Last Updated on 27 January 2026 by Massimo M.
John Barleycorn Must Die is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Traffic, released in 1970.
Traffic returned to work, after a brief hiatus, with the 1970 album John Barleycorn Must Die. Reformed as a trio, the group set aside psychedelia and built this album primarily around long, jazz-infused jams. Musically they also deviated a bit from the pop approach to the music of their first three albums, released in the late 1960s.
In fact, at the beginning the group had mainly created songs respectful of the standard song form characterized by 3-4 minutes in length, while in this work four compositions exceed six minutes in length, thus conforming to the prevailing “album format” of the early seventies.
The work on the album actually began as a solo project for keyboardist and singer Steve Winwood, but when Winwood himself decided to enlist a couple of former bandmates for this project, his work turned into Traffic’s fourth overall album.
Winwood had joined Traffic as a teenager in 1967. Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Mason, the quartet also included drummer Jim Capaldi</a > and the wind player Chris Wood. After the release of a few hit singles, Traffic released their debut album Mr. Fantasy in late 1967.
The following year, their self-titled second album and Mason’s classic song “Feelin’ Alright” was released. However, Mason left the group shortly afterwards, leaving Winwood, Wood and Capaldi as a trio for the recording of their partial studio/partial live album Last Exit.
All’inizio del 1969, Winwood lasciò i Traffic senza spiegazioni, sciogliendo di fatto la band in quel momento.
After Traffic’s initial incarnation, Winwood formed the supergroup Blind Faith, which lasted less than a year and recorded one single album
With a contract requiring one more album, Winwood began recording strictly as a solo artist, playing all instruments. However, he soon wanted some familiar musicians and enlisted Capaldi on drums. This solo project officially turned into a Traffic reunion when Wood became involved.
The record begins with “Glad,” an instrumental that at first sounds like an aptly named celebration featuring Winwood’s upbeat jazz piano riff. The central jam section includes a free-form approach, starting with a saxophone solo from Wood over great beats from Winwood and Capaldi. The long, slow outro contains a mesmerizing mix of piano, organ and percussion, and slowly winds its way into “Freedom Rider.”
The first real song on the album begins subtly with a rock piano and baritone saxophone phrase, but employs a more upbeat and funky approach when the verse breaks out. Winwood can shine more on the bass than the keyboards, while Wood adds some sweeping flute passages and a powerful lead melody. this song with poetic lyrics by Capaldi.
Side one ends with the rock beat “Empty Pages,” in which Wood switches to Hammond organ, and while Capaldi co-wrote four of the six songs on this album, he never shines like he does on this one. Its drumming excels from start to finish, while the upbeat lyrics speak of a “clean slate” in a new romantic life. Winwood adds his strong point with a beautiful and extended electric piano solo part in this track which was, among other things, the only single released by John Barleycorn Must Die.
Although no tracks on the original first side feature guitars, each of the three songs on the second side features Winwood playing electric and/or acoustic guitar. Indeed, the opening of “Stranger to Himself” features both instruments, with an acoustic one in the opening and main riff and an electric one within the verses and during the violent solo section.
The first song written for this album, it is almost a complete solo work by Winwood (he also plays drums), with only some backing vocals provided by Capaldi. “John Barleycorn” is a traditional folk song, mostly acoustic with slight additional arrangements. The album ends with “Every Mother’s Son”, another early track that features only Winwood and Capaldi. A nice buzzing lead guitar riff drives the slow intro, which mostly sounds like tracks from the Blind Faith album. The beat stops completely for two measures near the start of a Hammond organ lead, reflecting the loose production that is part of this album’s overall charm.
John Barleycorn Must Die reached number five in the album charts, Traffic’s highest-charting album ever in the US, and was only slightly less successful in the UK.
Throughout the early 1970s, the band would expand and contract its lineup (including a brief reunion with Mason), but these three core musicians would remain at the core of this successful band.
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