Jim Capaldi - Whale Meat Again 1974

Whale Meat Again, Jim Capaldi's second solo album, appeared in 1974, just before Traffic released their final album, When the Eagle Flies, and while it, like Oh How We Danced before it, has appearances from his Traffic colleagues Steve Winwood and Rebop Kwaku Baah, it feels like a break from his band in ways that his debut never did. True, it's not a drastic break, but where Traffic was getting jazzier with each album, Capaldi kept things down to earth, relying heavily on the blues whether it was in the Plastic Ono grind of the title track, or in the sighing dobros of "Yellow Sun," a lengthy jam that's all about groove, not what's being played. Oh How We Danced also maintained a groovy, mellow feel but the emphasis there was clearly on the songs, and here it's more about mood: not the instrumental interplay, but ratcheting up the soulfulness in the performances and singing, giving this album a funkier, open feel that lingers longer than the songs. AMG.

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