Box Sets
The mercurial British outfit covered a lot of stylistic ground during its nine-year run, and this twofer admirably gathers it. Starting with a slice of nascent psychedelia — 1967's "Paper Son" — Traffic weaved willy-nilly through stately British folk ("John Barleycorn"), funky rhythm & blues ("Feelin' Alright," "Pearly Queen," "Glad"), spunky pop ("Medicated Goo"), expansive space tunes ("Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys") and any number of head-trip tunes. The band's distinct sonic imprint came courtesy of Steve Winwood's piercing tenor vocals.
Although Traffic's last album, When the Eagles Flies, is not highly regarded, the four songs included on Gold deserve reconsideration: "Dream Gerrard" and "Walking in the Wind," in particular, are a couple of appealingly slinky blue-eyed soul tunes.
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2005.