Traffic - Mr. Fantasy album flac

I have a variant label with "EMI RECORDS LTD" just above the white text on bottom.

Offering a unique perspective of an album that shaped progressive rock and pop way back in 1967, the new Island Records ‘double fantasy’ release of Mr. Fantasy and Heaven Is In Your Mind is a real windfall for Traffic fans. The group’s original label, Island, has chosen to reissue two different CDs of the Mr. Fantasy album including the original United Artists Records stereo mix of the U.S. version as it was first heard Stateside. As good as the original U.K. mono mix of Mr. Fantasy is, it was the first U.S. LP release of Mr. Fantasy, (now reissued here as Heaven) on on U.A. Records which remains the more incredible sounding version. Released in ‘67, the American version of Mr. Fantasy featured an up-to-date Traffic with their first U.S. hit, “Paper Sun”. Sound wise, the stereo mix of the U.S. Mr. Fantasy, now Heaven Is In Your Mind, is more spatial sounding and, with the inclusion of four bonus tracks in stereo, makes it the version to hear. The mono version of the U.K. Mr. Fantasy adds in three bonus tracks (including “Paper Sun” and “Hole In My Shoe”) in mono, of course. There’s incredible packaging, key liner notes and photos on the mono Mr. Fantasy and the complete artwork (+ a nice surprise) but no notes on the U.S. stereo version of Mr. Fantasy released as the Heaven CD. Key point in retrospect: the inability of founding members Steve Winwood and band mate Dave Mason to deal with each other (Mason wasn’t even pictured on the cover of the U.S. Mr. Fantasy) lead to a premature break-up of the original Traffic, with Winwood moving on to Blind Faith.

This is not a complilation, this is first album as edited in France

Surely this is suppose to be 1968 not 88? I have this exact copy stating 68

estimated price for this record? I have this too. Sounds ok.

This is, of course, a great album but this pressing had quite a bit of crackle. It also had screwy mastering: the first track is nice and loud but the rest of the tracks are about 3-4 dB quieter. Simply Vinyl = simply mediocre. Too bad--I love this album. It's some great classic psychedelic rock.

I wonder if you have a bad pressing, mine is absolutely stunning in sound. Honestly one of the best sounding albums I own.

The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper had a reach far beyond merely the music, the sound and the presentation … what The Beatles laid down with Sgt. Pepper and all that lead up it, created a blueprint of sorts, and there were many who followed those ideas, with Traffic being one of them. The original UK version, as with The Beatles, left off all of the hit singles such as “Paper Sun,” with the US take attempting to rectify the issue by retooling the album and calling it Heaven In Your Mind, and then including those lost classic tracks, where in their hast, completely reordering the tacking of the album. And the saga doesn’t stop there, with the outing being reconfigured so many times, it’s tough to know where the story begins and ends.One thing I will say is that Traffic would never make an album like Mr. Fantasy again, and even if one discounts those hits, the album sincerely shows a band in the mist of transition, though this being their first proper release, it’s more fitting to say that they were finding their footing. Take Mason’s sitar washed “Utterly Simple,” a song that is flooded with George Harrison influences, yet turns almost in mid stream, becoming a parody of itself, laden with Moody Blues spoken words, words that sound out of place, and a bit corny even for The Moody Blues. There are some studio effects that allow several of the tracks to feel rather tired … “Heaven In Your Mind” was to be laced with stereo panned vocals and reverb, that don’t seem to come off as planed; though having said that, all of the tracks have been creatively arranged and bursting at the seams with power. The one thing that does linger with listeners is the fact that Traffic should not have ventured down the psychedelic road, because it wasn’t them, it didn’t suit their music, and by the time of its release, the psychedelic wave had already crested. Probably the major issue with Traffic was the nature of the group in and of itself, where each member was strong enough to be fronting their own band, and by finding themselves stacked up against each other, they were all struggling to find their own voices, leaving the record to sound like bits and pieces of far too much, seeming to lack direction, and a center that would hold them in check.Disregarding all of this, Mr. Fantasy does hold some magic, though probably more for those who where there then, then those coming to this album after becoming familiar with the Traffic that would secure a seminal place in the pages of rock history. So be kind as you open this door, you don’t need to hold your breath with reverence, just try to imagine a time when recording was still in its infancy, when these ideas where totally fresh, when so much was trial and error, and even when things went momentarily sideways, what was glimmered from these historic recordings paved the way for so much beauty that was to follow.Regardless of how I rated this release, I could not live without “Heaven In Your Min,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Dealer,” or “Coloured Rain.”*** The Fun Facts: Jim Capaldi came up with the name for the group while the four of them were waiting to cross the street in Dorchester.Review by Jenell Kesler

I have this CD and the disc has turned brown around the edges of the playing side.

Year of release not indicated on CD. Probably 1992, as other titles of the same 3D series.

For what it is worth, this version was released no later than 1976.

This version has Finnish covers (the green-white cover) and the Swedish record.

This album's OK, a lot better than many records released around this era, but this is still very much of it's time. "Dear Mr Fantasy" is the only really abiding tune from Traffic's début.

The Years is 1972

No, that pressing shape was in use in very late 70's to early 90's. '72 issues are here: Traffic - Mr. Fantasy and Traffic - Mr. Fantasy.

Notes are not reliable and taken from an anonymous auction on popsike.com. These information contradict literature at least in one respect: there is no known regular US version of Mr. Fantasy released before April 1968 (Martin C. Strong, 'The Essential Rock Discography', 8th ed. [Edinburgh etc. 2006], p. 1115) and Frank Wonneberg, 'Labelkunde' [study of labels], ref. 480.1-480.3 gives 1968 as the earliest date for the pink/orange UA labels. Furthermore it is doubtful, if one can rely on the statement that this release is very rare - believe the sellers and you will find almost exclusively extremely rare records in the bay and elsewhere. An empty database is the inferno and a database full of trash is hell.

This was released as ''Heaven is in your mind'' initially.UA changed their minds and the title to the British one, but evidently they had more discs already pressed. These were inserted in the new cover while they lasted. A transitional issue. Later issues had both labels and cover stating ''Mr. Fantasy''.

The release should definitely be 1968, though, as I have at the top. I just thought that the explanation of the chronology is interesting but...maybe untrue.

Thanks for the censoring-just trying to provide useful information and this was the best info I could find without having access as you have. I thought it was pretty interesting...if not correct :) Does anyone else have additional information? Specifically, is there another explanation as to why the label and cover titles differ in this particular instance? I'm not planning to sell this as this is part of my collection so I'm certainly not trying to inflate the rarity of this itemThanks!ghhhk

I found the release year printed on the label, vinyl and back cover.The labeldesign is a stylized black palm on light yellow label.