Traffic - The Best of Traffic: 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection

Traffic
The Best of Traffic

[20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection]

(Island/Universal)

First Appeared at The Music Box, July 2003, Volume 10, #7

Written by John Metzger

gif

Trying to find the perfect career retrospective for Traffic can be a difficult task. First came 1969’s The Best of Traffic, which encapsulated the band’s first three albums but was issued long before the sessions that yielded the classic John Barleycorn Must Die and The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys. In 1975, two new compilations were released (Heavy Traffic and More Heavy Traffic), but these also short-changed two of the band’s finest outings. Smiling Phases, which was released in 1991, remains the best compilation of the group’s material, but at two discs and 26 tracks, it’s a bit bloated for some tastes — not to mention, tracking down a copy can be a challenge in itself. Next came 2000’s Feelin’ Alright: The Very Best of Traffic, which trimmed things down to a single CD, but still left off several nuggets — such as Medicated Goo, Light Up or Leave Me Alone, and Rainmaker.

The latest attempt at capturing the essence of Traffic is the recently released The Best of Traffic: 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection. This ten-song set isn’t perfect by any means, but it does succeed in offering a rather concise portrait of a band that went from a psychedelic pop act to jazzy jam band in the matter of just a few years. Yes, it would have been nice if Medicated Goo had been included. Likewise, a few more songs — most notably Glad and Freedom Rider — from the aforementioned classics would have added some balance to the collection. That said, The Best of Traffic demonstrates how smoothly and seamlessly this transition took place, proving without a doubt that even if the 13-month dissolution between January 1969 and February 1970 hadn’t happened, Traffic would have wound its way though the exact same progression. The blues and jazz inflections of the band blossomed fully on Empty Pages and The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, but in actuality, the mutation took root far earlier, turning up within the blissed-out psychedelia of Heaven Is in Your Mind and Dear Mr. Fantasy as well as the Buffalo Springfield knock-off You Can All Join In, the bouncy Bowie-like groove of Feelin’ Alright, and the John Lee Hooker-meets-Cream thunder of Pearly Queen. Indeed, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and John Barleycorn Must Die stand as Traffic’s crowning achievements, but these early tracks have held up quite well against the test of time. starstarstarstar

The Best of Traffic: 20th Century Masters is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!

gif

Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

gif

Copyright © 2003 The Music Box