New Traffic vinyl box set featuring band's classic studio albums arriving next month

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UMe/IslandA vinyl box set featuring remastered versions of Traffic‘s first six studio albums will be released on May 17, and is available for pre-order now.

Aptly titled Traffic: The Studio Albums 1967-1974, the collection includes 1967’s Mr. Fantasy, 1968’s Traffic, 1970’s John Barleycorn Must Die, 1971’s The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, 1973’s Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory and 1974’s When the Eagle Flies.

Traffic’s initial lineup featured singer/multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood, singer/guitarist Dave Mason, drummer Jim Capaldi and woodwind player Chris Wood, although Mason left the band after they recorded their ’68 self-titled album.  He later temporarily rejoined the group for its 1971 tour.

While Traffic never had any top 40 hits in the U.S., several songs have been staples on rock radio over the years, including “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Feelin’ Alright?,” “You Can All Join In,” “Glad,” “Freedom Rider,” “Empty Pages” and “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.”

The last four Traffic albums featured in the box set all reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart, and all have been at least been certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 copies in the States.

The albums have been remastered from the original tapes, and feature packaging replicating their initial pressing on Island Records. Each album also comes with a facsimile promotional poster.

Here’s the track list of the Traffic: The Studio Albums 1967-1974 box set:

Mr. Fantasy:

Side A
“Heaven Is in Your Mind”
“Berkshire Poppies”
“House for Everyone”
“No Face, No Name, No Number”
“Dear Mr. Fantasy”

Side B
“Dealer”
“Utterly Simple”
“Coloured Rain”
“Hope I Never Find Me There”
“Giving to You”

Traffic:

Side A
“You Can All Join In”
“Pearly Queen”
“Don’t Be Sad”
“Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring”
“Feelin’ Alright?”

Side B
“Vagabond Virgin”
“Forty Thousand Headmen”
“Cryin’ to Be Heard”
“No Time to Live”
“Means to an End”

John Barleycorn Must Die:

Side A
“Glad”
“Freedom Rider”
“Empty Pages”

Side B
“Stranger to Himself”
“John Barleycorn”
“Every Mother’s Son”

Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory:

Side A
“Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory”
“Roll Right Stones”

Side B
“Evening Blue”
“Tragic Magic”
“(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired”

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys:

Side A
“Hidden Treasure”
“The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Stew”

Side B
“Many a Mile to Freedom”
“Light Up or Leave Me Alone”
“Rainmaker”

When the Eagle Flies:

Side A
“Something New”
“Dream Gerrard”
“Graveyard People”

Side B
“Walking in the Wind”
“Memories of a Rock n’ Rolla”
“Love”
“When the Eagle Flies”

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