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Length: 11:27
Plays (last 30 days): 1
and it's shooting up out of the ground
and your head is spinning from a loud guitar.
And you just can't escape from the sound
don't worry too much, it'll happen to you
We were children once, playing with toys.
And the thing that you're hearing is only the sound
of the low spark of high-heeled boys.
The percentage you're paying is too high priced
while you're living beyond all your means.
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
from the profit he's made on your dreams.
But today you just swear that the man was shot dead
by a gun that didn't make any noise.
But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest
was the low spark of high-heeled boys.
If you had just a minute to breathe
and they granted you one final wish
would you ask for something, like another chance.
Or something similar as this
don't worry too much, it'll happen to you
as sure as your sorrows are joys.
And the thing that disturbs you is only the sound
of the low spark of high-heeled boys.
The percentage you're paying is too high priced
while you're living beyond all your means
and the man in the suit has just bought a new car
from the profit he's made on your dreams
But today you just swear that the man was shot dead
by a gun that didn't make any noise
But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest
was the low spark of high-heeled boys....high-heeled boys.
If I gave you everything that I own
and asked for nothing in return
Would you do the same for me, as I would for you?
Or take me for a ride
and strip me of everything, including my pride
But spirit is something that no one destroys
And the sound that I'm hearing is only the sound
of the low spark of high-heeled boys.
The album cover looks like a rendered 3-D cube, but the original vinyl album had the upper right and lower left corners cut off. They did the same for their other LP at the time, "Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory."
And a young co-worker once asked me, "How could you possibly have done graphic design without a computer?" He just couldn't conceive of it! 🤣
what does "the low spark of high-heeled boys" actually mean or reference. i've always wondered.
The song is about drug culture and the relationships between users and suppliers. Low spark is injection, and high heeled boy is speedball, a mixture of cocaine and heroin. The first verse is about shooting up. The second verse is about a dealer that got overdosed.
... dashing to the computer and turning it up.
You turn it up, forgetting about the long fade-in, and then realize its too loud!
would be great to get something from them to listen.
parallel gram.
Amazing track, and whole album..! It does not get old, I can listen to it endlessly. Seeing Traffic play live, on several occasions, was one of the highlights of my life..!
You lucky duck! I wish I could have seen them live. This is my 2nd favorite Traffic album. #1 is John Barleycorn Must die. Thanx RP.
But brings back fun, happy memories.
Thanks Bill!
A likeable reaction from a classical musician.
Way to go people! ...and William of course.
stunner...great memories...
I was stoned the first time I heard this, ..., and now too! Great classic
Cool! ....whatever works!!
what does "the low spark of high-heeled boys" actually mean or reference. i've always wondered.
Me too! Anybody out there know?
Since this is all pre-programmed, there is no reason to clog up the proceedings with super-long songs, which used to be played on the radio when the DJ had to go to the bathroom. THAT is the reason this was played so much on FM radio back in the day! Move on!
As the Three Stooges would say: "Ohhhh, a music lover !"
Look after the king of R n R please
What does this even mean? Elvis? Winwood? [head scratch]
And why does he need looking after?
*salutes
Boarding school life could be pretty intense and the odd one or two blokes who made it bearable are still well-remembered......
I remember hearing this for the first time when I babysitting my niece. It was on a
commercially released reel to reel. One speaker was behind an old upright piano and it was 'sympathizing' with the recording. What an effect!
note: My Brother-in-Law had a selection of reels like The Who, Dave Brubeck, and these were great in fidelity that I had a reverse intro to the generation before me.
Those reels (as were my grandfather's band's recordings on reel to reel) got me into the audio engineering/entertainment biz for sure.
Cool story. Thank You for sharing it.
Since this is all pre-programmed, there is no reason to clog up the proceedings with super-long songs, which used to be played on the radio when the DJ had to go to the bathroom. THAT is the reason this was played so much on FM radio back in the day! Move on!
If you don't like it, hit the "skip button"! ...Problem solved!
commercially released reel to reel. One speaker was behind an old upright piano and it was 'sympathizing' with the recording. What an effect!
note: My Brother-in-Law had a selection of reels like The Who, Dave Brubeck, and these were great in fidelity that I had a reverse intro to the generation before me.
Those reels (as were my grandfather's band's recordings on reel to reel) got me into the audio engineering/entertainment biz for sure.
I'm pretty sure I was stoned the first time I heard this, and it burned itself into my boogie soul...
I was stoned the first time I heard this, ..., and now too! Great classic
Now you mention it, the drums might as well be a cardboard box.
You guys don't understand artistic choices, do you?
The drums sound so dead, dated, & untalented.
There were many great drummers around at the time who's playing has withstood the test of time.
Where did they get this guy who just follows everyone else with moronically dull thump-thump-thumps?
Now you mention it, the drums might as well be a cardboard box.
There were many great drummers around at the time who's playing has withstood the test of time.
Where did they get this guy who just follows everyone else with moronically dull thump-thump-thumps?
The bum keyboard note at the end makes me cringe everytime!
That's not a bum note, it's a perfect, deliberate dissonance. Winwood is a genius.
Amen!
And it's not just one note, it's a whole bunch of them! Probably too many even to call it a chord.
The bum keyboard note at the end makes me cringe everytime!
That's not a bum note, it's a perfect, deliberate dissonance. Winwood is a genius.
Thank You for the info! ...Very interesting! ...I thought it might have been sawtooth waves on an early Moog.
frisbeepilot wrote:
It sounds like some sort of synthesizer, yes -- back then they would've had the first analogue, single-voice synths around. (If memory serves, the Beatles used Moogs towards the end of the '60s.)
A desert island track and record for me. Forevah.
What is the instrument playing the long solo for the last third (ish)? And then actually closing out the track. Want to say some kind of keyboard but wasn't 1969 pretty much pre-synthesizers? Mellotron?
It sounds like some sort of synthesizer, yes -- back then they would've had the first analogue, single-voice synths around. (If memory serves, the Beatles used Moogs towards the end of the '60s.)
What is the instrument playing the long solo for the last third (ish)? And then actually closing out the track. Want to say some kind of keyboard but wasn't 1969 pretty much pre-synthesizers? Mellotron?
Hands down my favorite Traffic song.
On my top 5 list, along with Glad ( John Barleycorn album)!
Allegedly is the operative term here. If you spend the time (of course, this is a sort of waste of your precious time on earth, I concede) to listen to the words, it seems to describe the lament of a musician who has come to terms with the reality that the world of being a musician whose prominence has assumed a level that merits the attention of the business of producing and selling a product, in this case a record album, turns out to be a trap set by those who make the rules. Not people he respects. In other words, yet another musical piece about the music business. The story line is secondary to the music, but not really separable. (I think the music is almost transcendent) How many songs have been composed that refer to the life of performing music? It's a bit like the tendency of script writers to write scripts about script writing. Or TV writers to make shows about writers making shows.
Those last two sync cords sums it up.
Certainly one of the best of Stevie and company. Nice combo of rock and jazz.
Love the instrumental bit in the middle. 10 for me.
Love the sax. Missing emogi. (Bananas don't play sax, apparently)
Oh Bill, why do you start playing such great classics when we oldies should be asleep. Instead I want to throw off my duvet, pour the wine, light up and dance on the sand under a moonlit sky.
Oh my youth, come back, it all went too fast.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea
Circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate
Driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow....
(And to think there are people who don't get Mr. Dylan)
You are making it impossible
for me to leave, What a mix! Thank you.
Come on, man, "poorly researched inaccuracy" is a redundant phrase. Had you more carefully read my post instead of rushing to make an ad hominem response you would see that I had written : "Bob Dylan had several long tunes...as early as Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and even before then...".
A neighbour gave me the Highway 61 Revisited album. I might have been around 12 years old at the time.
The bum keyboard note at the end makes me cringe everytime!
Bum Note?? That's the best bit for me - what a noise! If it doesn't do it for you - turn it up!!
EXCELLENT!!!
It should be above 10 elieen
Oh Bill, why do you start playing such great classics when we oldies should be asleep. Instead I want to throw off my duvet, pour the wine, light up and dance on the sand under a moonlit sky.
Oh my youth, come back, it all went too fast.
Youth stays with you for your entire life if you let it, especially with RP around to provide the soundtrack for it.
I'll counter with a well deserved 9.
Stop mucking around and go all the way...
a 9...and I don't give 9's lightly. classic.
...ditto...
From Wiki:
The title refers to an inscription written by diminutive American actor Michael J. Pollard in Jim Capaldi's notebook while they were both in Morocco.[2] Capaldi and Pollard were planning to work on a movie that was never filmed. Capaldi said:
"Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and the Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie. Before I left Morocco, Pollard wrote in my book 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys'.
For me, it summed him (Dylan) up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude.
He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels. The 'Low Spark', for me, was the spirit, high-spirited. You know, standing on a street corner. The low rider. The 'Low Spark' meaning that strong undercurrent at the street level."
I'll counter with a well deserved 9.
Turnham Green......
Mornington Crescent!!!
Oh my youth, come back, it all went too fast.
Look after the king of R n R please
or any decade
Rock on, Boogie Jeff
Oh my youth, come back, it all went too fast.
Hey Hippo,
Think of it as repetitive, meditative chanting.
Think of Coltrane's Love Supreme or Favorite Things.
Or Layla.
Or Jessica.
Or even Stairway to Heaven.
Or Dark Star and Bird Song.
I'll counter with a well deserved 9.
c.
Hard disagree.
DanFHiggins wrote:
14 and tripping to this.
I musta been crazy.
Lasted forever!
edit:
I do believe that there is something called acid etching!
14 and tripping to this.
I musta been crazy.
Lasted forever!
edit:
I do believe that there is something called acid etching!
The groove is too deep on this track...took it off the shelf too soon.
That's the sort of mumble described as bollocks in the 17th century when articulated from the pulpit by stale vicars. Bollocks then and still bollocks now...
Yes. Yes, I would.
half for the actual song, half for the album cover, and half for the memory spark.
me and the boys would listen to this after some bong.
(from Wikipedia)
COMEON!