Development of the British Blues and Rhythm
  --- show 40 ---   12-9-2015

Traffic                                             1967-1970

Groundhogs                                1970-1972, 1988

*************************

Oh crap!  I spent over an hour typing in some commentary for today’s show, then hit some button that wiped it all out, apparently beyond retrieval.  I guess I still don’t save often enough!  Oh well, here goes again.  Sorry if I don’t get done in time.

*************************

I was originally planning on NOT including Traffic in our multi-year saga, hence it falls a little behind in our timeline, but finally figured I would be derelict to not include this portion of the Spencer Davis alumnus Stevie Winwood’s career.  Stevie provides most of the vocals as well as keyboards (and maybe guitar?) backed by guitarist Dave Mason, drummer Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood on flute and saxes, all but Wood adding vocals to the group’s music.

Our first set is taken from their debut LP, 1967’s Mr. Fantasy, while their second set is gleaned from the self-titled 1968 follow-up.  1969’s Last Exit was half live, but we took two studio tracks to start the third Traffic set, then finished off with a couple from the 1970 John Barleycorn Must Die.

In 1969 Winwood left to join Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Rick Grech in Blind Faith, then reassembled the band without Mason, who had gone into a solo career, in time to put out the Barleycorn album, which also provides our show-closing number Glad / Freedom Rider.

*************************

This is our second installment of T.S. “Tony” McPhee’s trio The Groudhogs (third if you count their earliest appearance backing John Lee Hooker) and we can see how the music has evolved away from its Blues roots.  Drummer Ken Pustelnik and bassist Pete Cruickshank backed guitarist McPhee through the first two sets presented here, the first being built from the two 1970-recorded albums Thank Christ for the Bomb and Split.  A very apt title as Split also gives us the first two tracks of our next set ahead of much of the 1972-recorded Who Will Save the World?  The Mighty Groundhogs.

McPhee comes back in his third set with a whole new backing pair (Mick Jones on drums and Dave Anderson on the bass) in their 1988 LP Back Against the Wall, which goes back a little more toward those Blues roots.  I particularly like the last tune of the set, the title being the serial number of a favorite guitar which was stolen from him a couple of years previous.  I have had so many occasions where someone apparently thought they deserved my axes more than me to fill an entire album playlist.

*************************

Since it is still relatively new, I thought I’d mention that KKUP is now streaming on the internet and, while it is still in a developing stage, we have been putting out the word.  I’m not all of that good with high-tech stuff, but it seems pretty easy to access.  If you go to our website at KKUP.org you will see on the home page a strip of options immediately above the pictures of the musicians the next to the last option being LISTEN ONLINE.  By clicking this, it brings up a choice of desktop or mobile.  I can only speak for the desktop but after maybe a minute I was receiving a crystal clear feed.  As already mentioned, this is still a work in progress and we are currently limited to a finite number of listeners at any one time.  I mention this so you will be aware to turn off the application when you are not actually listening.  (I put the player in my favorites bar for the easiest of access.)  Now we can reach our listeners in Los Gatos and Palo Alto, even my family in Canada.  Let your friends elsewhere know they can now listen to your favorite station, and while they have the home page open they can check out our schedule.

*************************

Paper Sun
Dealer
Coloured Rain
House for Everyone
Dear Mister Fantasy /
      We’re a Fade You Missed This
   Traffic

Ship on the Ocean

Split One
Garden
Status People
Split Two
Eccentric Man
Split Four
   The Groundhogs

You Can All Join In
Pearly Queen
Feelin’ Alright
Vagabond Virgin
Forty Thousand Headmen
Crying to Be Heard
   Traffic

Cherry Red
Groundhog
Death of the Sun
Bog Roll Blues
The Grey Maze
Amazing Grace
   The Groundhogs

Something’s Got a Hold of My Toe

Medicated Goo
John Barleycorn Must Die
Every Mother’s Son
   Traffic

Back Against the Wall

Blue Boar Blues
Waiting in the Shadows
Stick to Your Guns
54146
   The Groundhogs

Glad / Freedom Rider

   Traffic