Yes, when he said he didn't know how to define it, I was wondering if he would have any better idea after listening to the whole thing. I think it's totally unique and undefinable, and maybe his idea of a fusion is about as close as you could come. It's always been my favorite from Traffic.
I've seen Winwood in concert four times. Three times with Traffic, and once with his own backup band. One of the most gifted rock musicians of all time.
Love Steve ... love Jim Capaldi ... but years, decades went by before I suddenly realized that SO MANY Traffic songs had either a flute or sax line that made it special. Chris Wood added so much to the group ...
Harri, I think this song is referring to the music industry executives, who, though they have no talent, live high on the hog off of the talents of the musicians they control (low spark = low talent; high heeled boys = upper crust of society. Great reaction - this is one of my favorites and cemented my love of the jazz/rock fusion type of music I love so much now.
@@caravan5557 yeah, but which came first? The title of the song or the reference to the mixture because it has other names. Lots of these rumors about drug references are backwards in their timeline, starting up later than when the song actually came out.
TRAFFIC, "LOW SPARK OF HIGH HEELED BOYS". ONE OF THE TOP 5 SONGS OF ALL TIME. THE BAND IS FANTASTIC... reactors are too hung up on what type of songs they are, or aren't. When I was young all know it was young people party music... It didn't need a SCREAMING GUITAR , or VOCALS. It just needed too be groovy and good. This is just that...
One of my all-time favorite bands! I think this was the band that allowed Winwood to truly shine, and indulge in self-expression. ( rather than just being the keyboardist on the side. ) Traffic was highly , highly diversified in their styles.
Mom had this album as well - I owe so much of my musical history and enjoyment to my mom. Always loved this song since childhood. Steve Winwood - so damn great! I love his acoustic version of his blind faith song - can't find my way home. Sitting fireside, just his guitar and talent making magic happen before your eyes and his smile at the end too good!
Welcome to Traffic! You must now check out Glad/Freedom Rider (must be played together) and John Barleycorn Must Die off of the album of the same name. In fact, just listen to the whole album! 😃
Thank you Harri for reacting to my suggestion. I once was an aviator, my name is Tom, hence rhe name aviatom1. This was a Steve Winwood masterpiece, lots of genres wrapped up into one. The rest of the album is awesome, if you have time
A great example of Steve Winwood's vocals is "In The Presence of The Lord" from Blind Faith. Lots of awesome tunes on that supergroup's album...one of the very best. "Low Spark..." absolutely dominated AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) FM radio that ruled the airwaves during '72, when I was 16. What an awesome musical era to grow up in...if you were old enough then, you'll understand just what I mean.
High Heeled boys. The platform shoes that were worn back in the 70's. This talks on rock musicians being ripped off by their managers, recording companies etc.
I've been listening to this song for 52 years now and the lyrics still perplex me. My feeling is that the song is a commentary on the depravity of the music business.
Great song, great album. I'm 71 yrs old and this is still one of my favorites. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review "Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired" from the same album. It's the kind of song that becomes a religious experience, that tears at your soul. I promise you won't be disappointed
The "Little Stevie" nickname actually dates back to his time with the Spencer Davis Group, which he joined--and had his first hit as a lead vocalist with--when he was only 15! But it persisted at least through his early years with Traffic, which he founded at 19.
Chris Waters is correct. The Little Stevie nickname came from his time with the Spencer Davis Group. They had a hit with the song Gimme Some Lovin. Winwood didn't actually join Traffic. He founded the band with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason. While Mason was with the band they had hits with Dear Mr Fantasy, You Can All Join In, Feelin All RIght, Medicated Goo, 40,000 Headmen, and a few others. Mason dropped out before the John Barleycorn album and Low Spark followed that one, also without Mason.
Awsome song turned my sons and their friends on to this song they loved it. Just love seeing the younger generation appreciating the older music. My boys young men here it all from me. 😊
When I was a young teen coming of age in the early 70's, my best friend and I discovered Traffic. And this my children is one of the band's finest. Hell, all of Traffic is beyond fantastic.
I love Steve Winwood’s solo stuff from the 1980s. Sure, many people who lived in the 60s will prefer his older stuff, but “Higher Love”, “While You See A Chance”, “Valerie” and “Back In The High Life Again” are true gems.
Much of the best music from 1960's onward was the product of experimentation, innovation and breaking past established musical boundaries (real or imagined). I suspect that the band would be delighted by someone's inability to categorize their composition. Great band, incredible song. Thanks for taking this one on, Harri!
It blows my mind when I hear all this older music popular when I was young and how even such very long tracks were played on the radio ….. the full tracks! It was a great time.
@@dana_brooke_27 Me too! Best radio station ever in the 70's. Allison Steele, Dave Herman, Pete Fornatell, Scott Muni. The soundtrack of my high school years
@@Peter-oh3hc I loved Allison Steele the night bird after being out at night. Carol Miller was on a little while too. Radio's not the same. WNEW had John Lennon stop by. Those things don't happen now. That's was my station.
@@dana_brooke_27 Forgot Carol Miller. Thx. Heard so many songs for the first time. One DJ did the "old, new, borrowed and blue" where listeners would pick an old song, a new song, a cover song and a blues song with a similar theme. I could never come up with one, but they were great to listen to.
The song is about drug culture and the relationships between users and suppliers. Low spark is injection, and high heeled boy is speedball, a mixture of cocaine and heroin. The first verse is about shooting up. The second verse is about a dealer that got overdosed.Jul 3, 2021
there's a Live video of this and Steve is at the piano, and it goes a few minutes longer. Loved this on the radio back in the day, when FM was coming into it's own, and they would play the long version on the cool stations. The story goes, Jim Capaldi and Michael J. Pollard were on some bender at a resort along the Med, and the background clapping is supposed to mimic the sound of M.J. clip-clopping around the pool in his cowboy boots and Hawaiian shirt. Michael had a notebook with lyrics and song ideas, and scrawled across the cover was the title of this song. This version seems to crop the end off a bit early. Glad you sampled this - now try DEAR MR. FANTASY and MEDICATED GOO for some good Traffic tunes!
One of those songs I have always adored, yet really. Couldn't have told you what it meant. All I know is it mesmerized me, still does. So glad you did a reaction on it, Harri 💕
Which is all that really matters, usually. I think too many of these younger reviewers are way too hung up in the meanings behind all of these songs. Some don't mean anything. They're just good songs! It ruins the impact when you spend too much time analyzing things. Just go with the groove and let that be enough. As the saying goes, "It's not rocket science!"
Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi started writing this song in Morocco, where he was getting ready to make a movie called Nevertheless with actor Michael J. Pollard. The film project fell through, but did lead to one of Traffic's best-known songs. Said Capaldi: "Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark,' for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level."
Traffic was literally a communal band leading up to this point so jamming,yes. Loved Winwood from early days Spencer Davis Group but he really hits his stride here and next album John Barleycorn, also Blind Faith... cheers and thanks!
I recently heard that the title was attributed to the late actor Michael J. Pollard. Story was that it was a line he scribbled in drummer Jim Capaldi's notebook. Amazing where they went with it. I was lucky enough to see Traffic in October 1971. They were doing new songs from this yet to be released album. "Low Spark" was one of them. Saw Winwood as opening act for Steely Dan. He an abbreviated version of this with somewhat different instrumentation. Just not the same
Man I love this album!! I was 14(1992) and super into Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, STP etc. and Hip Hop , when my friend's older brother turned me onto Derek and the Dominoes, Blind Faith, Cream, 70's Chicago, Traffic, and other bands of that ilk. It started my journey and constant thirst of knowledge of music before my time and I'm grateful for him.....and Columbia House😆
The title refers to an inscription written by diminutive American actor Michael J. Pollard in Jim Capaldi's notebook while they were both in Morocco.[1] Capaldi and Pollard were planning to work on a movie that was never filmed. Capaldi said: Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys'. For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level This is copied from Wikipedia. wnew.radio.com/2009/11/26/video-classics-the-low-spark-of-highheeled-boys-traffic/[dead link]
Glad/Freedom Rider, Roll Right Stones, Light Up or Leave Me Alone, Rock and Roll Stew, Dream Gerrard. There is a wonderfully deep catalog by this band. I favor their later stuff but they did some great early work too, when Dave Mason was in the band.
If You liked the sax - - Check out the player now long deceased but had an album released with music he recorded before he died. His name was Chris Wood - the album was called "Vulcan" and the song " Barbed Wire"
Forgive me, but I have never quite understood the need to place every piece of music into a one word "genre". Steve Winwood is simply a great musician & songwriter...who has created music of almost all "genres".
Jim Capaldi wrote this song after spending time in Europe with American actor Michael J. Pollard while working on another project. In London in the late 60's and early 70's "boy" was street slang for cocaine and "girl" was the slang term for heroin. A "high heeled boy" was a hit of heroin combined with a hit of cocaine. The "gun that didn't make any noise" is a metaphor for a syringe which was the method of administering this frequently lethal concoction. Pollard had apparently survived experimenting with this dangerous combination also known as a "speed ball". When he and Capaldi parted company he left a notebook with Jim on the pages of which the words "low spark of high heeled boys" had been scrawled over and over again. That notebook became the inspiration for the song which he shared with Winwood who then set it to music. I believe "low spark" refers to the actual moment of injection, and "the man who was shot dead" refers to a dealer who became hooked on his own drugs. The song is a warning about getting hooked on your own dope. The story of the song as I know it.
An utterly brilliant composition......just a diverse groove......somewhat reminds me of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" (The Rolling Stones...which you should give ear to)...the instrumental part.....this is one of my staples played often. Nice pick to react to👍👍👍
I was a huge Traffic fan back in the day. I owned all their albums and listened to them frequently. I was a teenager at the time, and I'm sure we all understood that it was about the music industry.
The percussionist is Rebop Kwaku Baah who is from Ghana. He was hired for the studio and the first tour of this song but was then fired because he insisted on singing onstage and everyone including the audience said he couldn't sing 'without scaring cows from a barn'.
If you want a long song (over 10 min.) that gets more and more satisfying as it goes along, try "Loan Me A Dime" by Boz Scaggs. It's got Duane Allman on lead guitar.
At the time this song was written and played, the Traffic band was at odds with the management and they were signing this song in protest with the passion of its meaning. At the time the fad was high heeled shoes for men and that’s the story behind the sparks of high heeled boys making sparks about and against the management. Winwood was a key member of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and Go. He also had a successful solo career with hits including "While You See a Chance", "Valerie", "Back in the High Life Again" and two US Billboard Hot 100 number ones, "Higher Love" and "Roll with It" charting 20 years after the start of his recording career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004. Other Recommendations: Can't Find My Way Home - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood Live From Madison Square Garden 40,000 Headmen (Live) -Steve Winwood on Winwood's Greatest Hits Live Dear Mr. Fantasy - Steve Winwood on Clapton Crossroads albums. Why Can't We Live Together - Steve Winwood on About Time Album (Highly Recommended for a different perspective on him.) Go one step further for and check this out: Dave Mason started out with "Traffic " back in the early days of his career. I don’t believe he was on the original cut of the song "Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys" but he does play this cut in one of his albums. You should check it out, well done and interesting cover which features Steve Winwood playing with him on the cut.
Harri, search utube for a video of STEVE WINWOOD sitting in front of a log fire with just his acoustic guitar singing CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME, absolutely mesmerising. Keep safe kid and cheerio from Glasgow.
In the early 70s "Fusion" was the trend. Various musical forms such as Jazz, Rock, Spiritual, Country, Blues, and whatever they could imagine were fused.
Traffic's 2-disc compilation uses the phrase Acid Rock. I think groups at that time weren't so strict about genres, a lot of them started with blues, US rock 'n' roll and skiffle. Dave Mason was an on and off member of the group, famous for his song 'Feelin' Alright' which you may have heard. They formed in '67, split at the begging of '69 (Winwood joined Blind Faith with Clapton & Ginger Baker) only to reform a year later. I always like their take on the traditional folk song 'John Barleycorn (Must Die)'. To my knowledge no one has reacted to the original Traffic version on YT yet, just 1 person to Winwood's solo version. By the way he's a multi instrumentalist, he's created his own solo album a time or two, one of those natural musicians like Paul and Brian Jones of the Stones.
OK, so what *is* this song about? Jim Capaldi, in Goldmine #97, explained that he and actor Michael J. Pollard were in Morocco preparing for a movie that was never actually made: "Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book [the line] 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. [...] The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level." End of story.
I Think You Will Be Quite Surprised At The Members Of This Band,, SO TRUST ME ON THIS ONE MY MUSIC LOVIN BROTHER,, BLIND FAITH "CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME"..A TRUE CLASSIC.
Who is guiding you through all these masterpieces and musical highlights from history Harri? I mean yes, Patreon clients but it's like a light from above with some of these selections. Classics. Jackie Blue made me smile ear to ear just looking at the title. Ditto this one. I had a roommate in college briefly that played this song every night before bed. ✌️💖
Harri, you are right about Steve Winwood's voice, so soulful. As odd and jazz inspired as this song is, it gets rather frequent airplay on the classic rock fm stations to this day. Something in a similar sound from Traffic is the title track from the Shootout At the Fantasy Factory album. Shoot Out is quite different from Low Spark, but still in that jazzy spacey vein. Empty Pages is a must play from Traffic, as well as Glad/Freedom Rider. And a particular favorite of mine, from their second album is 40.000 Headmen. I don't believe I've seen a single reaction video to this very great song. Keep exploring Traffic and Winwood, so mighty mighty fine!
I like listening to your reactions b/c once in a while you bring a perspective I never thought. It could very well be a jam style free flowing song they decided to put to vinyl. The beauty of music back then, even some songs that had artistic merit (versus commercial merit) could also get decent air play. That does not happen today. Oh, btw, the name of the song is not about drag queens (lol).
Traffic. Please, please do “40,000 Headmen”. Hari, I really want to share this with you, one way or another, please listen to it. It is one of my lifelong theme songs.☀️
The best way to describe this song is "masterpiece."
ditto
Winwood=Genius.
Yes, when he said he didn't know how to define it, I was wondering if he would have any better idea after listening to the whole thing. I think it's totally unique and undefinable, and maybe his idea of a fusion is about as close as you could come. It's always been my favorite from Traffic.
I never get tired of this song. Traffic is a deep rabbit hole indeed.
I like the live version better. It's about 7 minutes longer.
Dear Mr.Fantasy. another great Traffic song
Steve Winwood.. ....genius!!!!
I've seen Winwood in concert four times. Three times with Traffic, and once with his own backup band. One of the most gifted rock musicians of all time.
Chris Wood’s distorted sax wail on the fade out is one of the great moments in music history
My favorite single note in all the 10's of thousands of classic rock songs I know and love.
Absolutely! Would peel paint off the walls!
Love Steve ... love Jim Capaldi ... but years, decades went by before I suddenly realized that SO MANY Traffic songs had either a flute or sax line that made it special. Chris Wood added so much to the group ...
This must be what my parents were talking about when as a teenager they said go play in Traffic. 😂 Been playing them ever since.
This needs to be listened to late at night with the lights out and the headphones cranked up!!
Harri, I think this song is referring to the music industry executives, who, though they have no talent, live high on the hog off of the talents of the musicians they control (low spark = low talent; high heeled boys = upper crust of society. Great reaction - this is one of my favorites and cemented my love of the jazz/rock fusion type of music I love so much now.
Actually the song is about drug dealers relationships with users
High heeled boy is a mixture of heroin and coke
@@caravan5557 yeah, but which came first? The title of the song or the reference to the mixture because it has other names.
Lots of these rumors about drug references are backwards in their timeline, starting up later than when the song actually came out.
@@danieljodrey8863 good point...need to rethink this....never was happy with such a beautiful song being about junkies..✌
Spot On ! Well said ✌
@@caravan5557 Maybe the title but the song is definitely about their travails in music industry. Listen to the lyrics bro! 😃
This song is the reason I'm a musician.
TRAFFIC, "LOW SPARK OF HIGH HEELED BOYS". ONE OF THE TOP 5 SONGS OF ALL TIME. THE BAND IS FANTASTIC... reactors are too hung up on what type of songs they are, or aren't. When I was young all know it was young people party music... It didn't need a SCREAMING GUITAR , or VOCALS. It just needed too be groovy and good. This is just that...
Amen , sweeet
The masterpiece of all time ✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽✌🏽👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😪🤍💗💜💗🤍💗🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨✨✨✨
Too Anne, you have taste. As Tom Hanks would say, "No Crying In Music"...lol
@@byronmitchell3784 right lol , I love this song , what a great band & unique as well , thank you friend
@@byronmitchell3784 I love Tom Hanks too , hes awesome lol , ttyl
One of my all-time favorite bands!
I think this was the band that allowed Winwood to truly shine, and indulge in self-expression.
( rather than just being the keyboardist on the side. )
Traffic was highly , highly diversified in their styles.
Mom had this album as well - I owe so much of my musical history and enjoyment to my mom. Always loved this song since childhood. Steve Winwood - so damn great! I love his acoustic version of his blind faith song - can't find my way home. Sitting fireside, just his guitar and talent making magic happen before your eyes and his smile at the end too good!
Love Traffic! “Glad/Freedom Rider” is a must listen but really anything by them is worth a listen
Empty Pages, Light up or Leave me Alone, but you are correct anything by them is worth a listen.
I enthusiastically agree.
Welcome to Traffic! You must now check out Glad/Freedom Rider (must be played together) and John Barleycorn Must Die off of the album of the same name. In fact, just listen to the whole album! 😃
I enthusiastically concur!
Thank you Harri for reacting to my suggestion. I once was an aviator, my name is Tom, hence rhe name aviatom1. This was a Steve Winwood masterpiece, lots of genres wrapped up into one. The rest of the album is awesome, if you have time
Completely agree. No bad songs on the album
Traffic were a FANTASTIC band! Empty Pages was another Gem of theirs! ♥️🎼🎵🎶🇨🇦
the whole John Barleycorn album was good songs like Glad, Freedom Rider
You just graduated......the last few songs you did were great this is a masterpiece Winwood on piano from start to finish...he was a child prodigy
A great example of Steve Winwood's vocals is "In The Presence of The Lord" from Blind Faith. Lots of awesome tunes on that supergroup's album...one of the very best. "Low Spark..." absolutely dominated AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) FM radio that ruled the airwaves during '72, when I was 16. What an awesome musical era to grow up in...if you were old enough then, you'll understand just what I mean.
John Barleycorn Must Die is also an amazing album by this group!
My lord what a classic piece 40 yrs I've llistened it never loses its spark!!!!!!!
High Heeled boys. The platform shoes that were worn back in the 70's. This talks on rock musicians being ripped off by their managers, recording companies etc.
He was referring to cowboy boots.
So many memories. My late brother had just bought a pair of funky green platforms, his low spark shoes! Aaah, Miami days...miss you bro...
This is the music good weed was made for.
You can call this anything you want, I just call it damn good.
I've been listening to this song for 52 years now and the lyrics still perplex me. My feeling is that the song is a commentary on the depravity of the music business.
Dear Mr. Fantasy is a classic Traffic song
Ever listen to Big Sugar cover Dear Mr. Fantasy? it's a great cover! enjoy if u haven't. Peace
Try 30,000 Headmen Harri!
Steve Winwood at his genius best. Sooo many timeless songs among them ,my favorite "CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME "
Great song, great album. I'm 71 yrs old and this is still one of my favorites. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review "Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired" from the same album. It's the kind of song that becomes a religious experience, that tears at your soul. I promise you won't be disappointed
Uninspired is from shootout at the fantasy factory I believe... cheers
The rest of the songs on this album are worth reacting to as well. Their album Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory is also a great album.
This is definitely a great album, all the songs. I really like Hidden Treasure. Also I really liked Dave Mason's albums after the band split up
Love this song...Please do "Dear Mr Fantasy" He was so young when he joined Traffic they called him Little Stevie Winwood. Love his voice
The "Little Stevie" nickname actually dates back to his time with the Spencer Davis Group, which he joined--and had his first hit as a lead vocalist with--when he was only 15! But it persisted at least through his early years with Traffic, which he founded at 19.
@@xtifr I don't remember that. I was too young but thanks for the info!
@@dana_brooke_27 I should say that this is what I heard from a friend of my mom, but he was old enough to remember those days, so I believe him.
@@xtifr must be true then right lol
Chris Waters is correct. The Little Stevie nickname came from his time with the Spencer Davis Group. They had a hit with the song Gimme Some Lovin. Winwood didn't actually join Traffic. He founded the band with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason. While Mason was with the band they had hits with Dear Mr Fantasy, You Can All Join In, Feelin All RIght, Medicated Goo, 40,000 Headmen, and a few others. Mason dropped out before the John Barleycorn album and Low Spark followed that one, also without Mason.
Awsome song turned my sons and their friends on to this song they loved it. Just love seeing the younger generation appreciating the older music. My boys young men here it all from me. 😊
One of the greatest songs ever created. ✌🏻
When I was a young teen coming of age in the early 70's, my best friend and I discovered Traffic. And this my children is one of the band's finest. Hell, all of Traffic is beyond fantastic.
I love Steve Winwood’s solo stuff from the 1980s. Sure, many people who lived in the 60s will prefer his older stuff, but “Higher Love”, “While You See A Chance”, “Valerie” and “Back In The High Life Again” are true gems.
Much of the best music from 1960's onward was the product of experimentation, innovation and breaking past established musical boundaries (real or imagined). I suspect that the band would be delighted by someone's inability to categorize their composition. Great band, incredible song. Thanks for taking this one on, Harri!
It blows my mind when I hear all this older music popular when I was young and how even such very long tracks were played on the radio ….. the full tracks! It was a great time.
Switched from AM radio to WNEW-FM New York and this was one of those songs that made you realize the difference. Thanks
I miss WNEW
@@dana_brooke_27 Me too! Best radio station ever in the 70's. Allison Steele, Dave Herman, Pete Fornatell, Scott Muni. The soundtrack of my high school years
@@Peter-oh3hc I loved Allison Steele the night bird after being out at night. Carol Miller was on a little while too. Radio's not the same. WNEW had John Lennon stop by. Those things don't happen now. That's was my station.
@@dana_brooke_27 Forgot Carol Miller. Thx. Heard so many songs for the first time. One DJ did the "old, new, borrowed and blue" where listeners would pick an old song, a new song, a cover song and a blues song with a similar theme. I could never come up with one, but they were great to listen to.
@@Peter-oh3hc Radio died cuz they stopped caring
The song is about drug culture and the relationships between users and suppliers. Low spark is injection, and high heeled boy is speedball, a mixture of cocaine and heroin. The first verse is about shooting up. The second verse is about a dealer that got overdosed.Jul 3, 2021
Right on!
there's a Live video of this and Steve is at the piano, and it goes a few minutes longer. Loved this on the radio back in the day, when FM was coming into it's own, and they would play the long version on the cool stations. The story goes, Jim Capaldi and Michael J. Pollard were on some bender at a resort along the Med, and the background clapping is supposed to mimic the sound of M.J. clip-clopping around the pool in his cowboy boots and Hawaiian shirt. Michael had a notebook with lyrics and song ideas, and scrawled across the cover was the title of this song. This version seems to crop the end off a bit early. Glad you sampled this - now try DEAR MR. FANTASY and MEDICATED GOO for some good Traffic tunes!
👍Yeah baby!!! 😢
One of those songs I have always adored, yet really. Couldn't have told you what it meant. All I know is it mesmerized me, still does. So glad you did a reaction on it, Harri 💕
Which is all that really matters, usually. I think too many of these younger reviewers are way too hung up in the meanings behind all of these songs. Some don't mean anything. They're just good songs! It ruins the impact when you spend too much time analyzing things. Just go with the groove and let that be enough. As the saying goes, "It's not rocket science!"
i came for the traffic reaction but stayed for the brightly coloured clothing and decor
very groovy!
Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi started writing this song in Morocco, where he was getting ready to make a movie called Nevertheless with actor Michael J. Pollard. The film project fell through, but did lead to one of Traffic's best-known songs. Said Capaldi: "Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark,' for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level."
Traffic was literally a communal band leading up to this point so jamming,yes. Loved Winwood from early days Spencer Davis Group but he really hits his stride here and next album John Barleycorn, also Blind Faith... cheers and thanks!
I recently heard that the title was attributed to the late actor Michael J. Pollard. Story was that it was a line he scribbled in drummer Jim Capaldi's notebook. Amazing where they went with it. I was lucky enough to see Traffic in October 1971. They were doing new songs from this yet to be released album. "Low Spark" was one of them. Saw Winwood as opening act for Steely Dan. He an abbreviated version of this with somewhat different instrumentation. Just not the same
For such a slow tempo, so highly syncopated and percussive.
As you say, music can take you right back to a particular time/place. Thanks for this -
You've covered quite an impressive array of music here -
I'm going through your catalog and liking it and your reactions.
Man I love this album!! I was 14(1992) and super into Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, STP etc. and Hip Hop , when my friend's older brother turned me onto Derek and the Dominoes, Blind Faith, Cream, 70's Chicago, Traffic, and other bands of that ilk. It started my journey and constant thirst of knowledge of music before my time and I'm grateful for him.....and Columbia House😆
Uriah Heep. Magicians Birthday. Don't forget!!
Traffic live from Santa Monica is a gem.
The title refers to an inscription written by diminutive American actor Michael J. Pollard in Jim Capaldi's notebook while they were both in Morocco.[1] Capaldi and Pollard were planning to work on a movie that was never filmed. Capaldi said:
Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys'. For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level
This is copied from Wikipedia.
wnew.radio.com/2009/11/26/video-classics-the-low-spark-of-highheeled-boys-traffic/[dead link]
Percussion on this is the tastiest!
I think you will enjoy the song Glad from the John Barleycorn must Die album.
Along with Freedom Rider. Should be done together.
Glad/Freedom Rider, Roll Right Stones, Light Up or Leave Me Alone, Rock and Roll Stew, Dream Gerrard. There is a wonderfully deep catalog by this band. I favor their later stuff but they did some great early work too, when Dave Mason was in the band.
Totally agree. Dream Gerrard.... wow! Absolutely love that track.
If You liked the sax - - Check out the player now long deceased but had an album released with music he recorded before he died. His name was Chris Wood - the album was called "Vulcan" and the song " Barbed Wire"
What a song, brilliant!!! 👏👏👏💖✨🌷
One of my absolute favorites.
I live in the USA, in Ohio, a state near the Great Lakes.I love your reality and honesty. The song speaks today as it will in 50 years.
Forgive me, but I have never quite understood the need to place every piece of music into a one word "genre". Steve Winwood is simply a great musician & songwriter...who has created music of almost all "genres".
Jim Capaldi wrote this song after spending time in Europe with American actor Michael J. Pollard while working on another project. In London in the late 60's and early 70's "boy" was street slang for cocaine and "girl" was the slang term for heroin. A "high heeled boy" was a hit of heroin combined with a hit of cocaine. The "gun that didn't make any noise" is a metaphor for a syringe which was the method of administering this frequently lethal concoction. Pollard had apparently survived experimenting with this dangerous combination also known as a "speed ball". When he and Capaldi parted company he left a notebook with Jim on the pages of which the words "low spark of high heeled boys" had been scrawled over and over again. That notebook became the inspiration for the song which he shared with Winwood who then set it to music. I believe "low spark" refers to the actual moment of injection, and "the man who was shot dead" refers to a dealer who became hooked on his own drugs. The song is a warning about getting hooked on your own dope. The story of the song as I know it.
Traffic was so unique for the time🎶💙🎶💙🎶💙🎶💙
The third verse of this song was written while they were recording the song and Capaldi slipped it in front of Winwood in time for him to sing it.
An utterly brilliant composition......just a diverse groove......somewhat reminds me of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" (The Rolling Stones...which you should give ear to)...the instrumental part.....this is one of my staples played often. Nice pick to react to👍👍👍
I was a huge Traffic fan back in the day. I owned all their albums and listened to them frequently. I was a teenager at the time, and I'm sure we all understood that it was about the music industry.
A phenomenal musician, singer and songwriter! The band created this masterwork and for that I am extremely grateful…
What a dramatic finish! 👏
Hi-heeled boys refers to the boots that many rock band musicians used to wear in the 1960s and early 70s.
The percussionist is Rebop Kwaku Baah who is from Ghana. He was hired for the studio and the first tour of this song but was then fired because he insisted on singing onstage and everyone including the audience said he couldn't sing 'without scaring cows from a barn'.
steve winwood ...one of the most talented musicians god ever put on earth
A true classic Rock song.
If you want a long song (over 10 min.) that gets more and more satisfying as it goes along, try "Loan Me A Dime" by Boz Scaggs. It's got Duane Allman on lead guitar.
That's a great choice!
At the time this song was written and played, the Traffic band was at odds with the management and they were signing this song in protest with the passion of its meaning. At the time the fad was high heeled shoes for men and that’s the story behind the sparks of high heeled boys making sparks about and against the management.
Winwood was a key member of The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and Go. He also had a successful solo career with hits including "While You See a Chance", "Valerie", "Back in the High Life Again" and two US Billboard Hot 100 number ones, "Higher Love" and "Roll with It" charting 20 years after the start of his recording career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic in 2004. Other Recommendations:
Can't Find My Way Home - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood Live From Madison Square Garden
40,000 Headmen (Live) -Steve Winwood on Winwood's Greatest Hits Live
Dear Mr. Fantasy - Steve Winwood on Clapton Crossroads albums.
Why Can't We Live Together - Steve Winwood on About Time Album (Highly Recommended for a different perspective on him.)
Go one step further for and check this out: Dave Mason started out with "Traffic " back in the early days of his career. I don’t believe he was on the original cut of the song "Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys" but he does play this cut in one of his albums. You should check it out, well done and interesting cover which features Steve Winwood playing with him on the cut.
Glad to see you listening to this classic. Please react to "Renaissance" by Jean-Luc Ponty, but only the studio version with Patrice Rushen on piano.
Harri, search utube for a video of STEVE WINWOOD sitting in front of a log fire with just his acoustic guitar singing CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME, absolutely mesmerising. Keep safe kid and cheerio from Glasgow.
In the early 70s "Fusion" was the trend. Various musical forms such as Jazz, Rock, Spiritual, Country, Blues, and whatever they could imagine were fused.
With this one my fave Traffic track is "Shoot out at the fantasy factory" the eponymous song. The live version (on On the road) is the best
This whole album is diamond! John Barley Corn Must Die is another great album.
2023 Listening still..Love ya Harry.
Traffic's 2-disc compilation uses the phrase Acid Rock. I think groups at that time weren't so strict about genres, a lot of them started with blues, US rock 'n' roll and skiffle. Dave Mason was an on and off member of the group, famous for his song 'Feelin' Alright' which you may have heard. They formed in '67, split at the begging of '69 (Winwood joined Blind Faith with Clapton & Ginger Baker) only to reform a year later. I always like their take on the traditional folk song 'John Barleycorn (Must Die)'. To my knowledge no one has reacted to the original Traffic version on YT yet, just 1 person to Winwood's solo version.
By the way he's a multi instrumentalist, he's created his own solo album a time or two, one of those natural musicians like Paul and Brian Jones of the Stones.
OK, so what *is* this song about? Jim Capaldi, in Goldmine #97, explained that he and actor Michael J. Pollard were in Morocco preparing for a movie
that was never actually made:
"Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book [the line] 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.' For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. [...] The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level." End of story.
Ahhhh, one of my favorites! This is such a classic album.
I Think You Will Be Quite Surprised At The Members Of This Band,, SO TRUST ME ON THIS ONE MY MUSIC LOVIN BROTHER,, BLIND FAITH "CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME"..A TRUE CLASSIC.
Another one by traffic dear Mr fantasy I think you'll dig it
Who is guiding you through all these masterpieces and musical highlights from history Harri?
I mean yes, Patreon clients but it's like a light from above with some of these selections.
Classics. Jackie Blue made me smile ear to ear just looking at the title. Ditto this one. I had a roommate in college briefly that played this song every night before bed.
✌️💖
Lot's of 60's Rockers wore platform shoes,thus "high heeled boys !
Harri, you are right about Steve Winwood's voice, so soulful. As odd and jazz inspired as this song is, it gets rather frequent airplay on the classic rock fm stations to this day. Something in a similar sound from Traffic is the title track from the Shootout At the Fantasy Factory album. Shoot Out is quite different from Low Spark, but still in that jazzy spacey vein. Empty Pages is a must play from Traffic, as well as Glad/Freedom Rider. And a particular favorite of mine, from their second album is 40.000 Headmen. I don't believe I've seen a single reaction video to this very great song. Keep exploring Traffic and Winwood, so mighty mighty fine!
Such a classic song and indeed it just takes you along. I'm glad you now hove this song in your life to come back to.
Carry On!!
Epic tune, I have if on vinyl.
Likewise. A band who were rarely less than excellent.
This song is almost 12 minutes long. But, I wish it was 10 times longer. I could listen to that groove all day everyday!!
This is one of my favorites
a mix bag of sound...cool zone jam
It feels like an old west coast jazz festival.
Really like the intro, bro.
Great song, God bless 👊
This album is some good listening
I'll be 66 soon I have to listen to this a couple of tines a week .It takes me to other places.
I like listening to your reactions b/c once in a while you bring a perspective I never thought. It could very well be a jam style free flowing song they decided to put to vinyl. The beauty of music back then, even some songs that had artistic merit (versus commercial merit) could also get decent air play. That does not happen today. Oh, btw, the name of the song is not about drag queens (lol).
This was before platform shoes… More like Cuban heels
A melhor banda de rockjazz fusion !
It's an R&B/Jazz fusion. That's Winwood for you.
Traffic. Please, please do “40,000 Headmen”.
Hari, I really want to share this with you, one way or another, please listen to it. It is one of my lifelong theme songs.☀️
👍YES! GREAT TUNE! 👍