Far from Home is the eighth and final studio album by the rock band Traffic. The project began as a revival of the writing collaboration between Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi, but soon blossomed into the first Traffic project since 1974.
| Far from Home | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 May 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 & 1994 Woodstock, Kilcoole, near Dublin, Eire | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock[1] | |||
| Length | 62:19 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi | |||
| Traffic chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Far from Home | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
Recording
editThe album was recorded in Woodstock, Kilcoole near Dublin, Ireland and mixed at the Chateau Miraval in Correns, southern France. Though the subsequent tour would feature a full band, this album features Winwood playing all of the instruments and singing all the vocals, with the exception of Capaldi's drums and backing vocals, Davy Spillane's Uilleann pipes on "Holy Ground", and recording engineer Mick Dolan's rhythm guitar on "Nowhere Is Their Freedom" and programming on the Akai S1000.
The song "State of Grace" was intended to be a Jim Capaldi solo tune, but when the Traffic project took shape, Winwood and Capaldi decided to use it for Far from Home instead.[3]
Release and reception
editFar from Home was released on 9 May 1994. The album reached number 29 in the UK Albums Chart, where it remained for four weeks, making it by far Traffic's most commercially successful album in their home country since John Barleycorn Must Die.[4] In Germany, it scored two minor hits ("Here Comes a Man" and "Some Kinda Woman")[5] and reached number 22 in the album charts.[6] It also managed to reach number 33 in the USA Billboard chart.[7]
Artwork
editThe 3D-rendered cover design shows a stick-figure hovering above a checkerboard patterned floor playing a flute. The stick-figure's head is aligned in the middle of the Traffic logo, which is seen in a dark blue-gradient background. The back sleeve for the CD version of the album features a blurry photograph of Winwood and Capaldi on a beach. Several blurry photos of Winwood and Capaldi appear inside the inner sleeve of the booklet.
Track listing
editAll songs written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi unless otherwise indicated.
- "Riding High" – 5:30
- "Here Comes a Man" – 5:06
- "Far from Home" – 8:33
- "Nowhere is Their Freedom" – 6:57
- "Holy Ground" (Winwood, Capaldi, Davy Spillane) – 7:48
- "Some Kinda Woman" – 5:26
- "Every Night, Every Day" – 5:30
- "This Train Won't Stop" – 5:23
- "State of Grace" – 7:16
- "Mozambique" – 4:22
Personnel
editTraffic
- Jim Capaldi – drums, percussion, backing vocals (4, 6, 7), assistant production, art direction
- Steve Winwood – lead and backing vocals, pianos, synthesizers, organ, synthesizer programming, guitars, bass guitar, drum machine programming, flute, timbales (1), saxophone (6), congas (9), engineering, mixing, production
Additional musicians
- Mick Dolan – rhythm guitar (4), Akai S1000 programming
- Davy Spillane – Uilleann pipes (5)
Technical personnel
- Howard Beck – technician
- Karim Benzezour – mixing assistance
- Mick Dolan – engineer, mixing at Studio Miraval, Le Val, France
- Douglas Brothers – photography
- Steve Gardes – design
- Viv Phillips – project coordination
- Tim Young – mastering at Metropolis Mastering, London, United Kingdom
Charts
edit| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] | 22 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] | 72 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[10] | 68 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] | 38 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] | 17 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[13] | 29 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 33 |
Release history
edit- 1994 – Virgin CD: 7243 8 39490 2 1 (CDV 2727)
- 1994 – Virgin MC: 7243 8 39490 4 5 (TCV 2727)
References
edit- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William (2011). "Far from Home – Traffic | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ Considine, J. D. (2011). "Traffic: Far from Home : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
- ^ (2011). In Dear Mr Fantasy: The Jim Capaldi Story (pp.32–43) [CD booklet]. London: Freedom Songs Ltd.
- ^ Traffic in the UK Charts Archived 2011-11-20 at the Wayback Machine, The Official Charts. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung / Traffic / Single". Music Line (in German). Germany: Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung / Traffic / Album". Music Line (in German). Germany: Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ Traffic in the USA Charts, Allmusic. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Traffic – Far from Home" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Traffic – Far from Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Traffic – Far from Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Traffic – Far from Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Traffic Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2024.