On the Road [Remaster] by Traffic (CD, May-2003, Island Records USA)

During the late '60s and early '70s, great bands with crafty musicians not only put out great music on record albums, they expanded those musical boundaries even further in live performance. The live renditions were as much a part of a band's reputation as chart success, perhaps even moreso. It was important for artists and bands to connect with their audiences.

With a collection of albums to pull great music from, Traffic - here featuring Steve Winwood on vocals, guitar and piano; Chris Wood on sax and flute; Jim Capaldi on vocals, percussion and drums; Barry Beckett on keyboards; David Hood on bass; Roger Hawkins on drums; and Rebop Kwaku Baah on percussion - showed their creative abilities to translate their studio magic into live jammin' and sonic bliss. The downside is that, while the jammin' makes each track last a whole lot longer, you wind up with less tracks on the album. I recall that this album was originally a double album, but only consisting of seven songs/six tracks, each between seven and twenty minutes long.

This is a decent remaster of an album I loved, and the music sounds as good now as when I bought the album in the late '70s. I gave it an excellent rating because the performance is solid, the remaster is very good, and I couldn't find anything I didn't like about it. If you don't think you'd like long, live versions of Traffic's best-loved music, you'll want to steer clear of this CD. But I think if you've come this far, that's exactly what you're looking for. You won't be disappointed.