It’s pretty easy to be cynical about the motivation behind some of the re-formed acts traipsing through the nation’s outdoor amphitheaters this summer concert season. But if you ask Traffic’s Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi if financial considerations sparked their decision to reconvene the group after a 20-year hiatus, their answer is an unequivocal “no.”
“The decision to get Traffic back together was really about the record we’d made,” said Winwood, referring to the new “Far From Home,” Traffic’s first album since 1974. “And the record we made wasn’t motivated by anything other than the desire to make good music that we wanted to hear and that we felt we weren’t hearing elsewhere.”
From its origins in 1967 at a communal cottage in Berkshire, England, Traffic became one of rock’s legendary acts, with a slew of songs including “Mr. Fantasy” and “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” that have become staples on “classic rock” radio. Winwood’s soulful vocals and virtuoso keyboard and guitar work, Capaldi’s solid drumming and lyrical contributions and Chris Wood’s atmospheric sax and flute (guitarist Dave Mason was also a charter member) combined for their distinctive loose, dreamy sound.
After Traffic hung it up as a group, Winwood reinvented himself in the mid-’80s as a contemporary hitmaker via “Higher Love” and “Valerie,” while Capaldi had a somewhat less successful solo career. Wood died in 1983 after a lengthy illness.
To hear Winwood tell it, the decision to re-form Traffic had been batted about for a while.
“Jim and I had been working together on and off all along,” he said. “We talked very casually about how it would be interesting 20 years on to see what Traffic could do. We got together and started an extended writing session, which we hadn’t done for quite some time. When we write we play together, because it comes out in the form of jamming, and the songs we were writing just sounded like Traffic. It was very obvious to us that these were Traffic songs we were writing.”
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The current Traffic lineup is filled out by Randall Bramblett on woodwinds, keyboardist Mike McEvoy, bassist Rosko Gee and percussionist Walfredo Reyes.
Winwood says the expansive feel of the material on “Far From Home” is something of an antidote to the more commercial direction of his solo career.
“As a solo artist you’re easier prey to the rigors of the business, and it’s easier to find yourself manipulated or directed in a certain way by other people,” he said. “With Traffic, nobody can tell us what kind of music we should be making. If it’s Traffic, it’s Traffic and that’s it.”
According to Capaldi, he and Winwood feel comfortable taking Traffic’s music into the ’90s.
“It’s like the clock’s turned right back,” he said. “It just seems to feel right to do Traffic music now. Our music certainly flies in the face of the modern music industry and isn’t particularly commercial or radio-friendly. And I think that’s great.”
Traffic opens for the Grateful Dead on Saturday and Sunday at Soldier Field. Saturday’s show is sold out.
Other concerts of note
The H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Friday at the World Music Theatre: Now in its third year, the H.O.R.D.E. Festival-think of it as a less pretentious Lollapalooza-will be an eight-hour affair beginning at 2 p.m. Featured on the main (or “Mondo”) stage are the Allman Brothers Band, Blues Traveler, Big Head Todd and the Monsters and Soul Hat, while the smaller “Gonzo” stage will have Sheryl Crow, Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies, April’s Motel Room, Chicago’s own Rollover and the Ugly Americans. All in all, a pretty solid musical lineup, with the Allmans sounding better than they have in years on their new “Where It All Began” album. There will also be a “Psychospace” concourse featuring vendors, crafts and special interest information booths.
Travis Tritt, Joe Diffie and Lee Roy Parnell, Friday at Alpine Valley: Travis Tritt’s ego appears to be truly out of control. The pint-size country star has already published his autobiography (an admittedly slim volume), while in his new song “Outlaws Like Us” he has the gumption to compare himself to Waylon Jennings. Yeah, right. Diffie is a fine exponent of the classic honky-tonk tradition, but Parnell may be the surprise hit. A fine singer and a superior slide guitarist, he had a recent hit with “I’m Holding My Own.”
The Mekons, Friday and Saturday at Lounge Ax: Leeds, England’s, loss has been Chicago’s gain, as the veteran indie rock band the Mekons have called Chicago home for the last few years. The band’s current “Retreat From Memphis” album may be a hodge-podge stylistically, but live, the band’s myriad influences-ranging from punk to country and back again-seem to make perfect sense.
Lyle Lovett and His Quintet, Saturday at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet: Lyle Lovett is traveling a bit leaner these days, having pared down his former “Large Band” to a quintet. The ever-droll songsmith who has been the subject of much tabloid coverage of late should preview material from his long-awaited new album, due out in late August. Opening is the Nashville Bluegrass Band.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Sunday at Metro: Forget all the “she was a riot grrrl before they were called riot grrrls” hype about Joan Jett. At heart, Jett is a diehard rocker who couldn’t care less whether her music is in or out of fashion. That said, Jett’s new “Pure and Simple” album features guest appearances by members of Bikini Kill, Babes In Toyland and L7, which shows her influence on younger female rockers. Jett’s music is basic, raw rock ‘n’ roll that doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that. And that suits her fans just fine. Opening is Lungfish.
Fleetwood Mac, Tuesday at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Ind.: While his old Traffic mates play with the Dead this week, Dave Mason now finds himself in the umpteenth edition of Fleetwood Mac. With the recent defection of Stevie Nicks and the retirement from the road by Christine McVie, Bekka Bramlett (the daughter of Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett) assumes the distaff vocalist role. Call this the “lite” version of the once-formidable Mac Attack.
Jale, Tuesday at Lounge Ax: Nova Scotia’s all-female quartet Jale have a winning sound on their new Sub Pop album “Dream Cake.” With a bit less aggression than Hole and less cutesy-ness than Shonen Knife, they incorporate just enough guitar noise to counterbalance all those delightful pop hooks.
Boiled In Lead, Wednesday at Beat Kitchen: Minneapolis might not seem like a hotbed of world music, but it’s home for Boiled In Lead, who have been mixing such diverse elements as Celtic, Middle Eastern and Balkan music with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude for years. Using both electric and acoustic instruments on their current “Antler Dance” album, the quartet has come up with perhaps their tastiest musical goulash yet.
Yngwie Malmsteen, Thursday at Park West: This is a rare Chicago date for the classically influenced metal guitar king, which means that every kid you see thumbing through the guitar magazines at Walgreen’s ought to be there.