| Track by Track Review
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CD One:
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Living on the Outside
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Living on the Outside
There is a real folk rock vibe to this. It has some hints of soul and jazz in the mix, too. This is classy stuff. It reminds me both of The Strawbs and Bob Dylan. |
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Standing in My Light
Now that Bob Dylan thing is really in full force here. This has plenty of folk music in the mix. It does electrify later and get more rocking. That whole folk thing is still at play, too, though. |
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Anna Julia
This rocker has more of that Strawbs reference point at play. It's an energetic tune that works well. Some mainstream 1960s styled pop rock is in the mix, too. |
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Time Passes
More of classic rock vibe is on the menu here. I really dig the expressive guitar soloing on this, but the vocal hooks, and pretty much everything else about this are great. This is one of the highlights of the first CD for me. |
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Riding the Storm
This song has some AOR prog elements at play. This feels a bit like something Christopher Cross might have done, but there are other things at play, too. This is another standout, and it works so well. |
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We're Not Alone
The AOR prog stylings are in place here, too. This is catchy and effective, and perhaps more prog oriented than anything we've heard this far. That said, I don't think it's quite as compelling as the last couple tracks. Still, it's cool stuff. |
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Heart of Stone
This track has a good balance between the mellower and more rocking stuff. There is a slight bluesy edge to this. It's a slower moving tune, but it's also strong. I wouldn't consider this a standout, but it is quite effective. The guitar solo is on fire. |
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Love You 'Til the Day I Die
A soft rock styled piece, this leans toward adult contemporary territory. It has some soulful vibes. This one doesn't do all that much for me, but it has its charms. |
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One Man Mission
Metallic and stomping, this rocker is classy. |
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Good Lovin'
This is another hard rocking tune. It's driving and a standout number. The guitar sound on this is so tasty. |
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Bonus Tracks:
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Bathed in Love
The lyrics to this song mention Bob Dylan. That's appropriate because this rock and roller has plenty of Dylan sound in the mix. |
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Good Lovin' (Alternate Version)
This is an intriguing alternate version. It's more of an artsy rendition. The hard rocking sound is downplayed in favor of a more percussive arrangement. |
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State of Grace (Demo)
This feels very much like an adult contemporary tune. It is catchy and absolutely in-offensive. It doesn't really do much for me, though. |
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How Do I Get to Heaven (Demo)
I like this quite a bit. It has a lot of charm and style. There are some hints of proggy things at play here, too.
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Love's Got a Hold on Me (Featuring George Harrison)
This tune really does feel a lot like the kind of thing you expect from George Harrison. It's as strong as anything on the album proper. I like this a lot. Then again, I'm a big fan of Harrison. This is a classic rocker with a lot of style and charm. |
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CD Two:
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Poor Boy Blue
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Poor Boy Blue
This blues rocking number has some hints of heavy metal. This is along the lines of the heavier side of Led Zeppelin. It's a killer rocker, and a great way to start off this second CD. |
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Edge of Love
A mellower track, this has some jazzy, fusion-like vibes and more artsy elements at play. This is classy tune. |
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Into the Void
I love the driving bass work on this. It's not all that fancy, but it is insistent and cool. The track has a great proggy texture, and it's packed full of drama and style. This thing is a real highlight of the set. |
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Breathless
Now, this driving tune is a big change. There is some funk and electronic texture at play. It really makes me think of Prince to a large degree. It's all class. It even includes a rap later. |
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Getting Stronger
We're back into more prog rock like territory. This tune has an AOR vibe, but it's proggy. It's also catchy and has some cool electronic elements. |
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Secrets in the Dark
More of an AOR rocker, this has some classy guitar sounds and some solid vocal hooks. It's a good tune, if not a standout. |
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Long Legs
This rocking groove is solid. It has a driving edge and classy sound at its heart. There is a definite blues rock angle at play. |
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Scream It to the Dark
While this isn't anything all that special or unique, it's a driving rocker with some solid riffing and hooks. It's not a standout, but it works well. |
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California Sunset
This balladic tune is a nice bit of variety. It has some jazzy, rather prog-like tendencies built into it. |
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Bright Fighter
I like the intricate acoustic guitar on this. The layers of sound over the top bring both proggy things and also some world music hints. This never rises to seriously rocking zones, but it does get some intensification. As it does, it turns proggier. |
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I've Been Changing
Intricate acoustic guitar is on the menu here. This has a real folk vibe, but also some jazzy things. It's a nice interlude with solid vocals. It's a fairly short track, too. |
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Now Is the Time
The energetic pop leaning rock sound on this is so cool. It's a melodic number that has a lot of classic texture to it. While I like this tune, I think the closing movement gets a little tedious. |
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Bonus Tracks:
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My Love Will Always Be with You
Percussion brings this in. The track works out toward more of a groove oriented mellower sound. |
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Strange Bird
Here we get a track that feels a lot like The Strawbs to me. It has a lot of folk music in the mix. |
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Tallulah (Demo)
This track is seriously proggy. The keyboards lend a lot of magic to the arrangement. It's not quite a ballad, but it's also not a hard rocker by any means. |
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Don't Say Goodbye
Piano gets things underway here. I like the vibe and sound of this a lot. It has a real classic rock vibe at play. |
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40,000 Headmen
The classic rock groove on this has some definite soul and blues in the mix. This is an effective piece and a standout, even if it is a bonus track. |
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Hidden Treasure (Reinvented)
This percussively oriented number has a cool groove to it. It's intriguing stuff with a lot of world music in the mix. |
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CD Three:
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Live Recordings 1993 - 2001
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Live at Bullet Sound Studios
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Child in the Storm
A count in gives way to acoustic guitar. That is eventually joined by piano before the vocals are eventually added to the mix. This has plenty of that folk rock thing at play. The Strawbs are again a valid reference point. |
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The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
An acoustic guitar and vocal arrangement of the Traffic tune s heard as it starts. It gradually works out from there. There is a real roots music element at play. Other instruments are added to the mix. This is quite different from the classic version, but it's also great. |
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Man with No Country
The guitar work on this really has a lot of passion and style built into it. The tune is particularly effective. |
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Old Photographs
A piano and vocal arrangement is on the menu here. This is another that works well. That arrangement never fills out beyond the initial configuration, but it doesn't need to. |
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Tales of Power
Acoustic guitar jamming is on the menu as this gets underway. This has a driving energy and some real passion. The arrangement fills out to more of a prog sound as other instruments join. |
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Harald Schmidt Show - January 1997
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Glad
"Glad" was always a Traffic classic. It gets a faithful and powerful performance here. |
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Tales of Power
Here we get a driving, rocking rendition of the song we heard earlier in a different format. I like this a lot. While this isn't as proggy as the track that preceded it, it does have some proggy tendencies. |
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Solo Acoustic Performance - Philadelphia 19 June 1999
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Man with No Country
There is a good energy and groove to this stripped down rendition. It also has a lot of feeling in it. |
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Love Will Keep Us Alive
I like this one, too, but I don't think it's quite as compelling as the previous tune. |
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Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
This is very much a deconstructed version of the classic song. I like it quite a bit. It's definitely intricate and delicate. |
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Favella Music
With some spoken stuff early, this is a cool acoustic groove. It has a bit of a percussive nature to it. It's also got a great vibe and energy. |
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Elixir of Life
This has ore of a full arrangement, but it's still acoustic based. This rocker has a good groove and energy. |
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Something So Strong
Here we get another driving rocker that works really well. Again, this is based on acoustic guitar, but it is a full arrangement. |
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CD Four:
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The Music Hall, Cologne 14 May 2002
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Living on the Outside
This tasty groove gets a strong live telling here. The jazz and blues elements both shine through. |
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Tales of Power
This full band arrangement really has a lot in common with Traffic. It's a cool rendition with healthy helpings of both blues and jazz built into it. |
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Heart of Stone
There isn't any big change here. This is a solid rocking number with plenty of bluesy vibes at play. |
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Love Will Keep Us Alive
More of a soft rock tune, this is fine, but not really anything that stands out here. |
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Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
This is more of a deconstructed version of the Traffic tune as it gets underway. This works out to some smoking hot jamming further down the road. It's definitely a change from the Traffic version, but it's no less intense or intriguing. This song just gets so powerful as it keeps driving forward. This is one of the highlights of the whole set for me. |
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40,000 Headmen
There is so much class and style in this Traffic tune. I love this performance of it. It captures a lot of magic in its musical bottle. This is another standout for me. The contrast between more rocking and mellower is great, and there is so much drama built into it. |
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Evil Love
I really dig this bluesy number. The arrangement has a lot going on, including some proggy and jazz elements. The jamming really explodes in the closing movement of the piece. |
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Gifts of Unknown Things
The jazzy sort of groove on this tune really does call to mind Traffic. I like this a lot. The guitar work on it is absolutely exceptional. |
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Rock N' Roll Stew
This Traffic classic gets a pretty faithful live telling. I really love this rendition. The jamming later on this thing is positively on fire. It elevates this to standout territory. |
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Love's Got a Hold on Me
I like this one alright, but it's a bit of a step-down from some of the others here. It's just sort of a mainstream tune without a ton of character or unique characteristics. |
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Elixir of Life
This rocker has a lot of energy and magic built into it. It's a cool number in this live telling. The jamming later gets pretty intense. |
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Light Up or Leave Me Alone
This Traffic tune gets an interesting performance. I dig the rocking groove on this a lot. I also love any song where they manage to give the bass player a solo. Of course, it's just the first of a series of solos from the various members of the band. |
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