Since he moved from the now-famous country cottage in Berkshire where Traffic got to together, to his home in Gloucestershire, Steve Winwood has been quietly organizing what is most musicians' ideal situation - a place at home where they can not only rough out their projects, but actually record the finished article.
Steve had always been quiet and unaffected and sometimes at a loss to explain himself or his beliefs. But despite this, he has firm ideas about what should be done musically, and the way he wants to do it.
Today, six years on from the era when he was making hit singles and attracting the interest of rock society from the Beatles downwards, Steve can see the past with greater clarity, and views the future with renewed enthusiasm.
The creative juices were still flowing after Traffic made Shoot Out At the Fantasy Factory in 1973. A world tour was mounted to show off the new, expanded edition of the band -and the result was a high point in Traffic's long and distinguished career.
Recorded live in Germany, On the Road featured core members Steve Winwood (vocals, guitar and piano), Jim Capaldi (percussion and vocals) and Chris Wood (flute and saxophone), playing alongside percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah, who joined Traffic for 1971's Welcome to the Canteen) and Muscle Shoals rhythm section bassist Roger Hawkins (drums) and David Hood (bass).
Keyboard master Barry Beckett, another Muscle Shoals studio vet, was added on piano and Hammond organ to allow the versatile Winwood to switch between instruments.