Traffic

This is UA's long-promised, contract-fulfilling, "Traffic live" album though a new recording
evidently much changed from the "destroyed" earlier tapes, and with no outright mention
(aside from the familiar quadripartite interlocking symbol) of the Traffic name, probably
because nobody, including Steve Winwood himself, could ever tell you who or what the
group consists of at any given time. The six tunes included in Welcome to the Ca... More >

Lax at times, but not bad for live jazziness--Stevie Winwood and Dave Mason play as engagingly as Mike Ratledge and Elton Dean, say, and in a genuine rock style. Praise the masses it's a lot more aggressive than their studio work, with the double percussion of Jim Gordon and Rebop Kwaku Baah driving pretty hard at times. Even the lackadaisical "Gimme Some Lovin'" doesn't seem like a desecration. (Grade: B-)