ALBUM REVIEW: Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

    Traffic are a chameleon band, and a semi-underrated one at that. They were birthed just before the summer of love, in April of '67, when Spencer Davis Group singer Steve Winwood met up with some folks he'd previously jammed with to form a new group. What initially started as a psychedelic rock band, yielding iconic songs like "Dear Mr. Fantasy," morphed into a group showing all shades of sounds and styles on their 1968 self-titled album, including folk, blues, and still a healthy dash of psychedelia. By the time of the band's comeback with 1970's John Barleycorn Must Die, they were a progressive rock group, but one with healthy doses of folk leanings. You'd expect The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys to follow similar steps, but no two Traffic albums sound alike - in place of folk is more pure shades of progressive rock with added elements of jazz. While it may sound formulaic on paper, The Low Spark is possibly the group's best endeavor yet, boosted by incredibly rich instrumentation, some pounding rockers, and some moments that I consider the best of the progressive rock genre.

    In comparison to the more folk-y, straightforward John Barleycorn, The Low Spark feels like a full on dive into progressive rock. Want an example? I knew you did - the title track is probably Traffic's best song. "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" is a soaring rock number, with a thumping rhythm, somewhat simple yet rich lyricism, and a bombastic performance from Steve Winwood. Everything comes together on this song to create a powerful prog number, and one that I think doesn't get enough attention frankly? If that's not quite doing it for you, look at the pure rocking energy of Jim Capaldi's "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" that caps off the first half. It's a punching song through and through, and Jim gives a fantastic vocal performance over it. It rocks, up there with "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Stranger to Himself" in my book. Of course, the group doesn't need to rock to deliver the goods - opening track "Hidden Treasure," aside from being the perfect descriptor of the album, is a gentle, spacious track that puts you in the headspace of the album.

    This pattern of soaring, energetic rockers being paired with more gentle, luscious tracks continues across the second half, although we really only get one heavier rock moment. "Rock 'n' Roll Stew" is an ode to the rock life of touring, and while it's not nearly as good as "Light Up or Leave Me Alone," it's still a solid enough number from the likes of Ric Grech and Jim Gordon - that's right, instead of Capaldi drumming on most tracks, we have powerhouse session drummer Jim Gordon on here. No surprises here, he's great. The remaining two tracks probably lean the closest into the progressive rock territory, mainly the massive, stretching "Many a Mile to Freedom," one of the most gentle compositions I've heard yet from Traffic. Closing moment "Rainmaker" is also a great number, a perfect meshing of the rock and jazz elements into a powerful slow moment - a big, mysterious, and almost foreboding note to end such a great album on.

    From the first medieval-leaning instrumental bits at the beginning of "Hidden Treasure," it's clear that Low Spark is even a cut above their work on John Barleycorn. It collects the ideas of everything Traffic had done before, and consolidates it into a varied, interesting, bold progressive rock album, complete with some of the group's greatest numbers, period. A brilliantly cooked up rock 'n' roll stew through and through, and the group's best project yet.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.