Steve Winwood performs a solo acoustic version of Traffic‘s “John Barleycorn (Must Die)” was the fourth album by the rock band Traffic, released in 1970, on Island Records in the United Kingdom, John Barleycorn is a Traditional English Folk Song . The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death and indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting.
In the beginning of 1970, after the demise of Blind Faith, the band having lasted barely six months, Steve Winwood returned to the studio ostensibly to make his first solo album, originally going to be titled Mad Shadows. He recorded two tracks with producer Guy Stevens, “Stranger to Himself” and “Every Mother’s Son”, but yearned for like-minded musicians to accompany. Inviting Wood and Capaldi to join him, Winwood’s solo album became the reunion of Traffic, and a re-launch of the band’s career. It was their highest charting album in the US, In addition, the album also featured the single “Empty Pages” .
As did most of their albums, it featured influences from jazz and blues, but the version of the traditional English folk tune “John Barleycorn” also showed the musicians attending to the same strains of folk baroque and electric folk as contemporary British bandsPentangle and Fairport Convention.
Steve Winwood oversaw a deluxe edition of the album that was released in March 2011, featuring the original studio album, digitally remastered on disc one, plus a second disc of bonus material including a set at Fillmore East concert with alternate mixes and versions of album tracks.
The Fat Angel Sings 