Traffic – John Barleycorn Must Die (VG/VG) – LP, NZ 1970

John Barleycorn Must Die is an LP by Traffic from 1970 released on the Island Records label.

About this album

John Barleycorn Must Die is Traffic’s breakthrough statement, where folk-rooted melody, blues feeling and progressive ambition came together with unusual focus. Issued in 1970 after the group’s regrouping around Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood, it marked a turn towards longer, more exploratory forms without losing the songcraft that had defined their earlier work. The album balances instrumental drive with reflective writing on pieces such as Empty Pages, Glad and the title track, a traditional song reworked into something unmistakably their own. Widely regarded as one of Traffic’s finest albums, it helped define the band’s early-1970s sound and lasting reputation.