#31 TRAFFIC - Fillmore East 1970 (Flac)

TRAFFIC
November 18, 1970
Fillmore East, New York City, NY

Soundboard master reel
running time 64: 04

Traffic, reformed in 1970, after Steve Winwood had initially begun recording his debut solo album. It became their third studio album, 'John Barleycorn Must Die' and was released in July.  Five of the six original album tracks are performed live here, with "Stranger To Himself" the only omission. The bulk of the remainder, appeared on the second self-titled album and the inclusion of Blind Faith member Ric Grech, gives these live tracks a more improvisational feel than their studio counterparts.

“The curious tale of the in-concert album that never was follows: Shows were taped at the Fillmore East, the release was scheduled; it even got an Island catalogue number – ILPS 9142, the perfunctory title of Live – November 1970 and is reckoned to have had finished sleeves and been just days from being pressed up and hitting the shops – but never materialised. Bootlegs exist, and some finalised tracks were released officially (including Bill Graham’s introduction; the performances are excellent) as bonus cuts on the expanded CD release of John Barleycorn Must Die. The performances are excellent, and as one theory of a lost tape is rather far-fetched if the sleeves were indeed printed, it is likely that events of the following year caused this project to be abandoned: these range from the band having second thoughts, to disputes between Chris Blackwell and UA records in the States over their handling of Winwood’s back catalogue.”  (info from http://www.toppermost.co.uk/traffic/)

The ‘winwoodfans’ site conjectures that the album was perhaps unreleased, due to the record company United Artists releasing 'Winwood', a best of release, that had not been sanctioned by the artist. After a court order, that album was withdrawn. By this time, original member Dave Mason had rejoined the band along with two new members, and it was felt that the November 1970 recording, was now nothing to do with the current band. The writer of the piece Dan Ropek reflects on 'Live - November '70' "that it remains, perhaps forever, lost."

What does remain though, are these tracks, recorded over the same two dates at the Fillmore, they appear on this bootleg in excellent quality.

(See the comments by Luke, below this post for further information)


Tracks:
1. Introduction by Bill Graham
2. Medicated Goo
3. Pearly Queen
4. Empty Pages
5. Heaven Is In Your Mind
6. Forty Thousand Headmen
7. John Barleycorn Must Die
8. Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
9. Every Mother's Son
10. Glad > Freedom Rider*
11. Means To An End
12. Dear Mr. Fantasy

Band:
Steve Winwood - vocals, guitar, organ
Jim Capaldi – drums, percussion, vocals
Chris Wood - piano, organ. sax, flute, vocals
Ric Grech - bass guitar

Lineage:
SBD > Master Reel > CD > EAC > WAV > FLAC (level 8, align on sector boundaries)
* - Some glitches from master reel were present, on track 10 these have been edited and smoothed

If you enjoy this bootleg I would suggest investigating the first four studio albums:

Mr. Fantasy - 1967
Traffic - 1968
John Barleycorn Must Die - 1970
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys - 1971

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following updated info was provided by blog reader Luke:

3 April 2015

This isn't the unreleased album. The lineup for that was:
 

Backstage & Introduction
Who Knows What Tomorrow My Bring
Glad

Pearly Queen
Forty Thousand Headmen
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Can't Find My Way Home

Not only is the song lineup different, but there are some differences with the takes, mixing, and editing. Forty Thousand Headmen and Dear Mr. Fantasy are different takes, while Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring has an edit not present on this recording. I think Glad and Pearly Queen are the same, although I'd have to verify, and the former fades out as Freedom Rider is starting.

Here's the opening to the actual unreleased LP as released on the 1999 JBMD CD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__0m4TMylSU

Side 2 remains unreleased and, to my knowledge, unbooted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 March 2018

It's only 3 years later, but I finally got around to comparing everything:

11/18/70 boot

Introduction by Bill Graham
- Same BG intro as LN70 and JBMDDE.
Medicated Goo
- Different performance from JBMDDE.
Pearly Queen
- Same performance as LN70.
Empty Pages
- Different performance from JBMDDE.
Heaven Is In Your Mind
- Song not released elsewhere.
Forty Thousand Headmen
- Different performance from LN70 and JBMDDE.
John Barleycorn Must Die
- Song not released elsewhere.
Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
- Different performance from JBMDDE. Same performance as LN70, but unedited.
Every Mother's Son
- Different performance from JBMDDE.
Glad > Freedom Rider
- Different performance from JBMDDE. Same performance as LN70, but 5:03 missing at approximately 0:57 and 1:26 missing at approximately 9:33. Freedom Rider continues approximately 4:08 past end of fade on LN70.
Means To An End
- Song not released elsewhere.
Dear Mr. Fantasy
- Different performance from LN70.

Live - November '70

Backstage & Introduction
- Same BG intro as boot, additional backstage intro.
Who Knows What Tomorrow My Bring
- Different performance from JBMDDE. Same performance as boot, but 4 seconds edited out at approximately 2:09.
Glad
- Different performance from JBMDDE. Same performance as boot, but no edits during Glad, and Freedom Rider is only 0:33, including long fade-out.
Pearly Queen
- Same performance as boot.
Forty Thousand Headmen
- Different performance from boot. Same performance as JBMDDE.
Dear Mr. Fantasy
- Different performance from boot.
Can't Find My Way Home
- Song not released elsewhere.

John Barleycorn Must Die Deluxe Edition

Intro
- Same as LN70.
Medicated Goo
- Different performance from boot.
Empty Pages
- Different performance from boot.
40,000 Headmen
- Different performance from boot. Same performance as LN70.
Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
- Different performance from boot and LN70.
Every Mother's Son
- Different performance from boot.
Glad / Freedom Rider
- Different performance from boot and LN70.

Song list:

Medicated Goo
- Different performances on boot and JBMDDE.
Pearly Queen
- Same performance on boot and LN70.
Empty Pages
- Different performances on boot and JBMDDE.
Heaven Is In Your Mind
- Only on boot.
Forty Thousand Headmen
- LN70 and JBMDDE have same performance, boot is different performance.
John Barleycorn Must Die
- Only on boot.
Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring
- Boot and LN70 have same performance, but JBMDDE is different performance.
Every Mother's Son
- Different performances on boot and JBMDDE.
Glad/Freedom Rider
- Boot and LN70 have pieces of the same performance, but JBMDDE is a different performance.
Means To An End
- Only on boot.
Dear Mr. Fantasy
- Different performances on boot and LN70.
Can't Find My Way Home
- Only on LN70.