The one hundred ninety-ninth album: #199 Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

Unlike what I was really expecting, John Barleycorn Must Die starts with a seven minutes jazz song - not feeling quite as improvised as jazz normally gets, but still feeling quite loose. After that, the jazz influences remain a bit in the prog rock that follows, not a very complex sounding album but there are some decent vocal performances in the big, layered songs that work very well together. The titular, foksy track of John Barleycorn Must Die, is incredibly subdued in comparison, but because of that might well be the most memorable track of the six. It can clearly tell its story without gettig too deep into the prog rock sound and instruments - the flute really adding to the atmosphere. Ending with Every Moth's Son, the album ends especially strong, with what feel like its two best, most accessible tracks at the end, which make it worth the journey more than anything else.