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Tapes in Circulation: The 60s |
Linked items indicate a review and/or setlist are available
below.
More information can be found in the Complete
Discography or
on Hidden Treasure: the Unreleased Music of Traffic.
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Spencer Davis Group: Birmingham, England; February 28,
1964 Dimples (3:25) | Night Time Is the Right Time (4:32) | Got My Mojo Working (6:38)
There exists a live recording of the First British Rhythm & Blues Festival at Birmingham Town Hall in 1964 (recorded by the infamous Giorgio Gomelsky and eventually released in the 70s on the French BYG label as part of the "Rock Generation" series). It opens with m.c. Bob Wooller (of Liverpool's Cavern Club (where another notable band or two was playing), who announces that the show will begin with a local favorite band who have just "decided to go professional" and it's "The Spencer Davis Rhythm & Blues Quartet." The only tracks provided on the album are marred by an imbalance that favors Davis' rhythm guitar and vocal, but his mic picks up the overspill from the stage p.a. speakers, from which one can faintly hear Winwood's lead voice on a rendition of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" and/or "Dimples," maybe one other tune.
Available on record in various forms, this is an essential insight into SW's early years. Most commonly available on "Steve Winwood and Friends" on the American Springboard label (catalogue # SPB-4040) or the French BYG label, long since out of print, but can be found in decent second-hand record shops and sometimes through the small ads in the Record Collector magazine. This is nice raw stuff with "Mojo" featuring SW and Spencer up at the mic for an all-star jam session including Sonny Boy Williamson, Long John Baldry, Eric Clapton, and Art Themen among others.
SDG: "Alive", boot compilation 1964-1967 Take This Hurt Off Me (2:33) | Till the End of Time (2:59) | That's All (3:00) | Gimme Some Lovin' (3:20) | When I Get Home (2:24)| Dust My Blues (3:06) | Mean Woman Blues (3:20) | Till the End of Time (3:32) | I'm a Man (3:18) | Georgia On My Mind (5:06) | Gimme Some Lovin' (4:00) | Dimples (3:19) | Night Time is the Right Time (4:27) | Somebody Help Me (1:59) | Keep On Running (3:17) | Sitting Here Thinking (2:30) | When I Get Home (2:31) | I'm a Man (3:39) | Gimme Some Lovin'(3:02)
Tracks 1-4 - BBC London, early 1967
Grade: A (the Finnish tracks aren't as good as the rest)
Traffic: "Traffic Jam" Stockholm, Sweden; September 5, 1967 Giving To You (5:26) | Smiling Faces (sic) (3:09) | Coloured Rain (4:37) | Hole In My Shoe (5:58) | Feelin' Good (9:30) | Paper Sun (5:00) | Dear Mr. Fantasy (7:16) This appears to be the same concert as the first half of "Heavy Traffic," available on vinyl but not recommended. This disc, in contrast, is highly recommended because it does not suffer from the speed problems of the prior release. Sound quality is good to very good. A little bit of hiss will be heard on some tracks on systems with very good high end. Otherwise it sounds fine, even on small portables or computer speakers. The more I listen to this disc, the greater my appreciation for it. Besides, the later "Welcome To The Canteen," it is one of the only documents of the original members live together, and this is '67, during or shortly after the Berkshire cottage days. This is a group that is surprisingly at the top of its creative powers despite its relatively short time together and notwithstanding the heights it would continue to reach later. Dave Mason plays guitar for most of the concert, with the exception of "Dear Mr. Fantasy." Here probably lies the fascination of the group's sound on this disc because he lends a hard biting edge to songs later heard in different arrangements for the trio and well before his prowess as a lead guitarist was established. The disc begins with "Giving To You," which has a vocal melody and lyrics that did not appear on the first album: "Moving and grooving through country so soothing /My mind taking flight now again/Relaxed at the wheel and I'm starting(?) to feel/That life is worth living/And living is giving to you'" The solos throughout are inspired, and Steve's voice is in fine form. Mason actually plays sitar on "Hole In My Shoe," which is done very respectably, considering the difficulty of pulling this song off live. "Feelin' Good" is very interesting, again because of the presence of guitar not on the "Last Exit" version. Also notable: "Smiling Phases," "Coloured Rain," and the exquisite "Paper Sun," all tunes only played during the trio's early tours of America. They quickly dropped off the playlist. The acknowledgment of Mason is not to diminish the contributions of Winwood, Capaldi and Wood. All are excellent, particularly Wood, who later had a history of up-and-down live performances.
Steve talks quite a bit more than usual between tracks and there are many references to the forthcoming album. The concert was obviously in between the release of the first single and first album. This is an historic disc. Unfortunately, availability unknown at this time. Release date was 1988.
Traffic: Stockholm, Sweden; September 12, 1967 Traffic played a concert at Konserthuset in Stockholm, Sweden, which was broadcast on Swedish radio. The concert has circulated on tape and many bootlegs. One tape had the following tracks: "Giving to You", "Smiling Phases", "Coloured Rain", "Hole In My Shoe", "Feelin' Good", "Paper Sun", and "Dear. Mr Fantasy". Bill J. reports that his recording lists the following: 1. radio introduction (00:49) | 2. Giving To You (5:18) | 3. Smiling Faces (3:07) | 4. Coloured Rain (3:12) | 5. band introduction (00:52) | 6. Hole In My Shoe (5:49) | 7. (sic) I Feel Fine (9:21) | 8 Paper Sun (5:00) | 9. Dear Mr. Fantasy (6:24) | 10. closing radio announcement (00:45) See SP 03-10.
Traffic: "The Perfumed Garden" Alternate takes from "Mr Fantasy" and live BBC Radio sessions; 1967-68 Dear Mr. Fantasy | Introduction (short interview with Steve Winwood) | Hole In My Shoe | Paper Sun | A House For Everyone | No Face, No Name, No Number | Hope They Never Find Me Here | 40,000 Headmen | Dear Mr. Fantasy | You Can All Join In | Feelin' Alright | Heaven Is In Your Mind | Dealer | Utterly Simple | Coloured Rain | Smiling Phases | Heaven Is In Your Mind | Pearly Queen | Who Know's What Tomorrow May Bring | Coloured Rain | Dear Mr. Fantasy #2
A generous number of tracks but a rather uneven disc. There are some gems but there are also several disappointments. Tracks 2-11 and 16-20 were recorded live on BBC Radio, 1967-68; Tracks 1, 12-15 & 21 are studio recordings from summer, 1967. The "alternate tracks" from the "Mr. Fantasy" album are only alternate in the loosest sense. These are definitely the same basic tracks (that is, keyboard, bass, drums and rhythm guitar tracks) as on the first album, some with different overdubs - for instance the guitar solo on the first "Mr. Fantasy" alternate. Others are rough mixes, which usually means some instruments or vocals are missing. The second "Mr. Fantasy" is the same track as on the first album. The BBC Radio sessions are much more interesting. These were not from a live concert but were live recordings that many artists did of their current repertoire in the BBC studios. The sound ranges from barely acceptable to very good. "Paper Sun" and "No Face, No Name, No Number" are exceptional, and the performances and arrangements on "40,000 Headmen" and "Smiling Phases" are excellent. It's interesting to note that on a number of the early Dave Mason tunes, the group is simply singing live over the album tracks ("Hole In My Shoe," "A House For Everyone"). On the later ones, the band is playing live. And of particular interest: Mason sings and plays guitar on "Pearly Queen," which is good but falls short of Winwood's interpretations. The disc, with its flaws, is recommended and appears to be quite available.
These radio sessions are from various shows, leaving the DJ chat, jingles, etc, in for good measure as the presentation style of the time adds to the mood of the music. In all honesty the sound quality is somewhat inconsistent. The BBC did rebroadcast these sessions a few years ago so hopefully they are still looking after them, and maybe an enterprising label such as Windsong will issue these one day, and maybe a good idea woule be to make it a double CD set so as to include the In-Concert broadcast as well.
This has a commentary by someone who sounds like the UK DJ Noel Edmunds. Tracks 2-11, and 16-20 were recorded live on BBC Radio, 1967-1968. Tracks 1, 12-15, & 21 are studio recordings, from Island Records Basing Street Studios, summer 1967.
Traffic: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, California, March 14, 1968
Intro | Heaven Is In Your Mind | You Can All Join In | Who Knows What Tomorrow... | Feelin' Alright | Don't Be Sad | No Face, No Name, No Number | Dear Mr. Fantasy | Coloured Rain | 40,000 Headmen | Dear Mr. Fantasy
Traffic: Fillmore, March 18, 1968
Jam: Colored Rain, No Face No Name No Number
Traffic: "Heavy Traffic" Part 1: Stockholm 1967/Part 2: BBC Session 1970 Giving To You | Smiling Phases | Couloured Rain | Hole In My Shoe | Feelin' Good | Paper Sun | Dear Mr Fantasy | Medicated Goo | Pearly Queen | Every Mother's Son | Medicated Goo | John Barleycorn | Pearly Queen | Empty Pages | Glad/Freedom Rider | Forty Thousand Headmen | Glad
The sound quality on both these records is extremely poor, even for a bootleg, and is not recommended, except for a serious collector, and maybe not even for them. They were recorded at too slow a speed, so are too fast when played back, so unless you WANT to hear Traffic sound like Alvin & the Chipmunks ...
Jimi Hendrix & Traffic: "A Session", May 2, 1968. Session Thing: 35 min. Personnel (besides Jimi) unknown, but it may include some (perhaps even all) Traffic members. There is some flute and piano (as well as bass & drums). Rather uneventful. Guitar Thing: 5 min. Jimi only....and quite nice.
Jam Thing: 20 min. Chris Wood on sax, but other personnel unknown. It may include Winwood. Jimi does snippets of a few of the songs he was working on around this time, but mostly its just jamming. Again, rather uneventful. Probably recorded June 15 1970 in NYC.
Traffic: "Paper Rain", May, 1968.
Includes 15 tracks, all in mighty good quality, in fact, very good. The first seven tracks make up the Stockholm 9/5/67 concert also on "Heavy Traffic," and "Traffic Jam." There are two tracks from the Fillmore West on 3/14/68, and three from Copenhagen on 5/8/68. Also included is an alternate take of "Hope they never find me here," along with both sides of a Dave Mason solo 45 from 1968.
Traffic: Fillmore, June, 1968
Dear Mr Fantasy
Traffic: Hyde Park, London; July 26, 1968
Intro | Heaven Is In Your Mind | You Can All Join In | Who Knows What Tomorrow... | Feelin' Alright | Don't Be Sad | No Face, No Name, No Number | Dear Mr. Fantasy | Coloured Rain | 40,000 Headmen | Dear Mr. Fantasy
A review appears at Hyde Park Free Concerts website.
Traffic: Grona Gund, Copenhagen, Denmark; August 5, 1968
Intro | Heaven Is In Your Mind | You Can All Join In | Who Knows What Tomorrow... | Feelin' Alright | Don't Be Sad | No Face, No Name, No Number | Dear Mr. Fantasy | Coloured Rain | 40,000 Headmen | Dear Mr. Fantasy
Traffic: Fillmore East, NYC; September 20, 1968 Pearly Queen instrumental | Heaven Is In Your Mind | Feelin' Alright | Don't Be Sad | 40,000 Headmen | No Face, No Name, and No Number | Feeling Good | Who Know What Tomorrow May Bring? | Dear Mr Fantasy The sound on this is a bit muddy particularly on the vocals but it is definitely worth the price for the instrumental version of Pearly Queen, which is very interesting.
This is a truly fine and remarkable concert with unique arrangements of several songs
including
"Pearly Queen" as an instrumental, "40,000 Headman" with organ (no guitar) and a unique
Winwood
/ Capaldi harmony not heard on other recordings. It also includes the Dave Mason tunes
"Feelin'
Alright", "You Can All Join In", and "Don't Be Sad". "Coloured Rain" is particularly
notable
for its extended flute and sax introduction, and a rocking organ interlude and
conclusion.
Blind Faith: "Morgan Rehearsals" Morgan Studios, London; March 2, 1969
Disc 1
Disc 2 Incredibly, this is just as advertised, some of the earliest rehearsals involving Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker at a London studio. This predates Rick Grech joining and features Winwood on keyboards and bass and bass pedals on his Hammond B-3. This certainly is for the completist but nonetheless is fascinating. The least interesting tracks are the multiple takes of "Well All Right" and two takes of "Hey Joe," which are for the most part rhythm tracks. The jams, however, are at times quite good. They range from "Key To The Highway" to playing off Band-like chord structures to an early Bo Diddley feel, which develops over 14 minutes into what would become a promo single, "Change Of Address," released before the group's only album. I've heard the finished product only one other place, a Westwood One disc of Clapton "Rarities."
There is much experimentation, searching and in general the type of playing that develops
when
musicians are getting used to each other and looking for a groove or a distinct sound
identity.
Tracks that start timidly often develop, at least in some parts, into playing that is
unique to
this combination of musicians and that listeners usually never get to hear. Clapton is in
general restrained, while Winwood and Baker stretch out more when they get their chances.
Clapton does show his adeptness at rhythm guitar, an area in which he is often overlooked
because of his brilliance as a soloist. If you can't get enough of Blind Faith from its
only
legitimate release or other gray-market/boot titles, you'll probably like this.
Change of Address, a rousing instrumental, was originally released on a limited edition
single,
notifying the public of Island Record's change of address. I have never personally seen a
copy
of this rarity, but it also appeared on the bootleg CD "Can't Find My Way Home." A 2-CD bootleg set of Blind Faith's rehearsals was released as Morgan Rehearsals. The material from the Morgan studio rehearsals is crucial to filling in some of the gaps in the pre-LP phase of Blind Faith's brief career. Eric Clapton has said that the rehearsals were closer to the original intent of the band than the resulting album. In Rolling Stone 10/15/70, Eric said: "[Blind Faith] had a lot of different stages. When we started rehearsing, for instance, it was a different band. It was just me and Steve and other people that we had around, and it was so completely different, almost a jazz thing, and when we started recording it changed again, and then when we went onto stage it was already over somehow. The heart, the core of what Blind Faith could have done was all wrapped up in the time before we were actually exposed."The Morgan rehearsal tapes, variously described as being recorded in March, April or May of 1969, are the only body of recordings from the early, formative era to surface so far. Very little rare or unreleased Blind Faith material is otherwise available. Official releases include the "Change of Address" promo single and the material on Clapton's and Winwood's box sets. In addition, an instrumental version of "Presence of the Lord" has circulated through tape trades. The track is from an FM broadcast, probably Swedish, but the sound quality is poor and the track is not significantly different in structure from the released version. The importance of this set lies in the glimpse it provides of what Blind Faith could have become. The music is a tangle of unsorted threads, leading in different directions including blues, jazz, African rhythms, sustained jamming, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly of preserved material. Also notable is the lack of certain crucial elements that helped to define the Blind Faith album, such as Winwood's rich vocals and excellent songs, Clapton's and Winwood's acoustic guitars, and later member Rick Grech. The lack of these elements leaves in essense a "power trio" of Clapton / Winwood / Baker, exploring territory unique to all each of them. The set contains 150 minutes of music. In the following track listing, track numbers reflect the numbering on the CDs, but song titles are corrected where known, and some songs are given more descriptive titles such as "Instrumental Song # 1". Disc One
Disc Two
Further comments by Gerhardt: Disc 1, Track 3 (Instrumental Song # 1 - Reprise") is basically a one chord jam, but I think you are right, it cuts off just when it seems to want to turn into another version of 2. Similar to the bit of "jamming" that starts 8. Disc 1, Track 4 "Change of Address") - One reason for this being slower is that the speed is wrong. Like all the rest it runs slow unfortunately, so that everything is about a semitone below the original keys...
See SP 17-06, 19-14, and 20-05.
Blind Faith: "Well All Right" Morgan Studios and Hyde Park, London; 1969 Well All Right, take 1 (7:01) | Untitled #1, version 1 (5:01) | Sleeping In The Ground (4:03) | Untitled #2 (8:32) | Well All Right, takes 8 & 9 (3:31) | Untitled Blues #1 (8:38) | Sea Of Joy (5:48) | Untitled #1, version 2 & 3 (6:18) | Well All Right, take 14 (3:52) | Under My Thumb (5:22) | Key To The Highway (6:17) | Untitled Blues #2 (3:01) | Well All Right (5:50)
Everything here is available elsewhere except the track "Untitled Blues #1." The jams or
untitled tracks can be found on the longer, more complete Morgan Rehearsals double CD and
the
four concert tracks from Hyde Park (Where is the rest of that concert?) are also on "Blind
Dominoes." Some of the untitled tracks are, in fact, songs not jams but apparently
compositions
that were never completed or discarded for the album. They are all quite fascinating. The
blues
new to this set is also very nice with beautiful guitar and piano interplay. The multiple
takes
of "Well All Right" get a bit tiresome but nonethless are interesting, and the sound
throughout
is quite good, particularly on the live tracks. If the double CD is hard to find, this is a
nice substitute and about half the price. If you haven't heard all the Hyde Park cuts, they
are
worth the price of admission. The usual Blind Faith rehearsal photo on the front cover but
a
nice photo of Winwood playing a Martin acoustic guitar on the back.
Blind Faith: "Blind Dominoes", Cockpit National Amphitheater, Hyde Park, London; June 7, 1969 Well All Right | Sea Of Joy | Sleeping In The Ground | Under My Thumb
This disc, which also has tracks by Derek and the Dominoes, contains the opening four songs
from Blind Faith's first concert before 120,000 at Hyde Park. The group's performance
reportedly got mixed reviews, which is understandable. "Well All Right" starts tentatively
and
then speeds up midway, never finding a relaxed groove. Winwood sings the same verse over
and
over, with lyrics that are a combination of two of the correct verses. However, the group
settles down beautifully on "Sea Of Joy" with what is probably their best performance on a
live
disc of this unusual Winwood composition. "Sleeping In The Ground" is excellent and "Under
My
Thumb" creditable. Both appear on Winwood's "Finer Things" box set. The rest of the disc
contains a Dominoes' performance from a Johnny Cash TV show, a Paris concert, featuring
Clapton
with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, and a track from a Dominoes' Buffalo concert. The sound is
terrible on the last track and mixed on others. However, the sound on the Blind Faith
material
is first-rate.
Also reported as:
Blind Faith: "Stepping Stones Part 1 and Part 2" Göteborg; June 13, 1969
Tracks, Part 1:
Tracks, Part 2: This is a two-disc set, each disc sold separately. Part 1 also has six tracks by Cream from their 1968 Los Angeles concert on the Goodbye tour. The first disc ends with the first three tracks from the Göteborg concert. This was an early Blind Faith concert, shortly after Hyde Park but before the group's debut in America at Madison Square Garden. Still, it finds the band in fine form. In fact, the history of Blind Faith indicates this may have been at or near the group's peak live, since the performances degenerated as the tour reached the States. Once in America, the group found audiences wanted Cream and Traffic favorites, and the members, particurlarly Eric Clapton, became increasingly disenchanted. Clapton, in fact, became enamored with the opening act, Delaney and Bonnie. Midway through the tour, Clapton would start to play with Delaney and Bonnie during their set. By the way, the regular lead guitarist for Delaney and Bonnie at the time was Dave Mason.
The sound here is good to very good with the guitar mixed high, which indicates it is
probably
an audience tape set up near Clapton's amp. The drums suffer a bit because of that and, at
times, the mix gets a bit murky. On Part 1, "Well All Right" has a nice Winwood keyboard
solo
with solid backing from Clapton's rhythm part, in which he combines partial riffs off his
chords. The vocal on "Sleeping In The Ground" is vintage Winwood, and Clapton's solo
demonstrates forceful blues playing. "Sea Of
Joy" is also quite good. The high mix on the guitar becomes fascinating after a while as
you
listen to all Clapton's parts closely. His playing is outstanding as he switches from his
backing to lead parts seamlessly. Clapton's solo on "Sea Of Joy" demonstrates this as he
burns
on his lead and then alternates between the main riff and the rhythm part of the verse and
lead
fills as he carries the tune to its conclusion. The performance continues in the same vein
on
Part 2, with the electric "Can't Find My Way Home," "In The Presence Of The Lord," and "Had
To
Cry Today" (with Winwood on keyboards, not guitar as in the studio), the highlights. The
disc
is definitely recommended. If it falls a little short sonically, it makes up for it as an
historic document of the short-lived band. The Cream tracks on Part 1 are all available on
legitimate releases with the exception of "Crossroads" and "White Room."
Blind Faith: Madison Square Gardens, New York City; July 12, 1969
Had to Cry Today |
Can't Find My Way Home |
Sleeping In The Ground |
Well All Right |
Presence Of The Lord |
Sea Of Joy |
Do What You Like |
Means To An End
Blind Faith: International Amphitheater, Chicago, IL; July 27, 1969
Had To Cry Today |
Can't Find My Way Home |
Well All Right |
Presence Of The Lord |
Sea Of Joy |
Crossroads |
Do What You Like
Blind Faith: Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA; August 14, 1969
Well All Right (incomplete) |
Presence Of The Lord |
Sea Of Joy |
Means To An End |
Do What You Like (cut)
Blind Faith: Earl Warren Fairgrounds, Santa Barbara; August 15, 1969 This recording may be titled Winterland, Crossroads, Well All Reet, County Fairgrounds or simply US Tour. They are most likely all the same recording. Crossroads | Presence Of The Lord | Means To An End | Well Alright | Can't Find My Way Home | Had To Cry Today
Also reported as: See SP 12-03, 13-02, SP 14-05, and SP 15-03.
Blind Faith: UCLA; August 16, 1969 Crossroads | Presence Of The Lord | Means to An End | Well Alright | Can't Find My Way Home (Electric) | Had To Cry Today Venue sometimes listed as Inglewood (or Englewood) Forum.
Decent Sound: Can't Find My Way Home is a high point.
Blind Faith: "Sunshine Of Your Love" Hemisfair Arena, San Antonio, Texas; August 20, 1969 Well All Right | Can't Find My Way Home | Had To Cry Today | Sleeping In The Ground | Crossroads | Presence Of The Lord | Sea Of Joy | Do What You Like | Sunshine Of Your Love
One of the last concerts given by Blind Faith and from what one can hear not nearly as bad
as
critics and even band members would have you believe. But sadly the sound here is poor.
Obviously, recorded on a
lap-held cassette player circa 1969. Vocals are barely audible, bass and drums muffled,
only
guitar comes through all right at times. By this time "Crossroads" and "Sunshine Of Your
Love"
have been added to the set reportedly to please the crowds. However "Crossroads" is very
good
with Winwood and Clapton trading off on the lead vocals. A much better sounding version can
be
found on the "On Tour" CD. "Sunshine Of Your Love" is fascinating for one reason: hearing
Winwood sing on it, not the lead but
harmony on what were exchanges between Jack Bruce and Clapton in Cream. Oh yes, Winwood
also
adds some fierce organ playing to this classic. How many times have you heard that? Only
here.
But little else to recommend.
Blind Faith: Can't Find My Way Home; 1969
Jam | Can't Find My Way Home | Well Alright | Sleeping In The Ground | Sea Of Joy | Under
My
Thumb | Do What You Like | Presence Of The Lord Other versions include Island "Change of Address" single, alternate take of "Can't Find My Way Home", and other tracks from Göteborg.
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Page created May 29, 1997. Last updated February 4, 2002. Copyright
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