Traffic - Traffic Update (1971)

Stevie Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason, and Chris Wood met when they jammed together at The Elbow Room in Birmingham, and after Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967, the quartet formed Traffic, with Capaldi coming up with the name while the four of them were waiting to cross the street in Dorchester. The band signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records label, and their debut single 'Paper Sun' became a UK hit in mid-1967, and their second single, Mason's psych-pop 'Hole in My Shoe', was an even bigger success. The band's third single, 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush', was made for the soundtrack of the 1967 British feature film of the same name, and their debut album 'Mr. Fantasy' was the beginning of an extremely successful, if somewhat troubled, career for the group. There were some initial disagreements, resulting in Mason leaving just after the release of 'Mr Fantasy', but he rejoined in time to contribute to their second eponymous album, before leaving again shortly afterwards. The band toured as a three-piece in 1968, and in their spare time they often played with Jimi Hendrix, with both Winwood and Wood (and an uncredited Mason) all appearing on The Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1968 double album 'Electric Ladyland'. 
They didn't record much music that didn't end up on an album, but there are a few rarities that are worth hearing, and this album attempts to gather them up. It's more for the UK fan, as it includes a few songs which didn't appear on their UK albums, but which did turn up on the US versions. None of the band's first three singles appeared on a UK record, so they are all here, along with a short coda to 'Paper Sun' which closed the US-released 'Heaven Is In Your Mind' album, as well as the b-side to the UK single release of 'Hole In My Shoe'. Alongside those there are a few previously unreleased songs, a BBC session from 1967, and as some of the band's jams with Hendrix have since emerged on bootleg, I've included an extract from one of these, as well as editing a rather rambling 10-minute demo from 1971 into a more concise ballad. The highlight for me is the live version of 'Hole In My Shoe', which was taped in concert in Stockholm in 1967, and includes a lengthy sitar introduction by Dave Mason. It''s not a bad collection, but I think it does emphasize that the band did seem to include most of their best stuff on the records.

Track listing

01 Paper Sun (single 1967)
02 We're A Fade, You Missed This (from the US album 'Heaven Is In Your Mind')
03 Am I What I Was Or Am I What I Am (previously unreleased 1968)
04 Here We Go 'Round The Mulberry Bush (single 1967)
05 I Just Want You To Know (previously unreleased 1970)
06 Smiling Phases (b-side of 'Hole In My Shoe' 1967)
07 Jamming With Jimi (excerpt from 'Jam Thing' with Jimi Hendrix 1968)
08 Hole In My Shoe (live in Stockholm 1967)
09 Sittin' Here Thinkin' Of My Love (previously unreleased 1970)
10 Blindman (BBC session 1967)
11 Hard To Find A Friend (extract from ten minute demo 1971)
12 Withering Tree (b-side of 'You Can All Join In' 1968)