University of Virginia Library

RECORDS

Shot Down By 'Fantasy Factory'

By MMY FAMA

After almost a year layoff
since the release of The Low
Sparks of High-Heeled Boys,
Traffic has released a new
album entitled Shoot Out at
the Fantasy Factory.

In the light of Traffic's
earlier efforts, Shoot Out is a
disappointment. The major
flaw of the album is that it
contains only five cuts. Most
are drawn out, redundant and
a little overdone. "Roll Right
Stones", the longest on the
album, is thirteen minutes and
forty seconds long and the fact
that the melody is based on a
repeating two chord
progression (i.e. "Feelin'
Alright") makes the song
exceedingly repetitive after the
first few minutes.

Repetition also mars the
title cut "Shoot Out at the
Fantasy Factory." Even
Capaldi's drumming and Baah's
percussion does not save the
song from a dullness brought
on by overdrawn guitar riffs
which seem to have no other
purpose than extending the
length of the cut.

Another weak point of the
album is Winwood's trite lyrics.
On the last cut of the album
Winwood sings, "Sometimes I
feel so uninspired, sometimes I
feel like giving up.... But don't
let it get you down, you've got
to smile and turn the other
cheek..." Accompanied by a
simple chord progression and
some not-so-bluesy guitar
playing, this cut sounds like it
was written by Marc Farner.

The strongest aspect of
Shoot Out is Cris Wood's effort
on the saxophone. Wood takes
over the lead melody line with
an electrified sax on a four
minute instrumental called
"Tragic Magic." His sax on this
cut is smooth, tasteful, and
perfectly tight with Winwood's
piano. The addition of brass
and a flawless background
tempo provided by Rebop
Baah makes "Tragic Magic" by
far the most pleasant song on

the album.

Another noteworthy aspect
of the album is in the rhythm
section – Jim Capaldi's
drumming and Rebop Baah's
percussion work. Baah, who
became a member of Traffic
when he was added for the
Low Sparks album, and
Capaldi, who is one of the
original members of Traffic,
play with exceptional tightness
and proficiency. Their
outstanding rhythm carries off
many of the cuts on the album
which would otherwise be
lackluster.

Shoot Out at the Fantasy
Factory is a good album,
bordering on the mediocre. It
seems to be tainted by the
same problems that have
plagued previous Traffic
albums; too-long cuts,
repetitive melodies and
somewhat dull songwriting on
Steve Winwood's part. Most of
these problems are
compensated for by the almost
perfect instrumentation of the
six members of the band.

The discrepancy between
material and musicianship,
however, makes Shoot Out at
the Fantasy Factory only a
potentially excellent album.