Thursday, March 22, 2007


Traffic: Feelin’ Good [1969]

From the album Last Exit, this song which was recorded live at the Fillmore West features a Dave Mason-less Traffic. I’ve recently learned that "Feeling Good" originally appeared in Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd. It has been famously done by Nina Simone, but also by Sammy Davis Jr, a host of male crooners, various American Idol contestants, and The Pussycat Dolls. I’ve searched fruitlessly for an mp3 of the original cast recording for a comparison, but I must say I love the idea of songs going from Broadway to the Fillmore, from musical theater arrangement to extended rock treatment. Was it Nina Simone's version that inspired the band to cover it? Or was Stevie Winwood just a huge Newley/Bricusse fan? I'd prefer the latter, I think.

2 comments:

Mike said...

II is dead! Long live III!

Emmett said...

Sweet organ tone from Stevie. See, this is the kind of stuff that SDII never would've come up with.