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Product Description
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Jim Capaldi’s story is one of the last great unexplored tales in popular music. The co-founder, drummer, vocalist and lyricist of Traffic, Capaldi was a five time winner of BMI and ASCAP awards for most played compositions in America. His work in Traffic, alongside Steve Winwood & Chris Wood, fuelled a 10 album multi-platinum career and in 2004, Traffic were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
But Traffic, although hugely significant, is only part of the story. Jim Capaldi also enjoyed over a thirty year solo career and worked with many other artists. Dear Mr Fantasy tells his story through 67 hand-selected tracks, many rare and previously unreleased. It provides a four-CD overview of the enigmatic vocalist and drummer. Packed with rare photos and essays from writers Andrew Male and Pierre Perrone, it follows his tale from the beat group The Hellions in 1963 through the formation of Traffic and its many incarnations. It features material from his time as a successful solo artist on Island, Polydor, Carerre and Atlantic Records throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Capaldi also recorded with many rock greats--from Eric Clapton, to Steve Winwood and George Harrison, and from Carlos Santana to Van Morrison and this work is included on Dear Mr Fantasy. Yet Capaldi’s tale, like many of his recordings, is hidden. Few know, for instance, that he wrote the lyrics to "Love Will Keep Us Alive", the only outside song on The Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over comeback release, or the lyrics for the Reggae anthem "This is Reggae Music".
This set, overseen by Aninha Capaldi is a musical journey like no other. From the streets of the West Midlands to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Dear Mr Fantasy is a remarkable overview of a remarkable man. It including home demos, the unreleased track "Love’s Got A Hold On Me" recorded with George Harrison, and an unreleased 2004 Traffic recording of "Dear Mr Fantasy".
But Traffic, although hugely significant, is only part of the story. Jim Capaldi also enjoyed over a thirty year solo career and worked with many other artists. Dear Mr Fantasy tells his story through 67 hand-selected tracks, many rare and previously unreleased. It provides a four-CD overview of the enigmatic vocalist and drummer. Packed with rare photos and essays from writers Andrew Male and Pierre Perrone, it follows his tale from the beat group The Hellions in 1963 through the formation of Traffic and its many incarnations. It features material from his time as a successful solo artist on Island, Polydor, Carerre and Atlantic Records throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Capaldi also recorded with many rock greats--from Eric Clapton, to Steve Winwood and George Harrison, and from Carlos Santana to Van Morrison and this work is included on Dear Mr Fantasy. Yet Capaldi’s tale, like many of his recordings, is hidden. Few know, for instance, that he wrote the lyrics to "Love Will Keep Us Alive", the only outside song on The Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over comeback release, or the lyrics for the Reggae anthem "This is Reggae Music".
This set, overseen by Aninha Capaldi is a musical journey like no other. From the streets of the West Midlands to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Dear Mr Fantasy is a remarkable overview of a remarkable man. It including home demos, the unreleased track "Love’s Got A Hold On Me" recorded with George Harrison, and an unreleased 2004 Traffic recording of "Dear Mr Fantasy".
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A monumental box set from one of rock and rolls good guys, best known for his contributions to Traffic there was defiantly more to Jim Capaldi than his best know work. This carrier spanning set starts with his early band the `Hellions' to his early death from cancer in 2005. The first disc takes us from Hellions, Revolution, deep feeling, touching lightly on Traffic (only 4 songs) via the track that gives the box set its title, before starting on his solo albums. Disc 2 to 3 take us gently through his solo albums ending with the final disc giving us some great demos and a stunning raw rehearsal of that track `Dear Mr Fantasy' again. The music mixes Folk Blues rock Samba and many world music type themes
Post Traffic there are myriads of collaborations with a guest list (Clapton Kossoff Santana Winwood and Van Morrison to name a few) which would be/ is the envy of many a professional musician, the tracks from all of his albums handpicked by his wife and do demon straight a musician who seems to be able to fit a song around any musical genre very easily.
Sadly missed but great carrier retrospective of a great and largely overlooked man. Thank you universal for making this a special release nicely packaged 4 discs in proper jewel holders in the book set.
Post Traffic there are myriads of collaborations with a guest list (Clapton Kossoff Santana Winwood and Van Morrison to name a few) which would be/ is the envy of many a professional musician, the tracks from all of his albums handpicked by his wife and do demon straight a musician who seems to be able to fit a song around any musical genre very easily.
Sadly missed but great carrier retrospective of a great and largely overlooked man. Thank you universal for making this a special release nicely packaged 4 discs in proper jewel holders in the book set.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Anyone with a passing acquaintance with Jim Capaldi or his best-known group, Traffic - or indeed with good music in general - will be absolutely delighted by this box set. I hesitate to categorise it, because, like Traffic tunes, the tracks on this package transcend genres, mood, time...
The opening `Daydreaming of You' is pure exuberant 60's pop - a recurrent theme Jim shamelessly visited over the years with the likes of `Open Your Heart' and his covers of `Oh How We Danced' and `Love Hurts', through to `Anna Julia'. Ballads are strongly represented by `Game of Love', `Man With No Country', `Old Photographs', `Love Used to be a Friend of Mine' and others. There are protest songs such as `Whale Meat Again', `We Don't Need' and - replacing my obscure and tatty single - `Tricky Dicky Rides Again'. There's the funk of `Low Rider' and `Elixir of Life', the disco version of `Shoe Shine' - and even a previously-unheard reggae version of 40,000 Headmen! Some of the stuff on Jim's last CD was actually regarded as `metal' - but if I have to chose a favourite groove it's the straight up-tempo rockers such as `Light Up or Leave Me Alone', `Electric Nights' or `Standing in my Light'.
There's five hours of music here on 67 tracks. Three or four from each of Jim's albums; a generous nod towards Traffic, various singles and about an hour's worth of previously unreleased material. If `demo' conjures up an image of half-baked ideas or 2nd-grade tracks, it shouldn't. The ten previously-unreleased tracks mean that there's something here even for the completist.
The package is in a convenient 5½" x 7½" book format, which includes 54 pages of photographs and informative notes / reminiscences by friends and admirers. Criticisms? Frankly, anyone compiling an album such as this is not going to suit `all of the people, all of the time', however Jim's wife Aninha aided and abetted by Paul Minkinnen comes close. They have resisted the temptation to include a lot of probably better-known Traffic material (which belongs elsewhere), although found the presumably penultimate recording of the title track which sounds as fresh as the original. Whilst there are a couple of anthemic tunes that have always sounded a bit too Bruce Springsteen for me, I accept that some people like that sort of stuff, and I cannot think of any tracks I would have included instead.
Listing who-played-what on every track would have been interesting, but a Sisyphean task, given that Jim played with just about everybody who was anybody! I suspect that one of the major contributors was ace guitarist Pete Bonas, with Steve Winwood naturally not far behind, and Dave Mason a close third. Clapton, Harrison, Kossoff & Santana each appear on two or three tracks, while there's a definite guest appearance of Paul Weller - and probably Gary Moore too.
If after a good meal one is supposed to leave the table sated, but not-quite-stuffed, this feast achieves something similar. It was great to hear some of the Polydor and Carrere recordings on CD for the first time, but Jim's legacy includes albums and singles from this period - and throughout the seventies - that would surely receive a loud welcome on re-release.
The opening `Daydreaming of You' is pure exuberant 60's pop - a recurrent theme Jim shamelessly visited over the years with the likes of `Open Your Heart' and his covers of `Oh How We Danced' and `Love Hurts', through to `Anna Julia'. Ballads are strongly represented by `Game of Love', `Man With No Country', `Old Photographs', `Love Used to be a Friend of Mine' and others. There are protest songs such as `Whale Meat Again', `We Don't Need' and - replacing my obscure and tatty single - `Tricky Dicky Rides Again'. There's the funk of `Low Rider' and `Elixir of Life', the disco version of `Shoe Shine' - and even a previously-unheard reggae version of 40,000 Headmen! Some of the stuff on Jim's last CD was actually regarded as `metal' - but if I have to chose a favourite groove it's the straight up-tempo rockers such as `Light Up or Leave Me Alone', `Electric Nights' or `Standing in my Light'.
There's five hours of music here on 67 tracks. Three or four from each of Jim's albums; a generous nod towards Traffic, various singles and about an hour's worth of previously unreleased material. If `demo' conjures up an image of half-baked ideas or 2nd-grade tracks, it shouldn't. The ten previously-unreleased tracks mean that there's something here even for the completist.
The package is in a convenient 5½" x 7½" book format, which includes 54 pages of photographs and informative notes / reminiscences by friends and admirers. Criticisms? Frankly, anyone compiling an album such as this is not going to suit `all of the people, all of the time', however Jim's wife Aninha aided and abetted by Paul Minkinnen comes close. They have resisted the temptation to include a lot of probably better-known Traffic material (which belongs elsewhere), although found the presumably penultimate recording of the title track which sounds as fresh as the original. Whilst there are a couple of anthemic tunes that have always sounded a bit too Bruce Springsteen for me, I accept that some people like that sort of stuff, and I cannot think of any tracks I would have included instead.
Listing who-played-what on every track would have been interesting, but a Sisyphean task, given that Jim played with just about everybody who was anybody! I suspect that one of the major contributors was ace guitarist Pete Bonas, with Steve Winwood naturally not far behind, and Dave Mason a close third. Clapton, Harrison, Kossoff & Santana each appear on two or three tracks, while there's a definite guest appearance of Paul Weller - and probably Gary Moore too.
If after a good meal one is supposed to leave the table sated, but not-quite-stuffed, this feast achieves something similar. It was great to hear some of the Polydor and Carrere recordings on CD for the first time, but Jim's legacy includes albums and singles from this period - and throughout the seventies - that would surely receive a loud welcome on re-release.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
i am not that familiar with jim capaldi's solo career apart from a few singles.
i was expecting this box set to be 90% traffic material so i was pleasently surprised to see that it is actually 90% solo work.
including plenty of high calibre collaborations with major stars.
i will definitely buy this and learn more about one of rocks great undersung heroes.
Dear Mr. Fantasy
i was expecting this box set to be 90% traffic material so i was pleasently surprised to see that it is actually 90% solo work.
including plenty of high calibre collaborations with major stars.
i will definitely buy this and learn more about one of rocks great undersung heroes.
Dear Mr. Fantasy
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