Traffic - Mr Fantasy (1967)

Traffic were a British rock band active from the late 60s to the early 70s. Their line-up changed numerous times, but the three constant members throughout their career were the core trio of Steve Winwood, Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi.

After the success of their first three singles, Traffic began work on their debut album. All four members could play lots of instruments, and this was exploited the most on this first album. Steve Winwood played piano, organ, guitar, bass, harpsichord and percussion, Dave Mason played guitar, bass, mellotron, sitar and tumbura, Chris Wood played flute, sax, organ and percussion, and Jim Capaldi handled the drums and other percussion. The songwriting credits are shared between those written by Winwood, Capaldi and Wood together (sung by Winwood) and those by Dave Mason alone (which he sang).
Mr Fantasy was very much a product of the studio, with the band using overdubs and tape manipulation to produce a rich tapestry of instruments and sounds (under the guidance of their producer Jimmy Miller). The result was some seriously weird psychedelia, and remains the 'weirdest' thing they ever recorded. It was 1967, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had just been released, and its influence showed. Mr Fantasy represents a very British style of 60s psychedelic pop, with elements of jazz and pastoral folk perceptible under the surface. The finished product wasn't exactly commercial sounding, and didn't have any hit singles, though the song "Dear Mr Fantasy" became one of the best-known numbers and the album itself did actually manage to crack the top 10 in the UK.

Early Singles (1967) &<|> Traffic (1968)
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