Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy (1967)

Formed in April 1967 in the West Midlands region of England, this band’s most acknowledged lineup featured Steve Winwood, Dave Mason, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood. The group’s earliest singles were inspired by The Beatles, but they're most remembered for works fusing psychedelia, rock, jazz, and folk. Windwood, Mason, and Wood often collaborated with Jimi Hendrix and even appeared on Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland in 1968, the final album of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Although the group initially split in 1969 for Winwood to form Blind Faith with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, the group reunited in 1970 and, in some incarnation or another, continued on until 1975. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Coming from their debut album, Mr. Fantasy released in 1967, this song’s lyrics were written by Capaldi and its music was written by Winwood and Wood. Never released as a single, it has since been covered by the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. Based on a poem given up on by Jim Capaldi, it was later retrieved and finished up by Steve Winwood and Chris Wood.



Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy (1967)

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Lyrics:

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy

You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that, you break out in tears
Please don't be sad; if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
Yeah

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy

You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that, you break out in tears
Please don't be sad; if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years

Dave Mason & Cass Elliot - Something to Make You Happy (1970)

Having just recently removed himself from his psychedelic English group, Traffic, Dave Mason traveled to the United States. “Mama Cass,” Cass Elliot, of The Mamas and The Papas had already released two solo albums and was looking to get back into producing. The two were introduced to one another by a mutual friend, and they decided to work together professionally and release an album. Recorded in 1970 and released in 1971, that album, Dave Mason & Cass Elliot, reached number forty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, a moderate success.

From their only album came this song, the first single of two to be released. Co-written by Mason and Elliot, it is the only song on the album to have been written by both artists. Although each half of the duo expressed an interest in recording another album with one another, it would be their only collaborative effort. Mama Cass would pass away in 1974, just three short years after this album’s release.



Dave Mason & Cass Elliot - Something to Make You Happy (1970)

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Lyrics:

Laying here at night, I think of the love we made
Causing our mind and souls to fly
We talked to each other and silence was just a game
Seemed that we didn’t even have to try

We started the way we both had in mind to do
After a while, we went the wrong way
I tried to show you all the things that you needed to
Keep me in love and let me stay

La la la la la-la la-la
La la la la la la
La la la la la-la la-la
La la la la la

If all of our time is spent in misusing it
Nothing will come of what we say
Try to retain all the things that are near to us
Trying to love in a natural way

La la la la la-la la-la
La la la la la la

It comes from the heart, this love that I offer you
Don’t try and cage it like a wild beast
Love is as free as the spirits of destiny
Something to make you happy

La la la la la-la la-la
Something to make you happy
La la la la la-la la-la
Something to make you happy

Dave Mason - Sad and Deep as You [Live] (1971)

This artist has played and recorded with some of music’s most prominent names: The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, George Harrison, and Jimi Hendrix, the last of with whom he was good friends with. His start in the music industry was highlighted by his band, Traffic, with which he always had a rocky relationship. Hits written by Mason with Traffic include “Feelin’ Alright” and “Hole in My Shoe,” while he also had solo success with “We Just Disagree”.

Today’s song was originally heard on Mason’s first solo album, Alone Together, released in 1970. This particular version, however, was recorded in 1971, live, and first released on the album Scrapbook (1972). Since Scrapbook was never made into a digital format, this live version of the song was first heard (in a digital format) on the 2006 compilation album, The Definitive Collection.



Dave Mason - Sad and Deep as You [Live] (1971)

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Lyrics:

Lips that are as warm could be
Lips that speak too soon
Lips that tell a story
As sad and deep as you

Smile that's warm as summer sun
Smile that gets you through
Smile that tells a story
As sad and deep as you

The eyes that are the windows
Eyes that are the view
Eyes that tell a story
As sad and deep as you

Tears that are unspoken words
The tears that are the truth
Tears that tell a story
As sad and deep as you

Traffic - Coloured Rain (1967)

Steve Winwood left The Spencer Davis Group with whom he had been singing with as early as fifteen years old. After quitting, he formed a new band with Dave Mason. Mason would have a great future ahead of him playing and recording with many world-renowned artists.

This song, although never one of their singles or big hits, is a great psychedelic song. The psychedelic nature of the song is exactly where Dave Mason wanted to take the group stylistically; however, the rest of the band wanted to head toward blues and folk, so Mason parted ways.

Luckily this song, and the others on the album Mr. Fantasy, were created and released before the band made their stride toward a new sound without Dave Mason.



Traffic - Coloured Rain (1967)

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Lyrics:

Yesterday I was a young boy
Searching for my way
Not knowing what I wanted
Living life from day to day
'til you came along
There was nothing but an empty space and a pain

Feels like coloured rain
Tastes like coloured rain
Bring on coloured rain
Yeah!

I can see the sail of changing
Filling with surprise
United with a feeling
Bringing love into my eyes
‘til you came along
There was nothing but an empty space and a pain

Feels like coloured rain
Tastes like coloured rain
Bring on coloured rain
Yeah!