General Article name: Mr. Fantasy
Genre: Rock englischsprachig Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: VINYL LOVERS Number of tracks: 15 Duration: 33:54 Tracklist LP - 1 Traffic - Paper Sun (Bonus Track) Traffic - Heaven Is In Your Mind Traffic - Berkshire Poppies Traffic - House For Everyone Traffic - No Face, No Name, No Number Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy Traffic - Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush (Bonus Track) Traffic - Smiling Phases (Bonus Track) Traffic - Hole In My Shoe (Bonus Track) Traffic - Dealer Traffic - Utterly Simple Traffic - Coloured Rain Traffic - Hope I Never Find Me There Traffic - Giving To You Traffic - Am I What I Was Or Was I What I Am? (Bonus Track)   Description Description

Since Traffic's debut album, Mr. Fantasy, has been issued in different configurations over the years, a history of those differences is in order. In 1967, the British record industry considered albums and singles separate entities; thus, Mr. Fantasy did not contain the group's three previous Top Ten U.K. hits. Just as the album was being released in the U.K., Traffic split from Dave Mason. The album was changed drastically for U.S. release, both because American custom was that singles ought to appear on albums, and because the group sought to diminish Mason's presence; on the first pressing only, the title was changed to Heaven Is in Your Mind. In 2000, Island reissued Mr. Fantasy in its mono mix with the U.K. song list and five mono singles sides as bonus tracks; it also released Heaven Is in Your Mind, the American lineup in stereo with four bonus tracks. Naturally, the mono sound is punchier and more compressed, but it isn't ideal for the album, because Traffic was fashioned as an unusual rock band. Steve Winwood's primary instrument was organ, though he also played guitar; Chris Wood was a reed player, spending most of his time on flute; Mason played guitar, but he was also known to pick up the sitar, among other instruments. As such a mixture suggests, the band's musical approach was eclectic, combining their background in British pop with a taste for the comic and dance hall styles of Sgt. Pepper, Indian music, and blues-rock jamming. Songs in the last category have proven the most distinctive and long-lasting, but Mason's more pop-oriented contributions remain winning, as do more light-hearted efforts. Interest in the mono mix is likely to be restricted to longtime fans; anyone wishing to hear Traffic's first album for the first time is directed to Heaven Is in Your Mind. ~ William Ruhlmann

William Ruhlmann

Contributors Artist: Traffic Record Label: Vinyl Lovers