John Barleycorn Must Die

United Artists released Last Exit following Steve Winwood's departure to Blind Faith. A collection of live tracks and singles, it rose to No. 19 in the US. However Blind Faith barely got started before it ended; and Winwood's next move, tentatively titled Mad Shadows, was originally conceived as a solo record. With the addition of Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood, the album quickly became a Traffic release, and stands as one of the band's finest recordings. Having abandoned any trace of psychedelia from their previous work, Traffic stretch out into instrumental improvisation without ever noodling around. The band tears down the first side of the record with "Glad/Freedom Rider;" the former is a driving instrumental that cops its central groove from Soft Machine's "We Did It Again." Winwood's ability to merge his influences (and handle both keyboard and guitar duties) is impeccable, and certainly cemented his ever-growing reputation as an artist. Both "Empty Pages" and "Stranger to Himself" present a mature Winwood and foreshadow his massive solo success a decade later. "Every Mother's Son" sounds like a Blind Faith leftover, yet it breaks down into some of Winwood's finest organ playing. But the highlight of John Barleycorn Must Die is the sublime acoustic arrangement of its title track, based on a traditional folk song. The album was a bona fide success, reaching No. 5 in the UK and No. 11 in the US.