The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (song)

"The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"
Song by Traffic
from the album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Released	November 1971
Recorded	September 1971, Island Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock, jazz rock
Length	11:35
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi
Producer(s)	Steve Winwood

"The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" is a song by the band Traffic from their 1971 album of the same name. The song was written by Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood.

The title refers to an inscription written by actor Michael J. Pollard in Jim Capaldi's book while they were both in Morocco. Capaldi and Pollard were planning to work on a movie that was never filmed. Capaldi said:

The song begins with a gradual fade-in and ends with a slow fade-out. At about 11 minutes and 35 seconds, it is the longest song on the album. The song (and the album) received wide praise, both in print and on broadcasts. It uses a sparse arrangement with a slow deliberate pace alternating with a double-time densely layered pop chorus. The verses are in D minor while the choruses modulate to D major with a repeated piano riff in D Minor.. The song is noted for the extended solos played by band members in the later portions of the song. David Lubin wrote in his album review that appeared in Rolling Stone in 1972, "Each member of the group lays down a track or tracks which could in parts stand alone."

In addition to the version on the album, another version is available on the Revolutions – The Very Best of Steve Winwood album, on both the single disc and the box set. This version is a different mix where various solos not on the album version are heard. There is no indication of this on the album, but like some other songs on the compilation, it is clearly different.

Capaldi had originally written only two verses of lyrics. He quickly wrote the third verse while Winwood was recording the song's vocal and slipped it in front of him in time for him to sing it.

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Wikipedia