TRAFFIC Mr Fantasy ISLP 961 UK psych rock 1967 mono original A+B press
£
38
$
50
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Description
Mr. Fantasy is the debut album by English rock band Traffic. It was released in 1967. For the recording, group members included Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason, however Mason left the band before the album was released. The album reached the number 16 position in the UK albums chart, and number 88 in the American Billboard charts.
The Sitar, widely associated with this era of Traffic due to its use on "Paper Sun", is only used on one track on the album, "Utterly Simple".
The first US version of the album on United Artists Records was titled Heaven Is In Your Mind and had a cover that featured all members of the group except Dave Mason. The title was quickly changed back to Mr. Fantasy but the new cover remained until Island Records reissued the UK version in the late 1970s. Both the US and UK editions were released in substantially different stereo and mono mixes. One song in particular, "Giving to You", was released in 3 different versions, including similar mono and stereo versions from the U.K. album, plus a very different mono U.K. b-side mix, which also was later included on the U.S. mono LP. The special U.K. b-side mix includes lyrics sung by Winwood during the introduction which are not heard on any other version. The soundtrack album for Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush also contains a recording of "Utterly Simple" which is a different take than the one used on this album.
For the original US edition, a short looping snippet of the group's single "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" was added between most of the songs. The LP also added three songs from the group's UK singles ("Paper Sun", "Hole In My Shoe", and "Smiling Phases") while deleting two Dave Mason songs "Hope I Never Find Me There" and "Utterly Simple." The final track on the US album "We're A Fade, You Missed This" is actually the ending of the full length version of "Paper Sun."
The album was engineered by Phil Brown who, when asked what was his favourite memory of engineering, responded: "Recording Dear Mr Fantasy, one o'clock in the morning, November 1967."
Rolling Stone gave the USA release an overwhelmingly positive review, calling it "an album which, although it needs one unity that time will provide, is one of the best from any contemporary group." They especially praised Steve Winwood's vocals ("probably the major blues voice of his generation") and Jim Capaldi's lyrics. They held that "the strongest points of this album are where the elements of Traffic's 'comprehensible far-out' and Winwood's great R&B style are combined", but deemed Mason's contributions to be good enough in their own right. The review is noted for containing several major errors, including claiming that Chris Wood was Traffic's bassist and that Dave Mason did the lead vocal on "Paper Sun".[6]
Allmusic's retrospective review was positive, calling Traffic's music "eclectic, combining their background in British pop with a taste for the comic and dance hall styles of Sgt. Pepper, Indian music, and blues-rock jamming”.
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Lead vocals
Length
1.
"Heaven Is in Your Mind"
Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood
Winwood and Capaldi
4:16
2.
"Berkshire Poppies"
Capaldi, Winwood, Wood
Winwood
2:55
3.
"House for Everyone"
Dave Mason
Mason
2:05
4.
"No Face, No Name, No Number"
Capaldi, Winwood
Winwood
3:35
5.
"Dear Mr. Fantasy"
Capaldi, Winwood, Wood
Winwood
5:44
6.
"Dealer"
Capaldi, Winwood
Capaldi and Winwood
3:34
7.
"Utterly Simple"
Mason
Mason
3:16
8.
"Coloured Rain"
Capaldi, Winwood, Wood
Winwood
2:43
9.
"Hope I Never Find Me There"
Mason
Mason
2:12
10.
"Giving to You" (album version)
Capaldi, Mason, Winwood, Wood
none
4:20
Here is a link to the title track on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vReD2zryQmA
I have cleaned, and played the disc (which I bought new in 1967), and I would grade it at least VG. The original album sleeve is almost VG because of the split on the bottom of the gatefold (See photos). Disc will be sent to winning bidder in 400 gauge clear poly cover in dedicated cardboard mailer with stiffener.
Graded as per the UK Record Collector Magazine guidelines.
VERY GOOD: "The record has obviously been played many times , but displays no major deterioration in sound quality ,despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable." - this will be a respectable playing copy of the desired record. There may be a slight dulling to the vinyl shine due to faint surface marks- the record will play through well with no skips / jumps or sticks although there may be come light surface noise in the form of crackle /pops under the music especially on the intro and run out . Any audio defects will not spoil the overall enjoyment of the record.
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