Released on 1 July 1970, John Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth studio album by Traffic. It marked the band’s comeback after a brief disbandment, and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charting album in the US, and has been certified a gold record by the RIAA. The album was marginally less successful in the UK, reaching No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart.
The album would take the band’s jazz/rock leanings beyond mere jamming and give Winwood excuse to exercise his expressive voice as punctuation to the extended instrumental sections.
John Barleycorn Must Die was voted No. 369 in Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).
Track Listing
Side One
- Glad
- Freedom Rider
- Empty Pages
Side Two
- Stranger to Himself
- John Barleycorn (Must Die)
- Every Mother’s Son
Producer: Chris Blackwell, Steve Winwood, Guy Stevens
Format: Vinyl / 12” Album
Label: Island Records
Catalogue No: 7751256
Barcode: 0602577512568
Release Date: 14 May 2021