"Sad And Deep As You"

I first heard the psuedo-Traffic concert "Welcome to the Canteen" on cassette tape, taken from my dad's collection when I was in high school, because I recognized Steve Winwood's name from the Blind Faith album. In high school, I was taken by the interplay between a conga player named Reebop and a rock ensemble-- and, was taken by Steve Winwood's incredible sensibilities when he plays the keys. In high school, I jammed along to the 12-minute version of "Gimme Some Lovin'," an ultimate Oldies radio cut, as it was turned into a funky improvised classic rock jam, years later to be adopted by the Dead themselves.
There is something eerie and empty about "Welcome to the Canteen," and not just for its literally-spacious recording: the hall is huge, and the natural echo on the vocals may be the most entrancing quality of this album. The vinyl plugs both long tracks-- "Dear Mister Fantasy" and "Gimme Some Lovin'" onto side two, leaving the handful of Winwood/Traffic tunes on side one to stand alone. I know the tape sequenced it differently; the vinyl arranges side one to be its own emotional trip, indeed. Winwood's mournful lyrics ring in the hall with a similar emptiness, and the expressive band is forever urged, pushed forward, by the piercing, dynamic congas: "Forty Thousand Headmen" is quite an example of this. The show opens with "Medicated Goo" in a rollicking tone, reminding me of the opening track on so many Steely Dan albums ("Black Friday" included).
The song that really rang true this morning was "Sad And Deep As You," a love song with few words. The movement of the guitar to contrast the slap-happy-sad feel of the percussion, lips that tell a story/sad and deep as you... the house filled with forty-year-old echoes as the sun came up and lit up more leaves that had turned more colors in the night. Like slaps of the conga, they fell as I listened.