Dear Mr. Fantasy

You can usually get a good sense of how a tribute album is going to sound by looking at the people paying tribute. So, when a concert in memory of the late Traffic co-founder, Jim Capaldi, brings out artists like Steve Winwood, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Bill Wyman, Jon Lord and Simon Kirke, you get the idea that the bar has been set pretty high before you even start listening.

Drummer Jim Capaldi wasn't the most visible member of Traffic but, as one of its co-founders and principal songwriters (along with Steve Winwood on both counts) he had a great deal to do with what the band became.

Although he released 16 solo albums after Traffic went into gridlock in 1974, he is best remembered as a songwriter (writing or co-writing songs that have sold more than 25-million) and collaborator, notably with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Carlos Santana and Bob Marley.

A Traffic reunion was in the works when Capaldi died of cancer at the age of 60 in 2005.

What brought this group of former bandmates, collaborators and friends together in January 2007 (in addition to "celebrating" Capaldi) was a benefit for the human rights charity, Jubilee Action, particularly its efforts on behalf of children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Capaldi's widow, Aninha was born.

None of the artists (with the possible exception of Winwood, and he was certainly entitled) felt compelled to imitate Traffic, opting instead (thankfully) for offering their own interpretations of some of the band's best remembered work.

As a result, the performances cover a rather broad range of musical styles, just as Traffic did, ranging from psychedelic -- think "Forty Thousand Headmen" -- to folk ("John Barleycorn Must Die") to the Beach Boys-esque "Paper Sun."

Steve Winwood was something of a boy wonder who was writing and performing with Spencer Davis Group at the age of 15. He still has traces of that boyish energy and attitude on "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone" and of more mature emotions on "Dear Mr. Fantasy."

Joe Walsh's delivery of "John Barleycorn Must Die" really starts to grow on you after the first listen. I wish I could say the same for his vocal treatment of "Forty Thousand Headmen."

Paul Weller (The Jam) delivers an even better version than the Traffic original of "Paper Sun."

"Whale Meat Again" is a perfect choice for Simon Kirke (Bad Company) just as "Man Without A Country" fits Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) well.

Pete Townshend sings "No Face, No Name, No Number" and it's, well, Pete Townshend singing. I'll just leave it at that.

Dear Mr. Fantasy is not an essential unless you are an extremely hardcore Traffic fan, but neither is it a throwaway. It is well produced and, for the most part, well executed. What it lacks is chemistry. There are no sparks. The connections between and among the various artists don't really come through.

Even so, the package (it's available in a two-CD set and on DVD) is entertaining. The artists are top notch, their arrangements and interpretations are interesting, even intriguing at times. There are some interesting groupings, like Stevie Lange (the ex of producer Mutt Lange) with Deep Purple's Jon Lord, and the trio of Lord, Walsh and Bill Wyman.

The best feature of Dear Mr. Fantasy is that it shines a spotlight on the life and work of Jim Capaldi, who taught us to, as he so eloquently put it when Traffic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, "never give up on your dreams."