Review: 'The Vinyl Series Volume Two'

With its joyous mélange of ska, reggae, soul, and Spencer Davis Group, the theme of Chris Blackwell's The Vinyl Series: Volume One could be summed up as "Mod Party." Volume Two is a little harder to pin down. On first blush, Blackwell seems to have gone down more of a singer-songwriter alley this time, what with its very personal tracks by Cat Stevens ("Lady D'Arbenville"), Nick Drake (the sublimely somber "River Man"), John Martyn (somber ode to pal Drake "Solid Air"), Jimmy Cliff (lovely "Many Rivers to Cross"), and even Traffic (Dave Mason mumbles "Feelin' Alright" like he's playing to his chest in a coffee bar). 

So then where does Free's Classic-Rock-101 staple "All Right Now" fit in? Or The Heptones' group-effort "Book Rules" or Toots and the Maytals' extroverted "Pressure Drop"? And is it a true singer-songwriter song if the singing and songwriting are split between two individuals, even (formerly) married ones such as Richard and Linda Thompson? And what about that woozily exuberant Mariachi band on "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight"? Nick Drake never used one of those.

Perhaps Blackwell's theme is "terrific songs from the Island Records archives," which is valid enough from a guy with such fine taste. Each of these songs is a classic, and though "All Right Now" does sound out of place, hearing it sandwiched between the Thompsons' night-on-the-town gem and Cliff's soul-stirrer make it sound fresher than it does between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Foreigner during a musty Classic Rock Radio Rock-Block. 

As mastered by Alex Abrash, The Vinyl Series: Volume Two also sounds pretty fresh. Cat Stevens thumping the hollow body of his acoustic and The Heptones' bongos sound almost disquietingly present on flat, quiet vinyl. I wonder what the theme of Volume Three will be...

Review: 6 Vinyl Reissues from Traffic

The Spencer Davis Group introduced the world to the precocious soul howl of teenaged Stevie Winwood. That singer and multi-instrumentalist did not fully explore his creativity until he veered out of Davis’s lane and into Traffic in 1967. With the co-leadership of former SDG-roadie Dave Mason, a more distinctly English and whimsical songwriter in the Syd Barrett mode, Traffic created one of the most delightful and imaginative debuts of rock’s most delightful and imaginative year. Mr. Fantasy pools hard rock jamming, raga rock, wyrd folk, spacey ballads, jazz parodies, woodwinds, sitars, harpsichord, and Mellotron without ever sacrificing fully developed songwriting for gimmicks or self-indulgence.

 

Such precision and concision was still in effect for Traffic’s self-titled second LP, though it was something of a less psychedelic affair. Mason had left the group after their debut due to standard-issue “artistic differences,” but rejoined to help Winwood, drummer Jim Capaldi, and woodwinds-player Chris Wood flesh out a skimpy selection of songs, the best of which is the surreal “Forty Thousand Headmen”. Interestingly, Mason’s contributions include “Feelin’ Alright”, a simple song more in line with the work of a soul outfit like the Spencer Davis Group than wacky Traffic. It became Traffic’s best known song and a genuine rock and roll standard. Winwood definitely should have been allowed to sing it, though. Mason’s vocals are rough throughout the record.

 

Mason was gone again after the album Traffic, and the band Traffic seemed deader than dead. However, sessions for what would have been Winwood’s first solo album in 1970 organically morphed into a new Traffic album when he asked for Capaldi and Wood’s assistance. John Barleycorn Must Die pointed out a new direction for Traffic. Now the emphasis would be on longer yet disciplined jams and more sincere jazz. Fortunately, the songwriting has recovered after the somewhat half-hearted Traffic and tracks such as “Empty Pages” and “Freedom Rider” rank among the band’s best. The instrumental “Glad” became a classic rock radio staple for decades to come.