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Traffic - The Perfumed Garden (1968)

Track listing:
  1. Interview 1:00
  2. Hole In My Shoe 2:31
  3. Paper Sun 3:06
  4. A House For Everyone 1:48
  5. No Face, No Name, No Number 3:47
  6. Hope They Never Find Me Here 2:18
  7. 40,000 Headmen 3:57
  8. Dear Mr. Fantasy 4:15
  9. You Can All Join In 3:12
  10. Feelin' Alright 3:45
  11. Smiling Phases 2:32
  12. Heaven Is In Your Mind 4:08
  13. Pearly Queen 4:51
  14. Who Know's What Tomorrow May Bring 3:43
  15. Coloured Rain 3:13

Notes

BBC

A generous number of tracks but a rather uneven disc. There are some gems but there are also several disappointments. Recorded live on BBC Radio, 1967-68; The BBC Radio sessions are much more interesting. These were not from a live concert but were live recordings that many artists did of their current repertoire in the BBC studios. The sound ranges from barely acceptable to very good. "Paper Sun" and "No Face, No Name, No Number" are exceptional, and the performances and arrangements on "40,000 Headmen" and "Smiling Phases" are excellent. It's interesting to note that on a number of the early Dave Mason tunes, the group is simply singing live over the album tracks ("Hole In My Shoe," "A House For Everyone"). On the later ones, the band is playing live. And of particular interest: Mason sings and plays guitar on "Pearly Queen," which is good but falls short of Winwood's interpretations. The disc, with its flaws, is recommended and appears to be quite available.

These radio sessions are from various shows, leaving the DJ chat, jingles, etc, in for good measure as the presentation style of the time adds to the mood of the music. In all honesty the sound quality is somewhat inconsistent. The BBC did rebroadcast these sessions a few years ago so hopefully they are still looking after them, and maybe an enterprising label such as Windsong will issue these one day, and maybe a good idea woule be to make it a double CD set so as to include the In-Concert broadcast as well.

This has a commentary by someone who sounds like the UK DJ Noel Edmunds