Heavyweight 180g Vinyl LP Reissue Remastered from the Original Tapes!

One of the greatest British rock acts of their generation Traffic emerged from the West Midlands as Birmingham's very own Beatles. Deeply psychedelic at first, later acid folk related their music remains an inventive template for any band with aspirations to musical excellence. Utilizing improvisational methods with tremendous versatility they employed Mellotron and harpsichord, sitar and reeds as well as the conventional rock flavors. Given that their stand out performers were Stevie Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason and Chris Wood such excellence was hardly a surprise.

When John Barleycorn Must Die was released in 1970, Steve Winwood was the primary songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist, and he was leading Traffic as a trio with Chris Wood on horns and Jim Capaldi on drums. Finding the band moving firmly into progressive folk territory, albeit with a tough electric sheen, John Barleycorn Must Die expanded upon the jamming that characterized their earlier work with spectacular instrumental passages and earned Traffic their first gold album along the way. The title track features some of the best vocals of Winwood's career.

Remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl LP with the artwork caringly overseen and interpreted.