Traffic - mr fantasy

Since Traffic's debut album Mr. Fantasy has been issued in different configurations over the years, a history of those differences is in order. In 1967, the British record industry considered albums and singles separate entities; thus, Mr. Fantasy did not contain the group's three previous Top Ten U.K. hits. Just as the album was being released in the U.K., Traffic split from Dave Mason.

The album was changed drastically for U.S. release, both because American custom was that singles ought to appear on albums, and because the group sought to diminish Mason's presence; on the first pressing only, the title was changed to Heaven Is in Your Mind. Naturally, the mono sound is punchier and more compressed, but it isn't ideal for the album, because Traffic was fashioned as an unusual rock band.

Steve Winwood's primary instrument was organ, though he also played guitar; Chris Wood was a reed player, spending most of his time on flute; Mason played guitar, but he was also known to pick up the sitar, among other instruments. As such a mixture suggests, the band's musical approach was eclectic, combining their background in British pop with a taste for the comic and dancehall styles of Sgt. Pepper, Indian music, and blues-rock jamming. Songs in the last category have proven the most distinctive and long-lasting, but Mason's more pop-oriented contributions remain winning, as do more light-hearted efforts. AllMusicGuide

original UK stereo album
    1 Heaven Is in Your Mind
    2 Berkshire Poppies
    3 House for Everyone
    4 No Face No Name No Number
    5 Dear Mr Fantasy
    6 Dealer
    7 Utterly Simple
    8 Coloured Rain
    9 Hope I Never Find Me There
    10 Giving to You

original US mono album
    11 Paper Sun
    12 Dealer
    13 Coloured Rain
    14 Hole in My Shoe
    15 No Face No Name No Number
    16 Heaven Is in Your Mind
    17 House for Everyone
    18 Berkshire Poppies
    19 Giving to You
    20 Smiling Phases
    21 Dear Mr Fantasy
    22 We're a Fade You Missed This