Consumer Guide Album

Traffic: Welcome to the Canteen [United Artists/Island, 1971]
Lax at times, but not bad for live jazziness--Stevie Winwood and Dave Mason play as engagingly as Mike Ratledge and Elton Dean, say, and in a genuine rock style. Praise the masses it's a lot more aggressive than their studio work, with the double percussion of Jim Gordon and Rebop Kwaku Baah driving pretty hard at times. Even the lackadaisical "Gimme Some Lovin'" doesn't seem like a desecration. B−