Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory

Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
Studio album by Traffic
Released February 1973
Recorded 1972 at Strawberry Hill Studios, Jamaica
Genre Progressive rock, jazz fusion
Length 39:18
Label Island
Producer Steve Winwood
Traffic chronology
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
(1971)		 Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
(1973)		 On the Road
(1973)

Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, released in 1973, was the sixth studio album by English rock band Traffic. It followed their 1971 album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and contained five songs. Shoot Out, while achieving poorer reviews than its predecessor, did reach number six on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, one space higher than Low Spark had peaked in 1972.[1] Like its predecessor, the original jacket for the Shoot Out LP had its top right and bottom left corners clipped. The album was remastered for CD in 2003.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Robert Christgau(C)[3]

Rolling Stone had a subdued reaction, saying that most of the songs are too even-tempered and uniform in structure and tone, but that "Evening Blue" and "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired" are high points. They summarized that the album "embodies the inconsistencies that beset the band as well as the high points that have kept Traffic moving."[4]

Retrospective reviews were less forgiving, with Allmusic stating that both the compositions and the performances are uniformly weak, adding up to "a competent, if perfunctory effort in the band's familiar style",[2] while Robert Christgau's review consisted of a single sentence followed by the note 'Giveaway: "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired."'[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi unless otherwise indicated.

  1. "Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory" – 6:05
  2. "Roll Right Stones" – 13:40
  3. "Evening Blue" – 5:19
  4. "Tragic Magic" (Chris Wood) – 6:43
  5. "(Sometimes I Feel So) Uninspired" – 7:31

[5]

Versions of the album

The original, full-length master of Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory was originally only heard on the original U.S. vinyl version. This was at a time when Island Records was an independent label and the album was manufactured and distributed by Capitol Records.

When Island's distribution deal with Capitol ended, Traffic submitted a revised master in which "Roll Right Stones" and "Uninspired" were remixed and faded out early.[6] "Uninspired" was shortened by about 15 seconds and "Roll Right Stones" by a full two minutes. This shortened master was used for all subsequent copies of the album until May 2003. With Island's 2003 remaster of the album, the original full-length versions of these songs finally became available on CD. LPs and CDs with the shortened versions of these songs falsely list the longer times for them.

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1973 Billboard Pop Albums 6[1]

Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – USA Gold March 3, 1973

References

  1. 1 2 Traffic in the USA Charts, Allmusic. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory at AllMusic
  3. 1 2 Traffic reviews, Robert Christgau. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ Romasco, John. (March 15, 1973). Album review, Rolling Stone.
  5. ↑ Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
  6. ↑ Interview with UMG catalog chief Bill Levenson in ICE Magazine, referenced in a review at Amazon.com.
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