John Barleycorn Must Die Traffic

John Barleycorn Must Die

 

I heard this track for the first time on my brother John’s record player summer of 1981. Seminal after listening to Empty Pages to hear this English folk standard performed so passionately by a young prodigy, Steve Winwood, and the other members of Traffic, estimable musicians in their own right. We know John Barleycorn must die is about the beer brewing process yet it resonates with a heroic battle for survival in the mind of a hormone-raging adolescent.   Steve Winwood’s first solo release, entitled Steve Winwood, was my first true introduction to his music.  All music, for me, is introduced achronologically but always at the right moment.  John Barleycorn must die right after a very difficult adolescent traumatic experience. All experiences in the adolescent mind are traumatic as we all know. 

 

Steve Winwood – vocals, guitar, keyboards.
Jim Capaldi – drums, vocals.
Chris Wood – flute, saxophone, keyboards.
Ric Grech – bass, guitar, violin.

Rebop Kwaku Baah
Ghanaian percussionist

John Barleycorn must die back cover




 

3 months ago

Sounds clear as a bell. So very impressive. All with respect to Steve Winwood and his musical excellence.

sugarmaven

Detailed Test Results

Sound Quality The Sonos Move has overall very good sound quality. Bass has a good impact and goes deep. The midrange is even but is a bit hazy and grainy. Treble is extended but a bit subdued, dry and lean. Is a so-so job of recovering room ambiance and a bit of fine detail and complexity lacking? There is no significant difference between Wifi and Bluetooth sound quality. Provides a decent volume level in a small to medium-sized room. When combined with a second unit to form a stereo pair, they can be placed to provide better stereo separation than many other models overall score improves, remaining very good. Versatility Versatility is very good. It’s a monophonic speaker, with multi-room support with other Sonos speakers but not with other Amazon Echo speakers, although it’s added to the Amazon Echo App. Supports stereo pairing with another Sonos Move. Wireless: WiFi supports dual-Band, and it has Bluetooth. Communications: Amazon Alexa – Lacks support for calling, texting, and messaging features native to Alexa in Amazon Echo products; Google Assistant – Has support for calling and messaging but lacks it for texting on this unit. Digital Assistant Muting: Has a dedicated touch control to disable the digital assistant by muting its microphones. Audio Connections: Lacks analog audio inputs and outputs. Audio Tailoring: Has auto-calibration and treble and bass controls. OS Support: Android, iOS, and others. Other connections and features: Lacks USB port. Streaming by voice command: Supports voice command of many common streaming services such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, Tune-In, and iHeart Radio. Voice ID: Lacks support to set up voice identity using this speaker, although it can use a voice print stored in a user’s Amazon account trained from an Amazon speaker. This feature allows the account holder to access personal information with their “voice print.” Ease of Use Overall ease of use of the Sonos Move is very good. Wireless setup: Setup requires an app downloaded to a device or device connection, easy and intuitive – need instructions (may be included in-app), may or may not involve inputting a WiFi network password, and account setups. Console controls: Volume controls are prominent but, unlike earlier Sonos models, ambiguously labeled, making it unclear as to their function. Lacks graphical position marking or index of level. It has an audible tone that adjusts with level selection. Volume may also be controlled via a natural language command. Audio mute: Unlabeled – well placed – indicating when engaged. Microphone mute: Well marked, well placed, clear indication when engaged. Source selections: Requires app to be installed; app installation is straightforward. Once the app is installed, switching between inputs is fairly intuitive. App remote: Volume controls are prominent and have graphical position marking but lack specific index markings. Mute: (Remote) Well marked, well placed, clear indication when it is engaging, and mutes the line input. Voice transport controls Natural language control of transport (Play/Pause/Skip/Mute), volume controls, and source selection were easy and intuitive.  

Report for nurses; 9 months ago

Not only will you not find another musician who can bring it like that on the guitar and any other instrument on the stage, deliver those classic vocals that haven’t wandered from the original recording, but also do it flawlessly for the past 50 years. Pound for pound, the greatest musician alive today

ChipsterB
Nine months ago
It’s curious that the comments seem to focus on Steve’s guitar playing, many as if it’s a surprise. The power and beauty of his voice blew me away all these years later. He delivers these wonderful lyrics with just as much nuance and emotion as in 1967. Bravo!