Island Hoppin'

A very good article on Island Records in Mojo this month and it reminded me of my early introduction into Psychedelia via the majestic "Mr Fantasy" album by Traffic. I was about 14, an aspiring Mod and fellow Mod, Cornelius Bowen, gave me a pair of cream, pin striped, Hipster pants (Nice! ~ Fashion Ed), along with a copy of the "Mr Fantasy" record. I was aiming for a kind of Eddie Phillips from "The Creation" look , but, said Hipster's made me look more like Lou Diamond Phillips and, alas, have long been consigned to fashion faux pas dustbin. Stevie Winwood and his pastoral rock troupe, however, have been with me ever since.

Subconsciously, I already seemed to be aware of Traffic via "Hole in my Shoe", perhaps, from Ed "Stewpot" Stewart's Saturday morning kids radio show, but, when I placed the needle on the groove and "No Face, No Name, No Number" came on, it sounded like an Angel's lament. The next track, "Dear Mr. Fantasy", was like being hit in the head with a shovel, only to find the "Spear and Jackson" held firmly in the grasp of the previously mention cherubic one. Whenever I play the track I still get that exact same feeling. Like any great record, discovered retrospectively, it made me plunder their back catalogue and from the early pop/psychedelic crossovers of "Paper Sun" and "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush" right up to the title track on "When the Eagle Flies". It was, and still is, a fantastic musical journey and the fact that they were on Island Records, was the icing on the cake. I found my way towards John Martyn, Nick Drake, Free and Bob Marley, just to name, but, a few.

I finally got to see Stevie Winwood last year at the Scala in Kings Cross, and although, his pipes are still in tip-top working order, he was backed by a hideous jazz-fusion type band and I left the gig feeling somewhat deflated. following the 2005 death of Jim Capaldi, in January 2007, there was an all-star benefit gig at The Roundhouse, titled "Dear Mr. Fantasy", and featured Stevie, Weller, Townsend and a host of others, but, at £160 per ticket, I'd have wanted them to play in my f*cking living room for that!