“Dear Mr. Fantasy” is a rock song by Traffic from their 1967 album, Mr. Fantasy. An extended live version of the song also appears on the 1971 Traffic album “Welcome to the Canteen“. The lyrics were written by Jim Capaldi, while the music was written by Steve Winwood and Chris Wood.
Stephen Stills sings the lead and plays lead guitar. I don’t have the liner notes so I am not sure who is on organ – it could be Stills, Nash, Joe Vitale, Mike Finnegan, or Paul Harris. They are all credited to the album. Graham Nash fills in on the harmony vocals while David Crosby is missing in action. Stills also adds his own verse in the process of this recording. Crosby, Stills, & Nash version added two new verses to their original’s lyrics
- Each time you choose to sing the rock & roll blues,
- you take everybody’s loneliness with you.
- What do you lose each time you face down a room?
- All of us see our changes through you.
- So sing of the ocean of tears you have sailed,
- Strangers and lovers that took you.
- All of us sang, and all of us failed.
- In one way we don’t ever hear you.
This song was recorded in 1980, however, it remained unreleased until 1991 when it appeared on two compilation CDs: “CSN” (the boxed set) and “Carry On.” It is quite a bit heavier than Traffic’s original recording from 1967 which is below. While I appreciate this rendition, it would be hard for anyone to improve on the Traffic original.
The Fat Angel Sings 