCartney, George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Steve Winwood, Fleetwood Mac, Delaney & Bonnie, Leon Russell, and Cass Elliot.
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys is the fifth studio album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1971. The album was Traffic's most successful in the United States, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and becoming their only platinum-certified album there, indicating sales in excess of one million. However, it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The album features the minor hit "Rock & Roll Stew" and the title track, which received heavy FM airplay.
Mr. Fantasy is the debut album by English rock band Traffic, released in December 1967. The recording included group members Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason; Mason temporarily left the band shortly after the album was released. The album reached the number 16 position in the UK Albums Chart, and number 88 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the United States.
Christopher Gordon Blandford Wood was a British rock musician, best known as a founding member of the rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason.
Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory is the sixth studio album by English rock band Traffic released in 1973. It followed their 1971 album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and contained five songs. Shoot Out, while achieving poorer reviews than its predecessor, did reach number six on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, one space higher than Low Spark had peaked in 1972. Like its predecessor, the original jacket for the Shoot Out LP had its top right and bottom left corners clipped. The album was remastered for CD in 2003.
When the Eagle Flies is the seventh studio album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1974. The album featured Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood and Chris Wood, with Rosko Gee on bass guitar. Percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah was fired prior to the album's completion, but two tracks feature his playing. Winwood plays a broader variety of keyboard instruments than most previous Traffic albums, adding Moog to their repertoire. This was the last Traffic album for 20 years, when Winwood and Capaldi reunited for Far from Home in 1994.
Arc of a Diver is the second solo studio album by singer/multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood. Released in 1980, Winwood played all of the instruments on the album.
Welcome to the Canteen is the first live album by English rock band Traffic. It was recorded live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon and the Oz Benefit Concert in the canteen of the Polytechnic of Central London London, on 3 July 1971 and released in September of that year. It was recorded during Dave Mason's third stint with the band, which lasted only six performances.
Last Exit is the third album release by English rock band Traffic. Released in May 1969, it is a collection of odds and ends packaged by Island Records after the initial breakup of the band. The first half of the album consists predominantly of previously released A-sides and B-sides, while the second half were recordings taken from a March 1968 concert at the Fillmore Auditorium. The album reached number 19 in the American Billboard Top LPs chart.
On The Road is the second live album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1973. Recorded live in Germany, it features the Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory band, with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of keyboardist Barry Beckett, bassist David Hood, and drummer Roger Hawkins.
Steve Winwood is the debut solo studio album by blue-eyed soulster Steve Winwood. It was released in 1977, three years after the break-up of his former band, Traffic. Though the album sold moderately well in the US, it was a commercial disappointment compared to Traffic's recent albums, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard albums chart. In the UK, where Traffic's recent albums had only been moderately successful, Steve Winwood reached number 12 on The Official Charts. Island Records released two singles from the album, "Hold On" and "Time Is Running Out", both of which failed to chart.
Far from Home is the eighth and final studio album by the rock band Traffic. The project began as a revival of the writing collaboration between Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi, but soon blossomed into the first Traffic project since 1974.
The Last Great Traffic Jam is a live album and DVD from the English rock band Traffic. The album was recorded on the 1994 reunion tour supporting Far from Home.
Oh How We Danced is the debut studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi. The album was recorded while Traffic was on hiatus due to Steve Winwood's struggles with peritonitis and was released by Island Records in 1972. Like his contemporary albums with Traffic, it was unsuccessful in his native United Kingdom but did better in the United States, reaching number 82 in the Billboard 200 chart and producing the hit single "Eve", which reached number 91 in the Billboard Hot 100.
Short Cut Draw Blood is the third studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi, released by Island Records in 1975. It marked a major turning point in Capaldi's career: it was his first album recorded after the breakup of Traffic, and more importantly it was his commercial breakthrough. While Capaldi's first two solo albums had been moderately successful in the United States, Short Cut Draw Blood entered the charts in several other countries for the first time. This was particularly evident in his native United Kingdom; the single "It's All Up to You" at number 27, released a year before the album, became his first top 40 hit there, only to be overshadowed the following year by his cover of "Love Hurts", which went all the way to number 4.
... and a more jam-based jazz-rock on the masterful (but not-proggy) John Barleycorn Must Die