Sean Trane Although it's not a Traffic album, it's so much more related to Traffic than the rest of Stevie Winwood's solo career, that it would've been a shame to miss out on this one. Indeed if you liked the Low Spark of Fantasy of the Flying Eagle, this album will interest you in many ways. Not just because Jim Capaldi is involved in the writing process and plays on some tracks, along with percussionist Kwaaku Reebop, but also the tracks' lengths often allows for excellent instrumental interplay, something Winwood will forget or avoid for the following 20 years after the release of this album.

Indeed the slow-starting hold On offers plenty of instrumental licks on Stevie's Hammond organ, guitars and synths and is reminiscent of a good WTEF album track. Much funkier, yet still very Traffic-like, Time Is Running Out is the highlight of the A-side of the (whole) album, with Reebop's excellent congas and Capaldi's dynamic drumming, solid Hammond lines and excellent backing voice from Jim and Nicole (Stevie's wife). The closing Midland Maniac is the only non-Capaldi track, and is relatively reminiscent of Shootout's Uninspired in its construction, but lacks some of its brilliance, but hasn't got much to envy to it either. Notice that Stevie plays everything on this track.

Opening the flipside, Vacant Chair features Junior Marvin on guitar and it sounds unsurprisingly different from the rest of the album: it was recorded in a different studio and with a totally different line-up. In other words, while a good song, it sort of diminishes the album's cohesiveness, but it's nothing scandalous either. The following Luck's in is the other album highlight, with some tremendous groove from Reebop and Capaldi and plenty of jazzy breaks. The album-closing Let Me Make is another song that starts in the sad-piano-mood, but soon gets enhanced by some Hammond and excellent proggy developments.

Well despite my numerous references to the later Traffic albums, Winwood's first solo albums lacks the sheer brilliance of Low Spark, the groove of Shootout, but IMHO easily equals Eagle Flies and the 90's-reunion Far From Home album, but I wasn't going to lobby's Stevie's solo career for just this album. Definitely worth putting an ear on it, but it's nothing all that essential either.