The sitar, widely associated with this era of Traffic due to its purpose on the singles "Paper Sun" together with "Hole inwards My Shoe," is solely used on ane rails on the United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland version of the album, "Utterly Simple".
The rootage U.S.A. version of the album on United Artists Records was titled Heaven Is inwards Your Mind together with had a comprehend that featured all members of the grouping except Dave Mason. The championship was apace changed dorsum to Mr. Fantasy, but the novel comprehend remained until Island Records reissued the United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland version inwards the piece of cake 1970s. Both the U.S.A. together with United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland editions were released inwards substantially dissimilar stereo together with mono mixes. One vocal inwards particular, "Giving to You", was released inwards 3 dissimilar versions, including similar mono together with stereo versions from the United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland album, addition a really dissimilar mono United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland b-side mix, which also was subsequently included on the U.S.A. mono LP. The special United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland b-side mix includes lyrics sung past times Winwood during the introduction which are non heard on whatsoever other version. The soundtrack album for Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush also contains a recording of "Utterly Simple" which is a dissimilar accept than the ane used on this album.
For the original U.S.A. edition, a curt looping snippet of the group's unmarried "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" was added betwixt most of the songs. The LP also added iii songs from the group's United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland singles ("Paper Sun", "Hole inwards My Shoe", together with "Smiling Phases") spell deleting 2 Dave Mason songs "Hope I Never Find Me There" together with "Utterly Simple." The in conclusion rails on the U.S.A. album, "We're H5N1 Fade, You Missed This", is genuinely the ending of the total length version of "Paper Sun."
The album was engineered past times Phil Brown, who, when asked what was his favourite retentiveness of engineering, responded: "Recording Dear Mr Fantasy, ane o'clock inwards the morning, Nov 1967.
Rolling Stone gave the USA liberate an overwhelmingly positive review, calling it "an album which, although it needs ane unity that fourth dimension volition provide, is ane of the best from whatsoever contemporary group." They peculiarly praised Steve Winwood's vocals ("probably the major blues vox of his generation") together with Jim Capaldi's lyrics. They held that "the strongest points of this album are where the elements of Traffic's 'comprehensible far-out' together with Winwood's bully R&B mode are combined", but deemed Mason's contributions to live goodness plenty inwards their ain right. The review is noted for containing several major errors, including claiming that Chris Wood was Traffic's bassist together with that Dave Mason did the atomic number 82 vocal on "Paper Sun".
Allmusic's retrospective review was positive, calling Traffic's music "eclectic, combining their background inwards British popular with a gustatory modality for the comic together with trip the lite fantastic toe hall styles of Sgt. Pepper, Indian music, together with blues-rock jamming."
Since artist/traffic-mn0000012472">Traffic's debut album, Mr. Fantasy, has been issued inwards dissimilar configurations over the years, a history of those differences is inwards order. In 1967, the British tape manufacture considered albums together with singles separate entities; thus, Mr. Fantasy did non comprise the group's iii previous Top Ten U.K. hits. Just equally the album was beingness released inwards the U.K., artist/traffic-mn0000012472">Traffic carve upwardly from artist/dave-mason-mn0000962339">Dave Mason. The album was changed drastically for U.S. release, both because American custom was that singles ought to look on albums, together with because the grouping sought to diminish artist/mason-mn0000962339">Mason's presence; on the rootage pressing only, the championship was changed to Heaven Is inwards Your Mind. In 2000, Island reissued Mr. Fantasy inwards its mono mix with the U.K. vocal listing together with 5 mono singles sides equally bonus tracks; it also released Heaven Is inwards Your Mind, the American lineup inwards stereo with 4 bonus tracks. Naturally, the mono audio is punchier together with to a greater extent than compressed, but it isn't ideal for the album, because artist/traffic-mn0000012472">Traffic was fashioned equally an odd stone band. artist/steve-winwood-mn0000045313">Steve Winwood's primary musical instrument was organ, though he also played guitar; artist/chris-wood-mn0002415146">Chris Wood was a reed player, spending most of his fourth dimension on flute; artist/mason-mn0000962339">Mason played guitar, but he was also known to selection upwardly the sitar, alongside other instruments. As such a mixture suggests, the band's musical approach was eclectic, combining their background inwards British popular with a gustatory modality for the comic together with trip the lite fantastic toe hall styles of Sgt. Pepper, Indian music, together with blues-rock jamming. Songs inwards the in conclusion category receive got proven the most distinctive together with long-lasting, but artist/mason-mn0000962339">Mason's to a greater extent than pop-oriented contributions rest winning, equally practice to a greater extent than light-hearted efforts. Interest inwards the mono mix is probable to live restricted to longtime fans; anyone wishing to take away heed artist/traffic-mn0000012472">Traffic's rootage album for the rootage fourth dimension is directed to Heaven Is inwards Your Mind.
Traffic are rightly remembered today equally titans of jazz-rock together with mortal — but on their 1967 debut album, ‘Mr. Fantasy,’ released 46 years agone this month, Steve Winwood together with companionship were busy riding the psychedelic coattails of ‘Sgt. Pepper.‘
It’s a fascinating outlier inwards the Traffic discography: They never made about other collection similar it, together with “collection” is the most plumbing equipment descriptor for ‘Mr. Fantasy,’ since the songs receive got been re-assembled together with re-bundled inwards together with then many configurations throughout the years that calling it a legitimate album around feels inaccurate.
The original United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland version was an album inwards the traditional ’60s sense, next the Beatles‘ designing of leaving off striking singles (like the groovy, sitar-driven ‘Paper Sun’ together with Dave Mason’s irresistibly goofy psych-pop sing-along ‘Hole inwards My Show’). The U.S.A. version rectified that problem, re-packing the album equally ‘Heaven is inwards Your Mind’ with those classic tracks included (not to bring upwardly a drastically re-tooled rails order).
Even without the hits, ‘Mr. Fantasy’ is a revealing collection, showcasing a band inwards transition. Some of the cloth feels a chip dated (Mason’s stiar-led ‘Utterly Simple,’ clearly influenced past times George Harrison‘s recent experiments with the instrument, devolves into a corny Moody Blues-esque spoken discussion bit), together with occasionally the cloth feels inextricably tied to its era (the stereo-panned vocals together with explosions of reverb on ‘Heaven Is In Your Mind’), but every inch of these songs are expertly arranged, exploding with raw inventiveness together with instrumental power: ‘No Face, No Name, No Number’ is a psych-folk gem, laced with Chris Wood’s haunting flute together with Dave Mason’s exotic tambura lines but driven to ecstasy past times Winwood’s soulful belting. ‘Coloured Rain’ blends Wood’s honky sax together with Jim Capaldi’s driving percussion into an early on blues-rock gem, bested solely past times the semi-title-track ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ an expansive masterpiece built on Winwood’s aching vocal (not to bring upwardly his mesmerizing skills on guitar together with organ).
Traffic, of course, was never a traditional stone band. Capaldi was a singing-writing drummer; Wood’s reed instruments gave the band a unique flexibility; Mason, the band’s short-lived wild card, loved odd instrumentation together with wrote firmly with tongue-in-cheek; together with Winwood, a young, white Englishman, sang with the husky, hard-lived mortal of an early on Delta bluesman. It was an foreign combination on paper, but the trial was unmistakably vibrant.
Mason didn’t stick around long. In fact, he left earlier ‘Mr. Fantasy’ was fifty-fifty officially released (He isn’t fifty-fifty featured on the ‘Heaven Is In Your Mind’ album cover); he would re-join the band for their self-titled album inwards 1968 (at which indicate they’d to a greater extent than or less ditched the psychedelic approach altogether inwards favor of tight, soulful rock) together with an expansive 1971 tour that produced the alive album, ‘Welcome to the Cantine.’ Ultimately, though, Mason’s mode never fully gelled with the others': Winwood, Wood, together with Capaldi would serve equally Traffic’s centre trio throughout their fruitful classic ’70s period.
But fifty-fifty if ‘Mr. Fantasy’ isn’t a instance Traffic album, or fifty-fifty their most consistent batch of songs, it soundless captures the restless inventiveness of a band destined for bigger together with amend things.
Tracks Listing
Original United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland version
1. Heaven Is inwards Your Mind (4:16)
2. Berkshire Poppies (2:55)
3. House for Everyone (2:05)
4. No Face, No Name, No Number (3:35)
5. Dear Mr. Fantasy (5:44)
6. Dealer (3:34)
7. Utterly Simple (3:16)
8. Coloured Rain (2:43)
9. Hope I Never Find Me There (2:12)
10. Giving to You (4:20)
11. Paper Dominicus (4:15)
12. Giving To You (UK mono unmarried version) (4:12)
13. Hole In My Shoe (2:54)
14. Smiling Faces (2:43)
15. Here We Go 'Round The Mulberry Bush (2:18)
Line-up / Musicians
- Steve Winwood / vocals, guitar, piano, harpsichord, organ, bass, percussion
- Dave Mason / vocals, guitar, sitar, tamboura, shakkai, Mellotron, bass
- Chris Wood / vocals, flute, saxophone, organ
- Jim Capaldi / vocals, drums, percussion
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