JOHN BARLEYCORN MUST DIE

Steve Winwood turned 65 recently. As a singer and musician, he’s received many honors for his solo work. However his greatest accomplishments may be as a leader of two bands influenced by folk, jazz, and blues: Blind Faith and Traffic.

Of all the albums Traffic released, one remains my favorite, 1970’s John Barlycorn Must Die. Steve is the sole survivor of that band whose other members were Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi. In 2011 he remastered a deluxe edition double CD with alternate takes of their great songs: “Glad”, “Empty Pages”, and “Freedom Rider”. If you are an LP lover, a clean UK Pink Island original is to die for.

(Cover: Photo by Richard Polak, Design by Mike Sida)