I've always wondered this, and now's a good time to ask, because I'm in full-on pre-vacation panic. What exactly is "The Low Spark of High-heeled Boys"? Obviously, I know it's a song title.
It's an album title too, isn't it? Traffic -- I remember spending hours lying on my bed listening to it. Is that the first one with Stevie Winwood singing? (Why don't I go to the web with these questions?)
Anyway, I always interpreted it -- and man-oh-man, did I interpret it -- as a comment on glam-rock: New York Dolls, T-Rex, the Faces. Traffic certainly positioned themselves as purer musicians, not interested in Marc Bolin's platform shoes etc etc.
Beyond that, I take it as a statement about class in 1970s music. Many of the musicians (Bowie, Jagger, etc) came out of art school, but I don't think any of the Traffic guys did. Hell, Stevie Winwood was only 17 or something.
I think you're still 4 or 5 years younger than I am. I asked X about this once, since after all, he's 55 and lived in London at the height of all this, and he had no idea!
You're right about it being an album title, too. But I thought Jagger came out of the LSE?
Winwood started singing with the Spencer Davis Group in 1965 when he was 15 (thus making his rendition of "I'm a Man" somewhat moot). I too was living in London at the height of all this - in fact met Winwood's girlfriend on a couple of occasions - and I have no more idea than X what it was all about. The consensus at the time was that he was probably so stoned that he was just stringing words together.
3 comments:
It's an album title too, isn't it? Traffic -- I remember spending hours lying on my bed listening to it. Is that the first one with Stevie Winwood singing? (Why don't I go to the web with these questions?)
Anyway, I always interpreted it -- and man-oh-man, did I interpret it -- as a comment on glam-rock: New York Dolls, T-Rex, the Faces. Traffic certainly positioned themselves as purer musicians, not interested in Marc Bolin's platform shoes etc etc.
Beyond that, I take it as a statement about class in 1970s music. Many of the musicians (Bowie, Jagger, etc) came out of art school, but I don't think any of the Traffic guys did. Hell, Stevie Winwood was only 17 or something.
Dang I'm old.
I think you're still 4 or 5 years younger than I am. I asked X about this once, since after all, he's 55 and lived in London at the height of all this, and he had no idea!
You're right about it being an album title, too. But I thought Jagger came out of the LSE?
Winwood started singing with the Spencer Davis Group in 1965 when he was 15 (thus making his rendition of "I'm a Man" somewhat moot). I too was living in London at the height of all this - in fact met Winwood's girlfriend on a couple of occasions - and I have no more idea than X what it was all about. The consensus at the time was that he was probably so stoned that he was just stringing words together.
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