Traffic - The Last Great Traffic Jam (with Bonus CD)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: TrafficDirector: *
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sony
Movie Reviews of Traffic - The Last Great Traffic Jam (with Bonus CD)
Movie Review: Traffic - a fond farewell to musics great pioneers
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been a very long time coming for this DVD release, first mooted by Steve in an internet interview I did with him a couple of years ago . Has the wait been worth it, well yes it is.
Rather than the safe option of a straight performance run through, there are elements of documentary but with no annoying commentary, there are behind the scenes soundchecks, dressing room and hotel room glimpses etc, but done in such a manner that the whole thing succesfully flows as a continuous piece, apart from the concert footage nothing is longer than it needs to be, a 10 second clip of Rosko messing about on his bass in the dressing room, Steve playing some remarkable guitar some place else, the start of a great soundcheck jam that kicks into a groove, that you probably would like to hear in full, Steve and Randall getting into a televised cattle auction and Jim so often as not bringing us flashes of wit and wisdom in no particular order !
I've watched the whole thing several times now and keep picking on on material I did'nt see before. There is a dreamlike quality that wraps itself around this road movie, like some grand travelogue we see footage of the tour bus passing place name signs, under girder bridges, long expanses of highway they all blend into a whirlpool of anonimity, as Steve says 1 down 78 to go after the tours opening show, thats a lot of hotel rooms, a lot of towns passed through , a lot of highway and a lot of music !
It seems futile to mention the music, if you're reading this you know it ! It's the presentation that works here interspersing colour, black and white , sepia tones, and psychelics merging into the abstract. One day we'll hopefully see a full Traffic career retrospective DVD, but for the time being (apart from the Santa Monica DVD) this is the only Traffic visual footage officially available, so enjoy the moment. Be amazed at the rythmic groove as Pearly Queen gathers steam in the closing segment, be impressed at seeing so much of Steve on gutar, admire the power house rythm section of Jim and Walfredo anchored by the wonderful Rosko on bass. Enjoy the versatility of Mike McEvoy (keyboards and guitar) and Randall on saxes, flute , hand percussion and harmonica. Mozambique, well yes it does sound like Santana, but listen to the Spencer Davis Group on I'm A Man, the latin rythms were already instilled , and with real flute courtesy of Randall you get this tune out of it's box and bring it to life, Jim said to me when I spoke to him in 2003, that he enjoyed Far From Home, but had reserved response to some of the technology involved in the recording process, the live band interaction here justifies that point of view. Glad is a great instrumental track and Randall gets to blow, in a brief interview snippet he says that he does not go out of his way to emulate Chris Wood, I'm sure Chris would have been proud of his efforts. Winwoods piano on this is mesmerising, when he hits the quiet section of his solo the visual is interspersed with footage of ripplig water and a child diving into a pool, a rare musical and visual momemt. I wasn't going to hark on about the music, but you just have to, Jims energetic vocals and band intro's on light up give the Traffic lyricist the opportunity to take pride of place centre stage, and again on the wonderful Barleycorn, shot in black and white, Steve plays an unfamiliar acoustic guitar intro, before playing the opening chords and singing a few verses alone, Randall joins on flue, followed by Jim on tambourine and sings with Steve as a vocal duet for the remainder of the song. This song is beatifully filmed and shows that even when tackling a traditional folk song they could put the Traffic stamp on it and give it their own individual slant (Chris Wood took the tune to the band, for which we must be eternally thankful). Walking in The Wind is a wonderful tune from 1974, Rosko played on the original studio version and his wonderful bouncy bass line lifts this along just nicely, with Randall hitting all the right noted on sax. We don't see much of the performance on this one, but the visuals flow perfectly, we see people playing roller hockey, playing chess outdoors, girder bridges, skyscrapers, tour busses and trucks, muted tones, just wonderful. I could go on about how great Gimme Some Lovin' and Low Spark sound, but you already know that, but I will give mention to the late great Jerry Garcia, who guests on Dear Mr Fantasy, his ditinctive guitar tone is an interesting foil to Steves more agressive guitar work, it works in a different way, which I'll probably appreciate more when I get hold of the audio CD version of the album.
Also included is an audio CD Acoustic Session with Steve in guitar for 40000 Headmen and Low Spark and Jim on percussion recorded at Steve's home studio in England. They get it wrong on ".. barleycorn" and start again, it's all good fun in a lo-fi knock about sort of way. Low Spark features Steve on piano, and turns out to be a nice arrangement, Jims percussion complementing nicely. Chuck the CD into your computer and you get the visuals as well. How much more of this stuff is kicking around? It would be good to hear more from the archives. How about it Steve ?
Great music, and some gems off stage, Jim showing us his luxury hotel suite, commenting "I must be doing something right", Jim instructing one of his crew how he likes his cup of tea made, and Jim ringing about 10 gallons of sweat from his post gig t-shirt, before putting it back on for an interview. A wonderful poinant moment at the end is Steve getting out of a hotel lift and waving goodnight to Jim. We'll miss you Jim but his helps to jog the memory. The DVD liner notes dedicate this film to Jerry Garcia, Chris Wood , former Traffic percussionist Rebop Kwaku Baah and finally as Winwood states "To The man without Traffic could never be: my lifelong friend and partner, jim Capaldi.
God bless `em all.
Paul Minkkinen - Slough, England
Summary of Traffic - The Last Great Traffic Jam (with Bonus CD)
LAST GREAT TRAFFIC JAM - DVD Movie"Eclectic" is a description that's been overused to the point of cliché, but it certainly applies to Traffic, whose 1994 U.S. Tour is documented in The Last Great Traffic Jam. Here was a band, formed in the late '60s, who played psychedelic rock, melodic pop, and traditional folk, with occasional dashes of jazz and world music added to the mix, fronted by Steve Winwood, a preternaturally gifted musician whose inspired soul and R&B vocals earned him comparisons with Ray Charles. Co-founder Chris Wood died in 1983, but in his absence, Winwood and fellow original member Jim Capaldi (drums, vocals) put together a fine touring band, with Randall Bramblett (woodwinds, keyboards) a capable replacement for Wood and Rosko Gee (bass), Walfredo Reyes Jr. (drums, percussion), and Jim McEvoy (keyboards, guitar) filling out the lineup. Traffic lovers may be disappointed that the likes of "Paper Sun" and "Feelin' Alright" aren't on the set list, but the band's inspired versions of other classics, especially "40,000 Headmen," "John Barleycorn," "Glad," "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," and "Gimme Some Lovin'" (Winwood's hit with the Spencer Davis Group), reveal just how good this band was. The DVD (which included a bonus CD with three informal studio recordings) isn't perfect; there are too many distracting film effects for this reviewer's taste, and Jerry Garcia's guest appearance on "Dear Mr. Fantasy" is painful, as the Grateful Dead guitarist plays tentatively and looks generally lost and Brian Wilson-esque onstage (Garcia died the following year). Still, despite Winwood's various other incarnations (with Davis, with Blind Faith, and as a solo artist), his stint with Traffic yielded the best music of his career, and The Last Great Traffic Jam--which really is "the last," as Capaldi is now dead as well--is a must-have for the group's fans. --Sam Graham
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