Traffic's song Feelin' Alright? is one I think I first heard as a cover by Paul Weller way back in 1992 when he was kickstarting his solo career (it was the fourth song on a four song 12" single, Above The Clouds, the third single from his solo debut album). It's a song that periodically just gets stuck in my head, going round and round for days on end.
I don't know very much about Traffic, they're not a band I've ever gone very deep with. Steve Winwood, Dave Mason, Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi formed Traffic in Birmingham in 1967 and released their self titled second album a year later. They always felt to me like a band who represented the change in 60s music in late '67, the post- Sergeant Pepper's desire for simplicity and folkiness, of moving out of the city and going to the countryside to 'get my head together'. Progressive, gently psychedelic, jazz inflected English folk rock. Feelin' Alright? has all of that, a two chord, laid back, good vibes sound and Dave Mason's lyric, written in Greece after he had quit the band for the first time, a song about a break up or unrequited love, Dave asking 'Are you feelin' alright?' and answering 'I'm not feelin' too good myself'.
4 comments:
Weller's version was meant to have been recorded at the end of quite a drunken evening at his studio, but it led to a track that oozes spontaneity in its feel.
Traffic produced some great tracks "Dear Mr Fantasy" for example, but they really did go and "get their heads together in the country" in fact to an isolated cottage on the Berkshire Downs, where they built an outside stage (no near neighbours) and no doubt indulged in some, erm, "recreationals." Sounds like terrific fun to me...
Yes, this is excellent! Only really knew the Weller cover before this. Lyrics stand out superbly in this, in both senses. Terrific stuff.
There are some great covers by the likes of Gladys Knight, Junior Walker, Mongo Santamaria etc. May have to add it to my Single Song Sunday long list. Can't beat the original though.
NickL- sounds perfect
Martin- I only knew the Weller version for years
Ernie- yep, loads of covers, noticed that when reading up for this post. Look forward to the SSS post at your place
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