#ricgrech

Blind Faith play in San Antonio on Aug. 20, 1969. Image snipped from the Ginger Baker Facebook page.

6/31 Traffic  Not making any deep comment here I just think the cover to Low Spark of High Heeled Boys was cool.  Recs -Low Spark of High Heeled Boys -Many a Mile to Freedom -John Barleycorn -Heaven Is In Your Mind -Medicated Goo 

Blind Faith

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys is the fifth studio album by Traffic, released in 1971. It was their first studio album to feature percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah, and the only studio appearance of drummer #jimgordon and bassist #ricgrech . Grech had previously worked with Traffic singer/multi-instrumentalist #stevewinwood in the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith while Gordon had played with another former #blindfaithband member, #ericclapton in the similarly short-lived #derekandthedominoes This one is a later release on Island Records - ILPS 9180. The album features the minor hit "Rock & Roll Stew" and the title track, which received heavy FM airplay. This is the only Traffic album to feature two lead vocals by #jimcapaldi ("Light Up or Leave Me Alone" and "Rock & Roll Stew"). His only other lead vocal on a Traffic album was "Dealer" from Mr. Fantasy (1967). #thelowsparkofhighheeledboys #islandrecords #theseventies https://www.instagram.com/p/CH20UQBlJ7G/?igshid=1dhadrw9aikvd

“Blind Faith were a short-lived experiment in 1969 from Steve Winwood and Ric Grech from Traffic and Family, and Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, latterly from Cream. They did some jamming together, then some touring, the setlist heavily fleshed out by songs from their previous bands, and only gave themselves a name once this album was put together – Blind Faith being the name Bob Seidemann gave to his photo gracing the album cover. In fact, it’s the probably the cover that is more well-known than the music on this album, featuring as it does a topless pre-pubescent girl. It was controversial enough that a different cover sleeve (the inside photo on the original UK release) was used for our sensitive American cousins. . It was, however, a number one album in both the UK and US, which may perhaps be due to an audience hungry for more Cream – one of the best progressive blues-rock bands ever. The album contains just six songs, three of them by Winwood, one by Clapton, one from Baker – Do What You Like, an Afro-inspired funky-blues jam in which I detected some influence from the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band and Frank Zappa, and one cover (Well All Right, first recorded by Buddy Holly) It’s a little too obvious that the album was a rush job, released on the back of successful tour. All that sniping aside, the songs Can’t Find My Way Home and Presence of the Lord are fantastic. The former a Steve Winwood composition, the latter Eric Clapton; they’re amongst the best songs they’ve ever written. . Luckily, I rather like drum solos, and am a big fan of Ginger Baker’s innovative tribal playing. There’s excellent musicianship and just a great earthy bluesy vibe on all tracks here, that it’s a great listen and not merely a curiosity piece during their strange six-month hiatus post-Cream and post-Traffic. Can’t Find My Way Home is the standout track for me. A song with an enduring legacy, largely due to the real-life lyrics we can all relate to: “And I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home.” . #blindfaith #stevewinwood #ericclapton #gingerbaker #ricgrech #britishblues #bluesrock #supergroup #vinyl #recordcollection #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/CDJtMTpJihz/?igshid=i7nwxgysh1s3