Feelin' Alright: The Very Best of Traffic

by

Traffic

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My first exposure to Traffic was in college when I heard John Barleycorn Must Die. I especially enjoyed the title track and became an instant life-long fan. I bought every album through 1974's When the Eagle Flies and even picked up their first two albums from 1968--Mr. Fantasy and Traffic. When it came time to update my Traffic collection on CD I opted for the 2-CD Smiling Phases (now sadly out of print) that came out in 1991. Now almost a decade later Island updates(?) that anthology with the single disc Feelin' Alright: The Very Best of Traffic. This new release is a case of good news, bad news depending on what kind of fan you are.

If you're a casual fan, this collection gives you the band's UK singles: "Paper Sun" (#5)and "Hole in My Shoe" (#2), but omits "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (#8). [The closest thing Traffic had to a single in the US was when "Empty Pages," from John Barlecorn Must Die, reached #74 in 1970.] You also get key album tracks like the slightly trippy "Dear Mr. Fantasy," the jazzy "Forty Thousand Headmen" and Dave Mason's more pop-oriented fare like "You Can All Join In" and "Feelin' Alright." You also get four of Barlecorn's six tracks--including the folky title track and the funky instrumental "Glad." Traffic's post-Barleycorn output is skimpy, only two songs--both from Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. You get the nearly 12-minute title track, plus "Rock and Roll Stew." [I would have preferred Jim Capaldi's "Light Up or Leave Me Alone."] All told, this is a lot of music (77 minutes) for the price.

Sadly, for the more serious fan this disc only scratches the surface. (Which is the only reason I couldn't bring myself to give this five stars.) There's only one track from Last Exit, and 1973's Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory and 1974's When the Eagle Flies are not represented at all! So it becomes a matter of economics. Do you settle for a single-disc collection? Or do you pass and go after key albums like Mr. Fantasy, Traffic, John Barleycorn Must Die? [Note: This collection contains four songs each from those three albums--that's 12 songs from three albums and another three songs from the remaining four albums.]

The music is all first-rate, but for my money this new release went the wrong direction. It should have added a disc to Smiling Phases, not deleted one. RECOMMENDED (For casual fans and/or those on a tight budget.)