John Barleycorn Must Die

Come on. How many more albums 70s lads from Birmingham with long hair and a love for overblown organ solos must we listen to before we get some albums by some other genre of musician up in this junket?

Listening to this album makes me want to scour Craigslist for an organ, attempt to play it at a few jams, then abandon it a couple months later—much like my criminally-brief stint with the trombone. Digging the layers. Never considered how unifying of a force the humble flute can be. Jazz, rock, Middle English folklore. There's no genre those delicate winds can't touch. Occasionally getting some Steely Dan vibes, Traffic's definitely dipping their toes in the jazzy side of rock here. Steve Winwood has some pipes. Wasn't sure who John Barleycorn was or why he had to die so I did a little research. Turns out he's a character from an old English folktale, circa 15th(?) century. Much like Rasputin some centuries later, the song chronicles the many varied and brutal methods by which the townsfolk and the nobility kill and grind John Barleycorn up, only for him to return once more in the spring—the anthropomorphized body of the crops he farms. Though it's not by a giant penis that he provides pleasure but the alcohol fermented from his barleycorn carrion. The album certainly cycles through deaths and rebirths and is a fitting tribute to this folk hero of intoxication. The flute really ties the room together.

A techincally competent and well-adjusted blend of post-psych jamming and blues with enough levity to keep the scourge of sincerity-via-roots-music at bay. In the context of this book, yet another one scoring high for inoffenive listenability and low for musical evisceration, spiritual edification, intellectual expansiveness or any other good form of "challenging".

This album started out on a high note and went on to reach an even higher note. It’s like a weird combination of jazz and folk. Some songs are some great jazz fusion, while others sound straight off a Jethro Tull album. Thoroughly enjoyed. Favorite Track(s): “Glad,” “Freedom Rider,” and “John Barleycorn”

Who names their band Traffic? Everyone hates Traffic. Maybe Traffic in 1970 existed in some existential academic journal as something that might happen if too many people got cars and tried to go someplace all at once, but today Traffic is real and it's miserable. Green Day, now there's a band who has a name that is nearly future proof. In another 10 years, people will think to themselves, "remember photosynthesis?" Or, "remember when there were these green things called trees and plants that grew food on them?" Ten years may be too far into the future, but you get my point, someday soon, we'll all be wishing there was more Green Day. My parents used to listen to Traffic while smoking a joint after dinner. But whatever, that's beside the point. These guys smell like a bunch of dirty hippies and the name of this album is weird. Isn't Barleycorn a euphemism for alcohol? Anyhow, I guess it's a good thing that they broke up, because the world can only handle one band that sound like Chicago. Though I do have a secret crush on Steve Winwood, and more specifically j his song 'Valerie,' this album didn't didn't make much of an impression on me and I was thankful it was only 34 mins.

somehow i have never seen this band mentioned anywhere before i will forget the whole album within the next 5 days but it was good

I think Steve Winwood might be my musical nemesis.

Jazz-Rock. didnt know my body needed this. holy shit that sax. AND THAT VOICE. Freedom rider is amazing. Very replay-able for background or vibing

Traffic is a perfect blend of piano, organ and R&B sound. This is a real defining album for future sounds.

SO glad I found this album! A few really great tracks that will be in my regular rotation more often. I can definitely see where a look on interesting bands in the 70's took some inspiration but at the same time the combination of the keys, flute, and saxophone make this something completely unique from anything else.

Epic! Sounds from my childhood that I never knew the source of. Groovy.

I didn’t expect this at all. Imagined it would be more like Fairport Convention, but actually a huge mix. Really enjoyed it.

Not my favorite style of music but I enjoyed it

Good should listen again

I quite enjoyed a lot of this album, even if it was one of those were all the songs slightly blended together in my mind. Not always a bad thing however

Chill 70s rock

On the Progressive Rock Scale of Lameness (TM), Traffic lands squarely in between Jethro Tull (very lame) and Genesis’ late-70’s, post-Peter Gabriel era (lame, but not without some merit).

Light rock misic with soothing vocals. Interesting and folksy. Not bad, but will not listen again.

Nothing special, short but sweet

This is all the best and worst of multi instrument experimental stuff. The title track has feelings of early Genesis. This is kind of interesting in some ways but it doesn't get me that excited.

This is a fun 1970s Album. The engineering could be better but there is charm in its sound. Favorite track, John Barleycorn

After listening to John Barleycorn Must Die, I don't really have much to say about it. Its a purely fine album that doesn't really stand out in any meaningful way, neither good or bad. The songs were okay and didn't go on for too long which is nice. But beyond that, I don't really have anything else to say. Best Song: Freedom Rider Worst Song: Glad

Nothing inherently wrong with this record, the first and *probably* the best of Traffic's discography post-Dave Mason's departure. With their modal jazz flourishes foretelling Steely Dan's later explorations during the seventies, "Glad" and "Freedom Riders" are great cuts. Steve Winwood's piano improvisation (?) at the end of the first track is surely a dreamy moment, thanks its use of eastern-sounding scales. And the title-track (a cover of a traditional tune) is very evocative as well. Not sure this rock record is material for an "essential albums" list, though. I don't really understand why "Empty Pages" was picked as as a single for the album, for instance--even if said single seemed to have helped Traffic reach a certain success across the pond. Maybe the more "middle of the road" nature of that song can explain such success. But it's not one that aged specifically well, in my humble and honest opinion. Besides--and speaking of singles--selecting a Traffic record that has none of their wonderful staple songs "Mr. Fantasy" (from the album of the same name) and "Feelin' Alright?" (from *Traffic*), seems like overkill a little. *John Barleycorn Must Die* is just a nice "little" record--certainly more *cohesive* than the relatively topsy-turvy affairs that the two first Traffic LPs were--hence why it ends up on a list like this--and yet also devoid of the striking pop highlights also found in *Mr. Fantasy* and *Traffic*, unfortunately. Formal perfection is not *always* the key that opens the door of an essential album. Sometimes, a little imperfections here and there can be forgotten when a bunch of poignant hits surge from a tracklist. To conclude, *John Barleycorn Must Die* suffers from being mostly a "transitional record". And since this is a transition which ultimately lead to a phase of Steve Winwood's career that became increasingly *cheesy* as the years went by, it might be as easy to single it out as it is easy to dismiss it. And this for very similar reasons, ironically. Indeed, Winwood's music slowly became ridiculous from 1970 onwards, up to the point when his cheesy antics became utterly *unbearable* during the late seventies / early eighties. Had his (and Traffic's) next steps been as memorable as Steely Dan's *Pretzel Logic* or *Aja*, people might have remembered it the way some olks still remember *Countdown To Ecstasy* today. By the way, terrible Winwood solo album *Arc Of A Diver* is in Dimery's list as well, astonishingly. And as said, things got even worse than that in the following years. Evidence enough that anything related to Steve Winwood in the 1001 Albums book must be taken with a grain of salt. At least *John Barleycorn Must Die* still clearly avoided such later horrors, and I'm glad about that. But that's not a sufficient reason to include the album in my own finite list, very sadly. 3/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential albums". Which translates to a 8/10 grade for more general purposes (5+3).

Old music. Good, but after a few songs, I started tuning out.

Quirky freeform jazzy organ and folk rock sounds with random pan flutes thrown into the mix….don’t hate it but don’t love it either. Steve Wnwood’s soulful vocals are a high point.

This is a lot of Steve Winwood. For some, this would be a draw. For me, it is the opposite.

Not bad. Some good late night camp fire stuff.

Meh...

Rubbish, but short

Hm I don’t know how to rate this. It was just not interesting at all. Some songs where nice but most of it was very boring.

Yet another bland 70s' British LP, this time with a bit of organ to hopefully (but not successfully) distinguish it from the glut of other albums of its kind on this list. Technically well-executed, but ultimately forgettable - listened to it yesterday afternoon and can't really remember any melodies or tracks worth remembering over my morning coffee.

It was just instrumental, nice chill music to put in the background but I didn't listen to the full album

Definitely did not like this album. Not my style.

Wow. This made me want to have lamb chops for breakfast. I can't remember a thing about it.

okay i need to listen more traffic. this album is terrific

Love Traffic, adore the talent of Steve Winwood. Wasn't too familiar with 'John Barleycorn must die', so I was glad to give it a listen. A bit more folk on this record, and not really memorable for the lyrics, but the music and the psychedelic, jazzy jamming are great.

Bliss. Soft jazzy rock. But brilliantly done. Love the flute.

A complete modernization of traditional British folk music. Great musicianship. Every Mother's Son is a very underappreciated rock classic in my opinion, but all songs are great.

Great instrumentation. Really tight band. I dig it.

This is awesome Love the overall instrumentation, it has everything that I love about the 70s Lovely sax interspersed

great album

Fantastisch album. Veels te kort

Every song is close to perfection. And done with flute on some. Winwood’s singular voice is one of the best. I’ve seem Stevie live many times and songs from this album are some of the most popular played. Classic, deserves to be on this list.

I listen to it and then I listen to it again. I've got this one on vinyl twice don't ask me why.

Brilliant album.

cool

I had previously dismissed some of Steve Winwood's solo efforts as proficient but too safe. Like he just needed a bit of a blunt edge to him. I hadn't listened to Traffic before, but that was my first instinct here too. But I have to say, this album really grew on me and I honestly think it's excellent after a few listens. While I'm not crazy about Winwood's voice, the music is fantastic mix of rock and jazz with a heavy nod to traditional folk music, particularly notable on the title track. The song writing is very impressive. It twists and turns all over the place, weaving a complex narrative. For me, this really benefitted from repeat listens. The first time thing, I was tempted to give a fairly generous 3, but man has it opened up now. Turns out that I kind of love this.

Yes, this is what I've always wanted from Traffic! I've checked out a few of their earlier albums but nothing really impresses me. And then this comes along, showcasing the genius of Steve Winwood in all his glory. It's harmonically intriguing, melodically sublime, well-crafted in all aspects and just a really exiting record.

Traffic was a great group with any talented musicians. And this is one of their great albums.

Really strong album. Glad to have been introduced to it!

Great Band

John Barleycorn must die by Traffic. What if we actually used traffic for the death penalty? Not the band but like if somebody murders someone we just throw them out on the highway, probably not a good idea. Anyway, good album, folky and jazzy with super clean vocals. It really transports me to the time and place it was made even though I have never been there and wasn't born yet. Last song "Every Mother's Son" was my favorite.

Wow, this was a blast from the past. I really loved this album back in the day. Listening to it now, it's even more interesting. NO GUITAR, except on John Barlycorn! Imagine that in 1970! I bought it for the John Barleycorn song, and really enjoyed the others as well. It's music with a lot to listen to. Probably a precurser to my love of jazz that happened later in my life. Steve Winwoods voice is terrific, but the organ, honky-tonk sounding piano, sax played un-typically, flute, drums perfectly set in the mix. Great stuff! 5 stars!!

Very unique and quit enjoyable. After listening to the album the only thing to do is to listen again.

Classic album, great songs.

Passt!

Another one that has some definite nostalgia factor as I've heard this many times over the years. It's good, very good

Winwood & Mason. I really enjoyed hearing this album. Once I owned it so it was like visiting an old friend.

Masterpiece

superb.

Melodic, fast, fine.

amazing songs, great winwood vocals and capaldi, wood and mason bringing up the music damn what a band

Very funky honestly. I can imagine this being a soundtrack for RDR or similar games.

Fantastic album by a band that infused Jazz into rock.

Love it! Cool mix of folk, rock, jazz, organ, synths cool vocals from Steve Winwood - I like his voice a lot. Dad says listen to "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"

I didn’t think I was going to give this five stars but the brevity of this album helped it. A nice quick bit of fusion of rock, folk and jazz while staying firmly in the rock camp.

Incredible

Great album. My favourite by Traffic for sure. This was in heavy rotation in the 90's when I was listening to lots of 70's classic rock. Albums like this check all the boxes for me.

Fantastic album. Will definitely listen to this again.

Really enjoyed this, especially John Barleycorn

Incredible album, John barleycorn is a transcendental song

i was into this shit fr. liked the funk/blues influences, instrumentals hit just right. gonna round up to 5 bc i loved all of it except the title track

Peak morning drive music for the opening track. Flute solos are epic. I feel like it starts stronger than it finishes though... Honestly my favorite album yet though.

Was pretty enjoyable.

Solid from beginning to end

Great album-Glad is one of my favorite tracks. Traffic, despite being in the Hall of Fame, is underrated.

Fuck yeah flute solo

Classic, great album

After the barrage of Eric Clapton's music, I wondered when we'd get to some Steve Winwood — and here we are. I owned this album a while back, not sure why it's not still in my collection, because this is excellent. Another where I wavered between 4–5, and a 4 only came into consideration because there were moments where I though Steve Winwood was stretching himself beyond his "pleasant" vocal range and it got a little hairy. But really, that's a picky point on an album that includes ancient folk, jazz, and rock in an equal doses and all of it sounds like it totally belongs together.

I haven’t heard this album in a long time. It’s still great. My dad is a big Traffic fan and this album and “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” were albums that got played a lot in the house growing up. A little bit country with a lot of jazzy spirit in the extended jams. Joyful music. The title track has a fun premise. It’s a folk song about farmers slashing down John Barleycorn and harvesting him. But in the end, John Barleycorn gets the last laugh because he’s turned into beer and brandy, and overpowers the farmers by getting them drunk. Now they can’t do anything without a little alcohol.

Dad got me into Cream at a young age, as well as Clapton's various side projects, so I've always been a fan of Steve Winwood. Still never really checked out Traffic, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how strong an album this is. Everyone plays their heart out, and the music fits perfectly in my wheelhouse. Favorite tracks: "Glad", "Freedom Rider"

Listened to the "Remastered" version. To me, sometimes the mixing was harsh (flutes or woodwind instruments were too loud vs rest of band). Guitar portions of songs like the title track and Freedom Rider were excellent. I really enjoyed this album.

What a fantastic listen. Steve Winwood is truly a genius, and his instrumental and vocal expertise is highly evident all across the album. That being said (and not knowing much about traffic), I was pleasantly surprised by the impact of Capaldi and Wood on the overall sound. Winwood is still the star tho

Listen to the instrumental pieces. I had this LP and played it over and over again. Masters!!!! Piano, flute, sax, guitar, drums and vocals....everything blended to make some great enduring sounds.

Just an outstanding album full of incredibly composed music. Cannot get enough of the instrumentals here. Favorite track: Stranger to Himself

cool

som muito bom

The rule in 1970 was ‘there are no rules’ This album is a fusion of Jazz, Rock and English Folk Steve Winwood’s vocals and keyboard stand out in front of sax and flutes in jams that flow. This is an album you can listen to at any volume and you get it The title track is a gruesome progressive, English folk tale, made all the more so by its mellow, low key rendition.

Love love love. Might have to get this on vinyl.

Awesome album musically. So many bases covered--I love it. Favorite track: Glad

requires a second listen maybe a third but enjoyable all the time

Great folk with proggy-jazz vibes that are just too good to be ignored.

Love it, one of the best discovery from the 1001 since a while !

Expected to see Mr Fantasy instead of JB Must Die, and hadn't listened to the latter album for a long time - turned out to be great (5 star songs except the first one).

There's something about Traffic that just makes all my chakras line up or something. They just feel good to me. I like their tunes, their instrumentation, and the yearning quality of Winwood's voice. Good good good.

I haven’t listened to Traffic before that I recall, at least nothing off this album. I really loved the organ, flute and sax heavy songs! Felt very groovy like I was driving out of a 70s movie.

Already own this album and listen to it regularly. A go to for some solid classic rock. Love it

Less well known than later 70s bands, but these guys already invented many of the elements.

Love this album, the organ sounds in it are some of the best to come out of the 60s. Beautiful recording.

I think Traffic gets overlooked frequently when it comes to 70s blues rock. They draw much more influence from jazz than the typical popular groups of the time, and it really works for them. The opening track is just fantastic, such a great instrumental jam. After that, there are seamless transitions into the following songs, and the album does not slow down. The incorporation of the organ, guitar, bass, saxophone, piano and percussion are all done so well. This is Traffic's fourth installment as a group, and it may be their peak (Mr. Fantasy is excellent as well, especially for a debut album). No complaints here, this is an excellent album with exceptionally talented personnel and an ahead-of-the-curve sound, they were not afraid to experiment and I think it inspired a lot of bands through the years. Fave tracks: Glad, Freedom Rider, John Barleycorn